A Fateful Christmas
The year was 1945, and it was the night before Christmas. George and Jennie Sodder were asleep, along with their nine children, when a fire started in their home at around 1:00 am. George and Jenny escaped with four of the kids: Sylvia (2), Marion (17), John (23), and George Jr. (16). The children that were left inside the home were Maurice (14), Martha (12), Louis (9), Jennie (8), and Betty (5).
Illustrative photograph. Source: 123rf / Drago Ilisinovic
The five of them shared two bedrooms, both on the second floor of the house. George ran back into the home to save the rest of his children, but the staircase was on fire. Not only that but when he went to get a ladder, it was missing. Furthermore, both of his coal trucks that he wanted to climb on to rescue the kids wouldn’t start.