The Steele Family (from left): Sheldon, 5; Robert, 18, father Lawrence Steele; Ida Frances; Opal, 15; Crystal, 9; and mother Gertrude Steele
Name also listed as Robert Lawrence Steele.
The Wenatchee World Newspaper Article
Sunday, May 15, 1994
By Steven B. Smith
In 1938, botulism killed two after family ate canned greens
On Wednesday, March 23, 1938, the Lawrence Steele family of Sunnyslope, sat down to a dinner that included home-canned beet greens. Mrs. Steele heated the greens, but did not boil them. The family members who ate dinner that night were Lawrence and Gertrude Steele and three of their children, Robert, 18, Opal, 15, and Crystal, 9. Two other children were away: Sheldon, 5, and Ida Frances, who was at business college.
On Thursday evening Lawrence Steele began to see double. "His throat felt queer and his legs were rubbery." The Daily World reported. "He did not connect his condition with anything he had eaten, however, and the family retired, none of them complaining, but none of them feeling entirely well.
On Friday morning Mr. and Mrs. Steele were ill, and of the children, only Robert felt well enough to go to school. "They all complained of seeing double, of the weakness in their limbs, and of queer throat sensations. None of them ate breakfast.
Then Mr. and Mrs. Steele and their two daughters went to see Dr. L.C. Miller, who immediately divined the cause of their illness: botulism.
Botulism is poisoning caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria cannot survive in air, but the spores can germinate in improperly sterilized canned foods. Without treatment the mortality rate is about 60 percent. Death is often the result of paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
Robert, who was having problems with his vision, was sent home from school, but refused to go to bed. "Instead, he went into the yard at home and split apple wood until virtually forced to bed by Dr. Miller. Even after he consented to lie down on a cot in the living room he would not stay quiet. He propped himself on an elbow, discussed things with friends and insisted, "If they'd just let me get up, I'd be all right."
By Friday night all were "desperately sick although Bob appeared to have the most resistance to the poison."
A call went out to Seattle for antitoxin, but none was available. A small supply was found in Portland. Major Guy Vale of Pearson Field, Vancouver, Wash., flew into Wenatchee with the serum on Friday afternoon.
But there was not enough of the antitoxin to go round "hardly enough for two." The decision was made to give the serum to Mr. and Mrs. Steele and to Opal, as Robert and Crystal were the least afflicted. The Steeles were not told of this decision.
On Saturday the World reported, "This morning, 9-year-old Crystal seemed much better. Mrs. Steele likewise said she felt better, while the father appeared about the same as last night. Opal, 15, was in critical condition, and Bob was slowly losing his fight to remain nonchalant."
Late Saturday night State Patrolman Vic Jones brought more antitoxin from Portland to Wenatchee. The 334 mile drive took five hours, 15 minutes. When he arrived Jones said, "Show me a bed."
On Sunday morning a Northwest Airlines plane made a special stop at Wenatchee to deliver more antitoxin, which had been flown to Seattle from Los Angeles.
On Sunday afternoon Robert was taken to the hospital. Just before he left he whispered to his aunt, "I guess it's got me. See if you can give me a little more air. I'm afraid it's all up with me."
Robert asked his aunt to stay with him at the hospital. A half hour later, he died, after lapsing into a coma.
So as not to discourage them in their fight for life, other members of the Steele family were not told of Robert's death, only that he was in the hospital. Only Ida Frances, who had been away at business college, knew of his death.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, Crystal, 9 died.
Karl Stoffel wrote in the World: "Earlier in the evening Crystal was better. She had regained her speech. Her pulse rate, which had been so fast as to be uncountable, slowed. She called to her mother and to her daddy in the next room, and she smiled at her nursing aunt, Mrs. T.J. [Edith] Barnhart, and at her friend Dr. Miller. Even he had allowed himself to hope that she was winning.
"But Crystal wasn't winning. It was only another of the cruelly false actions of the poison. In spite of her smile . . . that smile which she proudly told her aunt would make her well . . . she lapsed into quiet and then into death. Crystal thought that crying would make her sicker. She thought that if she smiled it would help her to get well. Someone told her that and she remembered. She was smiling when she died.
"Her tiny form was wrapped in a sheet. She, too, was taken to the ‘hospital.' Her parents did not know that she too has gone away . . . .
"In and out of the big house this morning ran a tow-headed tyke of five. He is Sheldon, youngest of the five children. He wasn't home the night the beet top greens were served at family supper. He was visiting. He knows his "mom" and "dad" are sick, but he doesn't know how sick. He knows, too, that ‘brother' and Crystal have gone to the ‘hospital.' But he's more interested in his rabbits and in all the cars that come and go, and in the thousand other things that happen every day than he is in people who are sick.
