Six Fan Fics - 2. The Kitchener Ironworks Disaster

From: It by Stephen King (Derry: The First Interlude)

The Kitchener Ironworks Disaster

It was a pleasantly warm April fifteenth in Derry, Maine. The year was 1906 and it was Easter Sunday. Theodore Roosevelt was serving as the twenty-sixth president, Charles Warren Fairbanks was the vice president, and Joseph Gurney Cannon was the Speaker of the House of Representatives. There had been a landslide on January eighth in Haverstaw, in New York state, in which twenty one people had lost their lives, and the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity had been founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio four weeks previous. The day before had seen the start of the Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles, California by William J. Seymour which led to the eventual birth of the Pentecostal Movement in Christianity.

An Easter egg hunt had been arranged by the three generations of the Kitchener family who worked at the ironworks for all the children of Derry. There were five hundred chocolate eggs scattered around the twelve thousand square metres of floor space that comprised the ironworks, and as difficult as it was to imagine, it looked as though there were more children than there were eggs.

After everybody in town had attended Easter service at their local church they all headed to the Ironworks; whether or not they had children. The Kitcheners had set up a huge Easter picnic in the grounds of the ironworks so that the adults would be comfy while their little ones ran though the ironworks trying to find the eggs. The chocolate Easter eggs were wrapped in ribbons of all colours and materials, many were in small Easter baskets that had been homemade by old man Kitchener’s wife and eldest daughter, and they were all scattered around what had been deemed to be the safe areas of the works.

Some of the areas of the ironworks had been cordoned off, and adults were stations by all of the cordons to prevent enquiring young minds from exploring. These cordoned off areas were areas where those who worked there had to follow several safety protocols to be allowed into those areas, so it was decided that those areas should be off limits; even though the entire ironworks had been powered down to allow the egg hunt to take place, nobody wanted to take any risks with the children’s health and wellbeing.

As eleven thirty approached Michael Kitchener, one of the younger members of the family, got up on stage to announce the run down for the Easter egg hunt.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and children, welcome to the Kitchener Ironworks on this lovely Easter Sunday. We have hidden five hundred chocolate Easter eggs inside the ironworks and they could be anywhere. There are a few areas that have been blocked off and you won’t be allowed into those areas, but don’t worry none of the eggs have been hidden in any of those areas. There will be a number of adults in the ironworks who will ensure that the children don’t get into any of these areas.

“The hunt will begin at twelve noon sharp and the hunt will finish at four o’clock; whether or not all of the chocolate eggs have been found. Since there are a large number of children here today can we please ask that no child takes more than two eggs.”

The parents sat around with their kids and enjoyed the start of the picnic. As twelve noon rolled around, the start of the Easter egg hunt was announced. All of the children started running into the ironworks, and they ran here and there and everywhere in search of the chocolaty goodness.

Most of the kids were dressed in their best clothes, what with it being Easter and the fact that they had all come to the ironworks directly from church; but none of them allowed that to curb their enthusiasm. Many of the boys were wearing white shirts, trousers and their best shoes; whilst many of the girls were wearing pink or yellow dresses and patent leather shoes, and many of them were wearing homemade Easter bonnets. Within half an hour of the hunt starting, the boys’ white shirts were dust-covered, the girls’ dresses had rips where they had been caught on bits of machinery, and most of the kids’ shoes were now scuffed.

The kids found eggs hidden under machinery, hidden in machinery, hidden in offices and hidden on top of cupboards. They ran all over the ironworks and a few adventurous kids even tried to slip by the cordon; but the adults on duty were more than up to the challenge of controlling the children.

A few kids had found their two eggs after about an hour of hunting and went to meet up with their parents and family. After resting for a little, they went back to hunting eggs after promising that they wouldn’t actually take any of the eggs that they found.

It was around two o’clock when some of the kids started complaining that they were really struggling to find the Easter eggs; seems old man Kitchener and his wife had really done a good job with hiding the eggs; perhaps too good of a job. So a few of the adults decided to lend the kids a helping hand, and before very much longer hidden Easter eggs were being found left, right and centre. The kids began celebrating their finds; a few even sat down and started eating their eggs on the spot.

Around three o’clock many of the kids had either tired of trying to find the remaining Easter eggs, or they had already found their allotted two eggs and had tired of running around looking for eggs they knew they wouldn’t be able to claim. These kids all rejoined their families in the picnic area and started eating the food that the Kitcheners had provided; many of them were starving as they hadn’t eaten since breakfast.

At three fifteen, there was a large explosion. The ground shook, dust and debris were flung high into the air, and those nearest the ironworks were hit with a concussion wave so strong they were knocked over. There were three more very large and very loud explosions, and people in the picnic area were hit with shrapnel that had been ejected from the ironworks and high into the air, before falling back to the earth like rain.

Many of those in attendance then realised that a large number of the children were still inside hunting for Easter eggs. In spite of the obvious risks to themselves, every able bodied adult joined the Kitcheners as they formed a rescue party and went in to look for survivors.

They found a few children close to the ironworks entrance. The kids had their chocolate eggs with them and were obviously about to rejoin their families when the explosion happened. Paramedics had just arrived and begin tending to those children; children who, although seriously hurt, were by the grace of God Almighty, still alive. Those initial nine children were sadly the only ones pulled out alive.

Once the rescue party decided to call an end to the search for the day, it had gotten dark outside and they had all seen more than anybody should ever have to see, and they had pulled out seventy two corpses; four adults, thirty two boys and thirty six girls. The identification process had been traumatic and disturbing; arms and legs had been severed, bits of machinery had become embedded in skulls, driven in by sheer force of the explosions, and all of the bodies were covered in drying and congealing blood.

The search continued for another two days. By the time the entire ironworks had been searched, a further twelve girls, seven boys and ten adults had been found; all dead. These were the worst of the mangled bodies, as they had been deepest inside the ironworks at the time of the explosions.

The next day, Wednesday April the eighteenth, Mrs Clovers was out in her garden sitting underneath her apple tree when she looked up, and found the head of nine year old Robert Dohay; and Mrs Clovers lived over a mile and half away from the ironworks. All they ever found of Robert Dohay was his head; his mouth was smeared in chocolate and his hair was caked thick with blood. In spite of a massive search throughout the town of Derry, and the sewer systems beneath the city, his body was never found.

Robert Dohay was the last of the confirmed dead. The biggest disaster in Derry’s disaster ridden history had claimed the lives of eighty eight children and fourteen adults; a total of one hundred and two dead.

It took nearly two weeks for the townsfolk to hold all one hundred and two funerals. There had been talk of doubling and tripling up on the funerals, to get services performed quicker; but eventually, against a lot of protestation, every single family had their chance to say goodbye to their loved ones in a private service.

At the time of writing, eight children and one adult still remain missing; no trace of them has ever been found.