Vanished in the Flames: The Sodder Children and the Fire That Left No Trace
On Christmas Eve 1945, the Sodder house just outside Fayetteville, West Virginia, was crowded and bright. George and Jennie Sodder, Italian immigrants who had built a successful coal-hauling business, had nine of their ten children at home. Around 1 a.m., Jennie woke to the smell of smoke. Fire was racing through George's office, and within minutes flames were consuming the two-story wooden home.
George, Jennie and four of the children escaped into the freezing night. Five did not: Maurice, 14; Martha, 12; Louis, 9; Jennie, 8; and Betty, 5. George's desperate rescue attempts failed in ways the family would question forever. The ladder that always leaned against the house was gone. Neither of his coal trucks would start. The rain barrel was frozen solid.
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