1954 — April 3, Fire, Mother and Six Children Perish, Farm House near Tuttle, ND — 7

— 7 Bismarck Tribune, ND. “Seven Die in Fire at Tuttle.” 4-3-1954, p. 1.
— 7 Joplin Globe, MO. “Woman and Six Children Are Burned to Death.” 4-4-1954, p. 1.

Narrative Information

April 3: “Tuttle – Stunned neighbors raked the charred remains of a 33-year-old mother and six of her seven children from the smoking ashes of their burned farm home north of here Saturday noon. Burned to death in the flames which raced through the one and one half story wooden frame house at 7 a.m. Saturday [Apr 3] were:

Mrs. Elmer Miller, 33
A daughter, Sharon, 11.
A daughter, Jean, 10.
A son Larry, 8.
A son Ronald, 7.
A daughter Arlene, 2.
A baby daughter, Debbie, 8 months.

“Mrs. Miller’s husband and their oldest son, Elmer Jr., 12, escaped death in the flames. Miller was in the barn doing chores. The boy apparently was sent from the house by his mother for help when the fire started.

“The Miller home is about 12 miles north of Tuttle. Tuttle is about 50 miles north-east of Bismarck.

“There is no accurate account of what happened. Miller and his son were in shock by the time neighbors arrived at the scene and were given sedatives by physicians to quiet them.

“Flames broke out on the south side of the house at about 7 a.m. At 7:15 a.m. Elmer, Jr. ran across the road to tell neighboring farmer William Leno that the house was on fire. Leno ran to the Miller house to find the interior full of smoke and flames. The door to the living-room, the only entrance to the house, was burning. Leno said he tried to break into a north window and could not.

“Leno drove to the farm of Edward Kahler, about two miles away, to send Kahler to Tuttle for the fire truck. In the meantime another neighbor, Floyd Berlin, who lives about three fourths mile from the Miller farm, saw the smoke from the fire. Berlin notified Russell Kramer, who also drove to Tuttle to summon the fire department.

“When firemen arrived at about 9 a.m., the walls of the house had collapsed. They doused the dying flames with water and began the search for bodies of the victims. Only the bodies of Mrs. Miller, the baby and one other daughter were identifiable when they were found in the wreckage.

“Mrs. Miller and two of the children had been in the kitchen, where their bodies were found. Remains of the others were dug from ashes in the basement. The infant’s body was identified only because it still was in its crib….The last body was recovered before 10:30 a.m. At noon someone mercifully covered the bodies with a tarpaulin from a combine to await an ambulance….” (Bismarck Tribune, ND. “Seven Die in Fire at Tuttle.” 4-3-1954, p. 1.)

April 3: “Tuttle, N.D., April 3 (AP) – A farmer’s wife and six of her seven young children burned to death today in a fire that swept their farm home 12 miles northwest of Turtle. The seventh child, a 13-year-old son, suffered burns. Dead were Mrs. Elmer Miller, 33, and her children Sharon 11, Jean 10, Larry 8, Ronnie 7, Ailene 2, and Debbie, 8 months. Elmer Jr., 13, suffered face burns as he ran from the home to summon help. Miller, 37, was in the barn doing chores when the fire broke out. He and Elmer were being treated for shock. Cause of the blaze was not determined.” (Joplin Globe, MO. “Woman and Six Children Are Burned to Death.” 4-4-1954, p. 1.)

Sources

Bismarck Tribune, ND. “Seven Die in Fire at Tuttle.” 4-3-1954, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=13879307&sterm=tuttle+fire

Joplin Globe, MO. “Woman and Six Children Are Burned to Death.” 4-4-1954, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=3634317&sterm