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Danny Gene Eldhardt

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Danny Gene Eldhardt

Birth	:	15 Oct 1952 Pasco, Franklin County, Washington, USA
Death	:	15 May 1968 Pasco, Franklin County, Washington, USA
Burial	:	Sunset Memorial Gardens, Richland, Benton County, USA
Coordinate	:	46.2825127, -119.3098602
Description	:	Danny Gene Eldhardt, 15, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leo C. Eldhardt, 1624 W. Yakima St., died Friday of carbon-monoxide poisoning. Born Oct 15, 1952, in Pasco, he was an eighth-grade student at Isaac Stevens Junior High School. Danny was a member of the Presbyterian Church, Boy Scout Troop 154, the Junior Bowling League and Junior Eagles competition for Washington State Youth Activities. Surviving, in addition to his parents, are brothers, Larry and Tommy at home, and Jimmy, with the Navy at Port Hueneme, Calif.; sister, Peggy Marie Orwig, Pendleton; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Winz, Holdrege, Neb. and Mrs.... Read More	Danny Gene Eldhardt, 15, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leo C. Eldhardt, 1624 W. Yakima St., died Friday of carbon-monoxide poisoning. Born Oct 15, 1952, in Pasco, he was an eighth-grade student at Isaac Stevens Junior High School. Danny was a member of the Presbyterian Church, Boy Scout Troop 154, the Junior Bowling League and Junior Eagles competition for Washington State Youth Activities. Surviving, in addition to his parents, are brothers, Larry and Tommy at home, and Jimmy, with the Navy at Port Hueneme, Calif.; sister, Peggy Marie Orwig, Pendleton; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. W.B. Winz, Holdrege, Neb. and Mrs. Mary Eldhardt, Laurel, Neb. Services will be announced by Greenlee Funeral Home. Tri-City Herald, Sunday, 17 March 1968, Page 35 From Franklin County Old Newspapers Tri-City Herald March 17, 1968 Return to Old Newspapers Index Four Pasco boys died of carbon-monoxide poisoning Friday - 12 feet underground in a storm sewer where a blaze had been extinguished earlier by unsuspecting firemen. They were Bradley Cheney, 14, of 2821 Wilcox Drive; Danny Eldhardt, 15, of 1624 W. Yakima St.; Donald Haines, 13, of 4305 W. Ruby St. and Frederick Zeller, 13, of 2620 W. Sylvester St. All were students at Isaac Stevens Junior High School. FIRE FOUGHT At 1 p.m. firemen put out a blaze in the 48-inch pipe at A Street and Pacific Avenue. Eight hours later police received calls from parents reporting their sons missing. The boys left home about noon intending to have a wiener roast at the juvenile pond and to explore "as far as we can go" inside the sewer pipe. Their bodies were found about 11 p.m. sprawled together beneath a manhole cover at Lucus Avenue and Bonneville Street, .8 mile from where they entered the pipe. UNCOVERED The sewer outlet at the south end of Illinois Avenue near the fish pond has no protective covering. Origin of the fire is unknown. No refuse was found at the site of the blaze, to indicate a purposely set fire, said Irving Kau, assistant public works director, who inspected the scene yesterday. A pile of burned matches and a cigarette butt were found on the ledge beneath the manhole cover at Illinois Avenue and A Street. One boy had two books of matches in his pants pocket. LIKE GAS Kau said the one-inch tar lining in the sewer line is flammable. "It melts and burns like gasoline once it gets going," he explained. There had been no fires reported in the three-year-old pipe until Friday. Police received no complaints of anyone playing inside the "tube," but a number of youngsters said yesterday it had been a popular test of bravery to see how far they could crawl inside. The goal was to sign a name farther along in the pipe than the last name recorded. "Zeller" was chalked inside the first manhole cover. 'THANK GOD' After hearing about all the kids who've been in there, I thank God more of them didn't die," said Victor Zeller, Frederick's father. "I hope now the city will put some kind of heavy wire mesh over the opening." Kau said, "You bet there's going to be a grid put on the end of that pipe - Monday." Zeller theorized, from the positions in which the bodies were found, that the boys had been standing on one another's shoulders trying to raise the 150-pound manhole cover when they died. BIKE FOUND Eldhardt's glasses were on a ledge. His bicycle, found inside the pipe, gave police their first indication the boys were inside. "I don't know what made them go." Zeller said. "Fred was afraid of the dark." He carried a six-volt lantern. The others had flashlights. Haines told Kay Martin, 13, Flamingo Village, he kept food inside the pipe "in case of a riot or bombing." He and Cheney had been expected at a surprise birthday party in her honor Friday night. HEARS NEWS Mrs. Bryce Cheny had been worried her son hadn't come home to change his clothes before the party. She learned the reason from a radio braodcast before anyone else could tell her. At first firemen believed the blaze was caused by the ignition of oil dripped from a truck, said Fire Chief Lyle Cooney. No investigation was held Friday afternoon. The manhole cover under which the boys were found was raised during the fire, but because of smoke and darkness they were not seen. It was later assumed they were then already dead. RELATED STORY - SAME FRONT PAGE OF TRI-CITY HERALD 'OTHER ENGAGEMENTS' SAVE 2 FRIENDS OF VICTIMS "I told him not to light any fires in there. I said carbon-monoxide would get him." The warning was ignored. And 24 hours later four Pasco youths were dead, suffocated by billowing black smoke which turned their two-mile trip under the streets of Pasco into a race for life. It was a race they lost. Fourteen-year-old Gary Overholt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Overholt, Flamingo Trailer Court, issued the warning in class at Isaac Stevens Junior High Thursday. He admits that despite his own warning, he might have gone along with the four who died. Except that he found he had to sell circus tickets to raise money for the Tri-City Drum and Bugle corps, in which he plays the French horn. ESCAPE Just as close an escape was that of 14-year-old Alan Stromseth, son of Mr. and MRs. Alvin Stromseth, also of the Flamingo Trailer Court. He, Gary and one of the dead boys, Fred Zeller, were budies. Alan had called Fred Friday morning. He wanted him to go fishing. But Fred had other plans. He and some other friends were either going to fly a rocket, or go through the sewer pipes. At Alan's elbow during the conversation was his mother. There were chores to be done. And he had a 2 p.m. dental appointment to keep. The pipe trip was out. Alan stayed home. And lived. Fred and his friends chose the pipe over the rocket. And died. Perhaps the last of the dead boys' freinds to see them alive was Mark Ray, 14, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ray, 1515 Shoshone St., Pasco. Mark went to a neighbor's Friday about 10:30 a.m. to borrow a brake shoe for his bike. Fred and his three friends were across the street. Their conversation consisted only of "Hi." But mark said he knew the four were heading for the pipe, for they went there most weekends, he said. They thought it great fun. APPEAL It didn't appeal to Mark. He'd never been in the pipe. Neither had Gary. But he'd heard the boys talk about it. How you have to walk stooped over. How sometimes your back aches so much you hurry through the blackness to the next manhole to straighten up. It was at such a manhole that the four, running away from billowing, black, oily smoke Friday, reached for a pin point of light filtering through a fingersized hole in the heavy manhole cover six feet above their heads. But they were too late. The light went out.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Danny Gene Eldhardt's memorial?
Danny Gene Eldhardt's memorial is located at: Sunset Memorial Gardens, Richland, Benton County, USA.
When did Danny Gene Eldhardt death?
Danny Gene Eldhardt death on 15 May 1968 in Pasco, Franklin County, Washington, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Danny Gene Eldhardt's memorial?
Latitude: 46.2825127
Longitude: -119.3098602

