Stay updated with breaking news from Earl wiegert. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Marla Cone had no time to get her coat that January morning. An explosion ripped through the Hotel Pathfinder and sent her tumbling into the basement, where the Fremont woman later feared she might drown. It was terrifying experience she still remembers 45 years later. Many local residents like Cone recall the natural gas explosion that tore through the grand six-story Hotel Pathfinder on Jan. 10, 1976. The blast claimed 20 lives and injured at least 40 more. No one knows what ignited the blast, but former owner, Boyd Hammond, told the Tribune years later a coupling popped off an underground plastic pipe, which had contracted each year as it froze during the winters, letting gas seep through the dirt under the street and into the hotel. ....
Earl Wiegert was cutting a customerâs hair when the Hotel Pathfinder exploded. It was Jan. 10, 1976 and the downtown Fremont barber had just closed the blinds of the shopâs windows to shield his customer from the bright Saturday morning sun. The blast broke windows, tore off the door and propelled Wiegert and his customer back across the shop. When Wiegert regained consciousness, his customer was gone. Still in shock, the customer had gone to another barber who finished his haircut. Wiegertâs son, John, was home when his dad, also in shock, came in the door â covered in dust, broken glass and small cuts. ....