Big boom shakes small town
TAYLOR - A big boom shook the small town of Taylor last Tuesday when a two-story building on Murray Street exploded.
A few minutes before 4 p.m. Oct. 19, Loup County Rural Fire responded to a explosion on the north side of the park. The blast completely destroyed one building, severely damaged the post office next door and caused damages to other building around the park.
Debris was thrown on to Murray Street and in to the park across the street. Bricks littered the street and chunks of wood, shards of glass and other items were scattered across the northern half of the park. An air con- ditioning unit said to be from the roof of the post office was also thrown into the park.
The building where the explosion occurred was once a restuarant and later a grocery store. Most recently it had been used as a residence. No one was in the building at the time nor was anyone at the post office.
Wade VanDiest said the building is owned by his grandson, Chris VanDiest. “They moved out a few weeks ago,” VanDiest told the Chief Wednesday, Oct. 20.
The elder VanDiest was at his home in Taylor when the explosion occurred. He said his first thought was that somebody had ran into his house with a car. “It shook the house. It was quite a boom,” he said.
Several people said they had never heard a sound like what they heard that day.
Marlene Camphaus was at work at Union Bank and Trust, less than a block away. “I said, ‘What was that?’ and someone said, ‘The grocery store is gone.’ It was that fast,”
she said. “I hope to never hear it again,” she added.
Cindy Goos, who also works at the bank but was home at the time, said it sounded like sonic boom.
“I felt it and I heard it. it was huge. I don’t ever want to hear it again. It gave me chills.” She said she and her husband got in the car and it didn’t take them long to find the location as they saw the cloud of dust and drove towards it.
The post office sustained considerable damage. Windows were shattered and tiles and insulation hung from the ceiling. Taylor residents with post office boxes have to pick up their mail in Burwell for the time being.
Camphaus and Goos said there are usually children playing in the park. “We’re fortunate that there were no kids in the park,” Camphaus said. “And it was a nice day, too.”
On Wednesday, Oct. 20, bicycles were still caught in the building’s frame and a large piece of fabric
whipped in the brisk breeze from broken and bare tree branches. Personal items such as tennis shoes, clothing and record albums were strewn about.
The sidewalk directly in front of the post office was covered with shards of glass. Yellow caution tape was draped across the mailbox outside the post office.
A block-long length of Murray street was marked with yellow caution tape as well as the northern part of the park and the alley behind the building. Overcast skies, a few puddles and a brisk wind Wednesday afternoon added to the feel that it looked very much like a targeted tornado strike.
There was no smoke from the explosion, however, people reported a cloud dust. Camphaus said there was no falling debris, everything happened quickly.
Nine-year-old Allyson Starr was with her mother, Loup County Treasurer at the Loup County Courthouse on the west
side of the park at the time. “It was the biggest boom I’ve ever heard,” Allyson said. She reported potted plants on the window ledge at the courthouse fell to the floor. “I hear the boom and saw the big dust cloud.”
Allyson also said two chickens survived the explosion, saying they were housed between the vacant building and the post office. “They were running around afterwards,” she said.
On Wednesday, the north windows of the Lazy D Bar and Restaurant, a full block south across the park, were boarded up after being broken by the explosion. Deborah Starr said the awning at the courthouse was damaged and that the roof of the livestock barn (on the west side of the destroyed building) was lifted up by the explosion. “The soffit is gone,” she said.
People heard the explosion at the Corner Stop, about a mile and a half distant. Camphaus and Goos said they heard
ranchers near Calamus Reservoir noticed cattle reacting to something. There are unofficial reports of something being heard as far as 20 miles away.
There is concern about the future of the Taylor Post Office. Whether or not the building can be repaired and used again is unknown at this time.
Loup County Sheriff Dustin Spanel said the investigation is being handled by the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office. Last Wednesday, two
investigators could be seen moving about the debris at what used to be the rear of the building. On Tuesday morning, Oct. 26, the State Fire Marshall had not yet released the cause of the explosion. The investigation is ongoing. There were no injuries or deaths.
In 2010, the population of Taylor was 190.
“We were just lucky no one was hurt,” Camphaus said. She shook her head and added, “Stuff like this isn’t supposed to happen in Taylor.”