Bessie H. Campbell, 103, of Pleasant Unity, died Monday, March 10, 2014, at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. She was born Dec. 18, 1910, in Unity Township, a daughter of the late Harry L. and Pearl (Wagner) Hudson. Bess was likely the last remaining survivor of the Big Fire of Pleasant Unity. She was seven years old when awakened at 5 a.m. by Mr. Ben Love riding horseback shouting that the town was on fire. The wind driven fire consumed multiple businesses and left 12 families homeless, only being stopped four hours later by local coal miners who placed a box of dynamite inside the cupboard of Bessie's home, reducing it to rubble to stop the fire. She was a graduate of Latrobe High School, class of 1929, had been a member of the former St. Luke's Reformed Church, Pleasant Unity, and wrote a local column in the Latrobe Bulletin for more than 10 years. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her first husband, Harold R. Reese; her second husband, Robert L. Campbell; a stepson, Robert E. Campbell; five brothers, Edwin E., Fred W., Harry M., John P. and William A. Hudson; and her sister, Helen Welty.
Bessie H. Campbell, 103, of Pleasant Unity, died Monday, March 10, 2014, at Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. She was born Dec. 18, 1910, in Unity Township, a daughter of the late Harry L. and Pearl (Wagner) Hudson. Bess was likely the last remaining survivor of the Big Fire of Pleasant Unity. She was seven years old when awakened at 5 a.m. by Mr. Ben Love riding horseback shouting that the town was on fire. The wind driven fire consumed multiple businesses and left 12 families homeless, only being stopped four hours later by local coal miners who placed a box of dynamite inside the cupboard of Bessie's home, reducing it to rubble to stop the fire. She was a graduate of Latrobe High School, class of 1929, had been a member of the former St. Luke's Reformed Church, Pleasant Unity, and wrote a local column in the Latrobe Bulletin for more than 10 years. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her first husband, Harold R. Reese; her second husband, Robert L. Campbell; a stepson, Robert E. Campbell; five brothers, Edwin E., Fred W., Harry M., John P. and William A. Hudson; and her sister, Helen Welty.
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