Mr. and Mrs. Steele had been constantly asking, "How is Robert? How is Crystal?" and by Thursday, March 31, they were sufficiently recovered to be told of their deaths. Sadly, Robert and Crystal had not been given any of the initial dose of the antitoxin because they appeared to be the least stricken.
A week later a private service was held at the Steele home for Robert and Crystal. The parents attended in wheelchairs. Opal was in bed, still very ill. Public services were held in the afternoon at the Jones and Jones chapel. Ninety places were set aside for students of Sunnyslope High School.
Local residents donated $535 to a fund for the Steele family.
(Obituary contributed by Ed Barnhart)
Name: Robert L. Steele
Death Date: 27 Mar 1938
Death Place: Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington
Gender: Male
Age at Death: 19 years 4 months 11 days
Estimated Birth Year: 1919
Father's Name: Lawrence R. Steele
Mother's Name: Gertrude Ingle
Film Number: 2023564
Digital GS Number: 4222816
Image Number: 2112
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: 42
(Death Certificate information contributed by Teresa.)
Name also listed as Robert Lawrence Steele.
The Wenatchee World Newspaper Article
Sunday, May 15, 1994
By Steven B. Smith
In 1938, botulism killed two after family ate canned greens
On Wednesday, March 23, 1938, the Lawrence Steele family of Sunnyslope, sat down to a dinner that included home-canned beet greens. Mrs. Steele heated the greens, but did not boil them. The family members who ate dinner that night were Lawrence and Gertrude Steele and three of their children, Robert, 18, Opal, 15, and Crystal, 9. Two other children were away: Sheldon, 5, and Ida Frances, who was at business college.
On Thursday evening Lawrence Steele began to see double. "His throat felt queer and his legs were rubbery." The Daily World reported. "He did not connect his condition with anything he had eaten, however, and the family retired, none of them complaining, but none of them feeling entirely well.
On Friday morning Mr. and Mrs. Steele were ill, and of the children, only Robert felt well enough to go to school. "They all complained of seeing double, of the weakness in their limbs, and of queer throat sensations. None of them ate breakfast.
Then Mr. and Mrs. Steele and their two daughters went to see Dr. L.C. Miller, who immediately divined the cause of their illness: botulism.
Botulism is poisoning caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria cannot survive in air, but the spores can germinate in improperly sterilized canned foods. Without treatment the mortality rate is about 60 percent. Death is often the result of paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
Robert, who was having problems with his vision, was sent home from school, but refused to go to bed. "Instead, he went into the yard at home and split apple wood until virtually forced to bed by Dr. Miller. Even after he consented to lie down on a cot in the living room he would not stay quiet. He propped himself on an elbow, discussed things with friends and insisted, "If they'd just let me get up, I'd be all right."
By Friday night all were "desperately sick although Bob appeared to have the most resistance to the poison."
A call went out to Seattle for antitoxin, but none was available. A small supply was found in Portland. Major Guy Vale of Pearson Field, Vancouver, Wash., flew into Wenatchee with the serum on Friday afternoon.
But there was not enough of the antitoxin to go round "hardly enough for two." The decision was made to give the serum to Mr. and Mrs. Steele and to Opal, as Robert and Crystal were the least afflicted. The Steeles were not told of this decision.
On Saturday the World reported, "This morning, 9-year-old Crystal seemed much better. Mrs. Steele likewise said she felt better, while the father appeared about the same as last night. Opal, 15, was in critical condition, and Bob was slowly losing his fight to remain nonchalant."
Late Saturday night State Patrolman Vic Jones brought more antitoxin from Portland to Wenatchee. The 334 mile drive took five hours, 15 minutes. When he arrived Jones said, "Show me a bed."
On Sunday morning a Northwest Airlines plane made a special stop at Wenatchee to deliver more antitoxin, which had been flown to Seattle from Los Angeles.
On Sunday afternoon Robert was taken to the hospital. Just before he left he whispered to his aunt, "I guess it's got me. See if you can give me a little more air. I'm afraid it's all up with me."
Robert asked his aunt to stay with him at the hospital. A half hour later, he died, after lapsing into a coma.
So as not to discourage them in their fight for life, other members of the Steele family were not told of Robert's death, only that he was in the hospital. Only Ida Frances, who had been away at business college, knew of his death.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, Crystal, 9 died.
