Martha Paul had been the choir director at the West Side Baptist Church in Beatrice, Nebraska since 1920. Martha was very strict about everyone being at practice on time. It was a very rare occasion that anyone was late.
At 4:30 On March 1, 1950, Pastor Walter Klempl went to the church and lit the furnace. It was Wednesday, on Wednesday's the church had choir practice at 7:25. It was a very cold day and the pastor wanted the church to be warm for practice.
At 7:27, just two minutes after choir practice was to start, the church exploded. It was believed to be a gas leak that had caused the explosion. The blast caused the local radio station to go off the air. Windows of nearby homes shattered. Frances Maguire, the fire chief's daughter, recalled that the church steeple was in the street. Joyce Black who lived across the street said sheet music and songs books were flying through the air.
The church was gone and all the choir members were still alive. How could they have survived? It's simple, every single choir member was running late for practice for different reasons.
Joyce Black lived across the street from the church. She said she had simply been too tired to get up and walk out in the cold to go to practice.
Herbert Kipl had to finish a letter and stop to mail it.
Lucille Jones was listening to a radio program that ended at 7:30 and had decided to wait until it was over to head to practice.
Dorothy Wood was late because Lucille was her ride.
LaDonna Vandergrift was finishing up her geometry homework.
Rayena and Sadie Estes could not get their car to start and were waiting for LaDonna to give them a ride.
Mrs. Lenoard Schuster and her daughter Susan were late because they had stopped to help her mother get ready for a missions trip.
Harvey Ahl got caught up in a conversation.
Marilyn Ruth Klempl spilled food on her dress and was waiting for her mother to iron a new one. This caused Marilyn, her mother, and her father, Pastor Klempl, to be late.
Marilyn Paul, the pianist, and daughter of the choir director was late because she had fallen asleep.
Martha Paul, the choir director, was late because she could not get her daughters to wake up.
The odds of every single member being late were a million to one. This group only had a few people to be late in the last 20 years. Yet, they all were late and survived. Something intervened that evening and saved the lives of 15 people. As for the members of the West Side Baptist Church, they believe it was divine intervention from God that saved their lives.
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