Family Members:

Parent

Leo Christian Eldhardt

(1914 - 1986)

Ruth Marie Winz Eldhardt

(1923 - 2004)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Sunset Memorial Gardens
Richland, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2825127, -119.3098602

2. All Saints Episcopal Church Memorial Garden
Richland, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2875000, -119.2824000

3. Resthaven Cemetery
Richland, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2861023, -119.2804413

4. Desert Lawn Memorial Park
Kennewick, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.1983643, -119.1785507

5. Evergreen Cemetery
Benton City, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2867012, -119.4938965

6. Country Christian Center Cemetery
Pasco, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 46.3873600, -119.1831800

7. Columbia Memorial Gardens
Pasco, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2294006, -119.1216965

8. Saint Paul's Episcopal Church Columbarium
Kennewick, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.1978264, -119.1408081

9. Riverview Heights Cemetery
Kennewick, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.1977768, -119.1400986

10. Saint Joseph Catholic Church Columbarium
Kennewick, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2041750, -119.1281330

11. City View Cemetery
Pasco, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2496986, -119.0852966

12. Old German Baptist Brethren Church Cemetery
Pasco, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 46.4156800, -119.1566600

13. Horse Heaven Hills Cemetery
Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.1551018, -119.4826736

14. Burbank Cemetery
Walla Walla County, USA
Coordinate: 46.1975365, -118.9809036

15. Eltopia Cemetery
Eltopia, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 46.4608002, -119.0222015

16. Country View Cemetery
Basin City, Franklin County, USA
Coordinate: 46.5768210, -119.1484080

17. Prosser Cemetery
Prosser, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2047539, -119.7541504

18. Wallula Cemetery
Wallula, Walla Walla County, USA
Coordinate: 46.0844400, -118.8997200

19. Prosser Pioneer Cemetery
Prosser, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 46.1947937, -119.8095245

20. Pioneer Memorial Cemetery
Umatilla, Umatilla County, USA
Coordinate: 45.9164009, -119.3486023

21. Sunset Hills Cemetery
Umatilla, Umatilla County, USA
Coordinate: 45.9077988, -119.3507996

22. Paterson Memorial Cemetery
Paterson, Benton County, USA
Coordinate: 45.9437943, -119.5705566

23. Desert Lawn Memorial Cemetery
Irrigon, Morrow County, USA
Coordinate: 45.8972015, -119.4721985

24. Grandview Cemetery
Grandview, Yakima County, USA
Coordinate: 46.2658005, -119.8902969