Karl Stoffel wrote in the World: "Earlier in the evening Crystal was better. She had regained her speech. Her pulse rate, which had been so fast as to be uncountable, slowed. She called to her mother and to her daddy in the next room, and she smiled at her nursing aunt, Mrs. T.J. [Edith] Barnhart, and at her friend Dr. Miller. Even he had allowed himself to hope that she was winning.
"But Crystal wasn't winning. It was only another of the cruelly false actions of the poison. In spite of her smile . . . that smile which she proudly told her aunt would make her well . . . she lapsed into quiet and then into death. Crystal thought that crying would make her sicker. She thought that if she smiled it would help her to get well. Someone told her that and she remembered. She was smiling when she died.
"Her tiny form was wrapped in a sheet. She, too, was taken to the ‘hospital.' Her parents did not know that she too has gone away . . . .
"In and out of the big house this morning ran a tow-headed tyke of five. He is Sheldon, youngest of the five children. He wasn't home the night the beet top greens were served at family supper. He was visiting. He knows his "mom" and "dad" are sick, but he doesn't know how sick. He knows, too, that ‘brother' and Crystal have gone to the ‘hospital.' But he's more interested in his rabbits and in all the cars that come and go, and in the thousand other things that happen every day than he is in people who are sick.
Mr. and Mrs. Steele had been constantly asking, "How is Robert? How is Crystal?" and by Thursday, March 31, they were sufficiently recovered to be told of their deaths. Sadly, Robert and Crystal had not been given any of the initial dose of the antitoxin because they appeared to be the least stricken.
A week later a private service was held at the Steele home for Robert and Crystal. The parents attended in wheelchairs. Opal was in bed, still very ill. Public services were held in the afternoon at the Jones and Jones chapel. Ninety places were set aside for students of Sunnyslope High School.
Local residents donated $535 to a fund for the Steele family.
(Obituary contributed by Ed Barnhart)
Name: Robert L. Steele
Death Date: 27 Mar 1938
Death Place: Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington
Gender: Male
Age at Death: 19 years 4 months 11 days
Estimated Birth Year: 1919
Father's Name: Lawrence R. Steele
Mother's Name: Gertrude Ingle
Film Number: 2023564
Digital GS Number: 4222816
Image Number: 2112
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: 42
(Death Certificate information contributed by Teresa.)
The Steele Family (from left): Sheldon, 5; Robert, 18, father Lawrence Steele; Ida Frances; Opal, 15; Crystal, 9; and mother Gertrude Steele
Name also listed as Robert Lawrence Steele.
The Wenatchee World Newspaper Article
Sunday, May 15, 1994
By Steven B. Smith
In 1938, botulism killed two after family ate canned greens
On Wednesday, March 23, 1938, the Lawrence Steele family of Sunnyslope, sat down to a dinner that included home-canned beet greens. Mrs. Steele heated the greens, but did not boil them. The family members who ate dinner that night were Lawrence and Gertrude Steele and three of their children, Robert, 18, Opal, 15, and Crystal, 9. Two other children were away: Sheldon, 5, and Ida Frances, who was at business college.
On Thursday evening Lawrence Steele began to see double. "His throat felt queer and his legs were rubbery." The Daily World reported. "He did not connect his condition with anything he had eaten, however, and the family retired, none of them complaining, but none of them feeling entirely well.
On Friday morning Mr. and Mrs. Steele were ill, and of the children, only Robert felt well enough to go to school. "They all complained of seeing double, of the weakness in their limbs, and of queer throat sensations. None of them ate breakfast.
Then Mr. and Mrs. Steele and their two daughters went to see Dr. L.C. Miller, who immediately divined the cause of their illness: botulism.
Botulism is poisoning caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria cannot survive in air, but the spores can germinate in improperly sterilized canned foods. Without treatment the mortality rate is about 60 percent. Death is often the result of paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
Robert, who was having problems with his vision, was sent home from school, but refused to go to bed. "Instead, he went into the yard at home and split apple wood until virtually forced to bed by Dr. Miller. Even after he consented to lie down on a cot in the living room he would not stay quiet. He propped himself on an elbow, discussed things with friends and insisted, "If they'd just let me get up, I'd be all right."
By Friday night all were "desperately sick although Bob appeared to have the most resistance to the poison."
A call went out to Seattle for antitoxin, but none was available. A small supply was found in Portland. Major Guy Vale of Pearson Field, Vancouver, Wash., flew into Wenatchee with the serum on Friday afternoon.
But there was not enough of the antitoxin to go round "hardly enough for two." The decision was made to give the serum to Mr. and Mrs. Steele and to Opal, as Robert and Crystal were the least afflicted. The Steeles were not told of this decision.
