Arden Leon Barber died on Thursday, March 18, 1937 in the New London School explosion. He was 11 years old.
He was born on October 31, 1925 in Overton, Texas to Lonnie Leon Barber (1895-1969) and Ora Bell Thompson (1899-1980). He had three siblings: Lonnie Vernon Barber, Roy Burton Barber and Pearl Barber Jacobs.
Arden's cousin, Ollie Bell Barber, also died in the explosion.
School bus driver Lonnie Barber, Arden's father, was transporting elementary students to their homes and was in sight of the school as it exploded. Barber continued his two-hour route, returning children to their parents before rushing back to the school to look for his four children. His son Arden died, and the other three were injured, but survived. Lonnie retired the next year. Other school buses were employed to drive ambulatory survivors back to their homes, causing family members who were waiting at the bus stops to demand information from students disembarking.
Arden Leon Barber died on Thursday, March 18, 1937 in the New London School explosion. He was 11 years old.
He was born on October 31, 1925 in Overton, Texas to Lonnie Leon Barber (1895-1969) and Ora Bell Thompson (1899-1980). He had three siblings: Lonnie Vernon Barber, Roy Burton Barber and Pearl Barber Jacobs.
Arden's cousin, Ollie Bell Barber, also died in the explosion.
School bus driver Lonnie Barber, Arden's father, was transporting elementary students to their homes and was in sight of the school as it exploded. Barber continued his two-hour route, returning children to their parents before rushing back to the school to look for his four children. His son Arden died, and the other three were injured, but survived. Lonnie retired the next year. Other school buses were employed to drive ambulatory survivors back to their homes, causing family members who were waiting at the bus stops to demand information from students disembarking.
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