YOUTHS DIE IN BLAZE.

BODIES OF FOUR FOUND IN EDENGURG RUINS THIS MORNING.

BELIEVE THAT EDENBURG AND HILLSVILLE BROTHERS ARE EXPLOSION VICTIMS.

ZARELLO AND RETORT BROTHERS ARE MISSING AFTER RETURN FROM YOUNGSTOWN -- ZARELLO AUTO NEAR SCENE -- BODIES ARE BURNED BEYOND RECOGNITION -- EXPLOSION HEARD ALL OVER EDENBURG -- OLD STATION USED FOR GASOLINE STORAGE AND FOR HOUSING OF RAILROAD EQUIPMENT.

Four young men lost their lieves in a terrific gasoline explosion which wreck the old Pennsylvania railroad station at Edenburg, about 2 o'clock this morning.
Following the explosion, which shook the entire town, the station burst into flames and was burned to the ground. The charred bodies of the young men were not found until after the blaze was practically out, when the gruesome discovery was made by railroad men who had been sent to repair fallen telegraph wires.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in securing any identification of the bodies, but according to investigation made by Coroner J. P. CALDWELL, the dead men are believed to be:
DOMINICK ZARELLO, aged 18, of Hillsville.
LOUIS ZARELLO, aged 21, of Hillsville.
SAMUEL RETORT, aged 21, of Edenburg.
NICK RETORT, aged 19, of Edenburg.
The ZARELLO boys are brothers, being sons of MR. and MRS. JAMES ZARELLO of Hillsville. The RETORT boys are also brothers and are the sons of MRS. ROSIE RETORT of Edenburg. They have a step father, LOUIS RETORT.
Bodies of all four were so badly burned that it was impossible to identify them by sight. The only way that the identification could be made was by checking up on who was missing. A clue was given by a Dodge sedan, which was found parked about one hundred yards from the station. In the car there was found a driver's license card bearing the name of JAMES ZARELLO.

Station Is Burned.
Coroner J. P. CALDWELL received a call for Pennsylvania railroad officials about 6:30 this morning. He was informed that the Pennsylvania station at Edenburg had been burned and that is was believed that several persons had lost their lives in the fire. Coroner CALDWELL left at once for Edenburg and upon arriving there found the smouldering ruins of the station, surrounded by a big crowd of men, women and children. Railroad employes were throwing water on the red hot embers. Near the west end of the ruins were the wrecks of two small hand cars, and alongside there were some black objects, which were believed to be human bodies. After considerable water had been carried and thrown over the burning coals it was possible to reach in with poles and two bodies were uncovered. Soon after a third and a fourth were uncovered.

Only Torsos Remain.
The arms, legs, and heads were burned off, and only the charred and blackened torsos remained. In the meantime the Pennsylvania company had sent an ambulance to the scene of the fire. When the men with stretchers arrived a bridgework of planks was thrown in to the bodies. Workmen placed shovels under them and they were put on stretchers and placed in the ambulance.
W. H. RODGERS of the Pennsylvania police force arrived about the same time as the coroner and at the latter's suggestion RODGERS went to Hillsville to locate JAMES ZARELLO, whose license card had been found in the sedan. Sheriff FRANK JOHNSTON arrived soon after RODGERS had departed, and also went to Hillsville.

Brothers Missing.
RODGERS had considerable trouble in finding out whether or not the ZARELLO boys had been at home last night several stories being given him, before the truth was learned. He finally located FELIX ZARELLO, a son of JAMES ZARELLO. FELIX said that his brothers were not at home. FELIX was brought to the scene of the disaster.
When questioned by Coroner CALDWELL, he said that he had been out with his two brothers, DOMINICK and LOUIS, and SAMUEL and NICK RETORT last night. The ZARELLO boys had left in the Dodge car early Friday evening and had gone to Edenburg where they had picked up the RETORT boys. They had then driven to Youngstown where they attended a party or dance. FELIX was unable to tell at whose house the dance had been held or on what street.

Last Heard Of Them.
He said that they had started back to Hillsville sometime after midnight. It was about 1 o'clock this morning when they arrived at Hillsville. FELIX had got out of the car and gone home. DOMINICK and LOUIS went on to take the RETORT boys home. That was the last that he had seen of them. He found that his brothers were not at home this morning, but had made no investigation before Policeman RODGERS arrived.
There was no way that he could make a positive identification of the bodies, except by the fact that his brothers were missing. A few shreds of clothing was found under the bodies, also a small vanity case, several belt buckles and a revolver. The revolver was a 22 calibre. The handles were burned off. There were two shells in the gun, but the heat had exploded them, so that the shells were empty. There was also part of a third shell the top of it being burned off. It is not yet known to whom the revolver belonged.

Awakened By Explosion.
According to the story told by J. W. LEEPER, of Edenburg, it was shortly after 2 o'clock this morning when he was awakened by a terrific explosion. Looking out he saw the station on fire. Dressing hastily he ran to the station, and observing that some of the telegraph wires were down, he ran down the east bound track and flagged a freight train which was approaching.
L. M. HOFFMEISTER, Pennsylvania foreman, arrived soon after. By this time the station was a mass of flames and the fire was melting a string of telegraph wires. He ran to a telephone used by the company but the wires had been burned off. He finally got a communication through the Pennsylvania offices at the junction through a private telephone.
Running back to the burning station he found that lock had been broken off one of the doors. He also found three or four gasoline cans, which he says did not belong to the station.

Storage Place For Gas.
The station was formerly used for passengers, but lately it has been used simply as a place to store gasoline, hand cars and machinery. There were several barrels of gasoline stored in the station.
It was near where these gasoline containers were kept that the bodies of the four young men were found. It is believed that they must have struck a match or had lighted a cigarette, which set gasoline fumes on fire and caused the explosion.

All Four Together.
One peculiarity in the finding of the bodies was that they were practically together. There was one body lying over another in one place and about two feet away another body lying over another. This would seem to indicate that the men fell where they were standing when the explosion occurred and that they were rendered unconscious by the shock.
One of the complications that will probably arise out of the situation is the identification of the young men. With the bodies burned to a crisp it is going to be hard to tell which are the RETORT boys and which are the ZARELLO boys. Friends are expected here this afternoon to try to determine the question.

New Castle News Pennsylvania 1930-02-22
__________________

Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!