On Saturday the World reported, "This morning, 9-year-old Crystal seemed much better. Mrs. Steele likewise said she felt better, while the father appeared about the same as last night. Opal, 15, was in critical condition, and Bob was slowly losing his fight to remain nonchalant."
Late Saturday night State Patrolman Vic Jones brought more antitoxin from Portland to Wenatchee. The 334 mile drive took five hours, 15 minutes. When he arrived Jones said, "Show me a bed."
On Sunday morning a Northwest Airlines plane made a special stop at Wenatchee to deliver more antitoxin, which had been flown to Seattle from Los Angeles.
On Sunday afternoon Robert was taken to the hospital. Just before he left he whispered to his aunt, "I guess it's got me. See if you can give me a little more air. I'm afraid it's all up with me."
Robert asked his aunt to stay with him at the hospital. A half hour later, he died, after lapsing into a coma.
So as not to discourage them in their fight for life, other members of the Steele family were not told of Robert's death, only that he was in the hospital. Only Ida Frances, who had been away at business college, knew of his death.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, Crystal, 9 died.
Karl Stoffel wrote in the World: "Earlier in the evening Crystal was better. She had regained her speech. Her pulse rate, which had been so fast as to be uncountable, slowed. She called to her mother and to her daddy in the next room, and she smiled at her nursing aunt, Mrs. T.J. [Edith] Barnhart, and at her friend Dr. Miller. Even he had allowed himself to hope that she was winning.
"But Crystal wasn't winning. It was only another of the cruelly false actions of the poison. In spite of her smile . . . that smile which she proudly told her aunt would make her well . . . she lapsed into quiet and then into death. Crystal thought that crying would make her sicker. She thought that if she smiled it would help her to get well. Someone told her that and she remembered. She was smiling when she died.
"Her tiny form was wrapped in a sheet. She, too, was taken to the ‘hospital.' Her parents did not know that she too has gone away . . . .
"In and out of the big house this morning ran a tow-headed tyke of five. He is Sheldon, youngest of the five children. He wasn't home the night the beet top greens were served at family supper. He was visiting. He knows his "mom" and "dad" are sick, but he doesn't know how sick. He knows, too, that ‘brother' and Crystal have gone to the ‘hospital.' But he's more interested in his rabbits and in all the cars that come and go, and in the thousand other things that happen every day than he is in people who are sick.
Mr. and Mrs. Steele had been constantly asking, "How is Robert? How is Crystal?" and by Thursday, March 31, they were sufficiently recovered to be told of their deaths. Sadly, Robert and Crystal had not been given any of the initial dose of the antitoxin because they appeared to be the least stricken.
A week later a private service was held at the Steele home for Robert and Crystal. The parents attended in wheelchairs. Opal was in bed, still very ill. Public services were held in the afternoon at the Jones and Jones chapel. Ninety places were set aside for students of Sunnyslope High School.
Local residents donated $535 to a fund for the Steele family.
(Obituary contributed by Ed Barnhart)
Name: Robert L. Steele
Death Date: 27 Mar 1938
Death Place: Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington
Gender: Male
Age at Death: 19 years 4 months 11 days
Estimated Birth Year: 1919
Father's Name: Lawrence R. Steele
Mother's Name: Gertrude Ingle
Film Number: 2023564
Digital GS Number: 4222816
Image Number: 2112
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: 42
(Death Certificate information contributed by Teresa.)
Name also listed as Robert Lawrence Steele.
The Wenatchee World Newspaper Article
Sunday, May 15, 1994
By Steven B. Smith
In 1938, botulism killed two after family ate canned greens
On Wednesday, March 23, 1938, the Lawrence Steele family of Sunnyslope, sat down to a dinner that included home-canned beet greens. Mrs. Steele heated the greens, but did not boil them. The family members who ate dinner that night were Lawrence and Gertrude Steele and three of their children, Robert, 18, Opal, 15, and Crystal, 9. Two other children were away: Sheldon, 5, and Ida Frances, who was at business college.
On Thursday evening Lawrence Steele began to see double. "His throat felt queer and his legs were rubbery." The Daily World reported. "He did not connect his condition with anything he had eaten, however, and the family retired, none of them complaining, but none of them feeling entirely well.
On Friday morning Mr. and Mrs. Steele were ill, and of the children, only Robert felt well enough to go to school. "They all complained of seeing double, of the weakness in their limbs, and of queer throat sensations. None of them ate breakfast.
Then Mr. and Mrs. Steele and their two daughters went to see Dr. L.C. Miller, who immediately divined the cause of their illness: botulism.
Botulism is poisoning caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The bacteria cannot survive in air, but the spores can germinate in improperly sterilized canned foods. Without treatment the mortality rate is about 60 percent. Death is often the result of paralysis of the respiratory muscles.
Robert, who was having problems with his vision, was sent home from school, but refused to go to bed. "Instead, he went into the yard at home and split apple wood until virtually forced to bed by Dr. Miller. Even after he consented to lie down on a cot in the living room he would not stay quiet. He propped himself on an elbow, discussed things with friends and insisted, "If they'd just let me get up, I'd be all right."
By Friday night all were "desperately sick although Bob appeared to have the most resistance to the poison."
A call went out to Seattle for antitoxin, but none was available. A small supply was found in Portland. Major Guy Vale of Pearson Field, Vancouver, Wash., flew into Wenatchee with the serum on Friday afternoon.
But there was not enough of the antitoxin to go round "hardly enough for two." The decision was made to give the serum to Mr. and Mrs. Steele and to Opal, as Robert and Crystal were the least afflicted. The Steeles were not told of this decision.
On Saturday the World reported, "This morning, 9-year-old Crystal seemed much better. Mrs. Steele likewise said she felt better, while the father appeared about the same as last night. Opal, 15, was in critical condition, and Bob was slowly losing his fight to remain nonchalant."
Late Saturday night State Patrolman Vic Jones brought more antitoxin from Portland to Wenatchee. The 334 mile drive took five hours, 15 minutes. When he arrived Jones said, "Show me a bed."
On Sunday morning a Northwest Airlines plane made a special stop at Wenatchee to deliver more antitoxin, which had been flown to Seattle from Los Angeles.
On Sunday afternoon Robert was taken to the hospital. Just before he left he whispered to his aunt, "I guess it's got me. See if you can give me a little more air. I'm afraid it's all up with me."
Robert asked his aunt to stay with him at the hospital. A half hour later, he died, after lapsing into a coma.
So as not to discourage them in their fight for life, other members of the Steele family were not told of Robert's death, only that he was in the hospital. Only Ida Frances, who had been away at business college, knew of his death.
Shortly after 9 p.m. on Monday, Crystal, 9 died.
Karl Stoffel wrote in the World: "Earlier in the evening Crystal was better. She had regained her speech. Her pulse rate, which had been so fast as to be uncountable, slowed. She called to her mother and to her daddy in the next room, and she smiled at her nursing aunt, Mrs. T.J. [Edith] Barnhart, and at her friend Dr. Miller. Even he had allowed himself to hope that she was winning.
"But Crystal wasn't winning. It was only another of the cruelly false actions of the poison. In spite of her smile . . . that smile which she proudly told her aunt would make her well . . . she lapsed into quiet and then into death. Crystal thought that crying would make her sicker. She thought that if she smiled it would help her to get well. Someone told her that and she remembered. She was smiling when she died.
"Her tiny form was wrapped in a sheet. She, too, was taken to the ‘hospital.' Her parents did not know that she too has gone away . . . .
"In and out of the big house this morning ran a tow-headed tyke of five. He is Sheldon, youngest of the five children. He wasn't home the night the beet top greens were served at family supper. He was visiting. He knows his "mom" and "dad" are sick, but he doesn't know how sick. He knows, too, that ‘brother' and Crystal have gone to the ‘hospital.' But he's more interested in his rabbits and in all the cars that come and go, and in the thousand other things that happen every day than he is in people who are sick.
Mr. and Mrs. Steele had been constantly asking, "How is Robert? How is Crystal?" and by Thursday, March 31, they were sufficiently recovered to be told of their deaths. Sadly, Robert and Crystal had not been given any of the initial dose of the antitoxin because they appeared to be the least stricken.
A week later a private service was held at the Steele home for Robert and Crystal. The parents attended in wheelchairs. Opal was in bed, still very ill. Public services were held in the afternoon at the Jones and Jones chapel. Ninety places were set aside for students of Sunnyslope High School.
Local residents donated $535 to a fund for the Steele family.
(Obituary contributed by Ed Barnhart)
Name: Robert L. Steele
Death Date: 27 Mar 1938
Death Place: Wenatchee, Chelan, Washington
Gender: Male
Age at Death: 19 years 4 months 11 days
Estimated Birth Year: 1919
Father's Name: Lawrence R. Steele
Mother's Name: Gertrude Ingle
Film Number: 2023564
Digital GS Number: 4222816
Image Number: 2112
Volume/Page/Certificate Number: 42
(Death Certificate information contributed by Teresa.)
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