Caps Stolen From Crookston Lumber Co. by Mill Park Boys.—John Lindvall Injured.
An explosion, of a dynamite cap blew the flesh off the thumbs and mutilated the fingers of John Lindvall, a thirteen-year-old boy in the fourth grade of the local schools this morning. The noise of the explosion and the consequent screams of the young lad produced a panic at the Central building and the children rushed rapidly into the halls and out of doors. The boy was sitting quietly in his seat in Miss Cosgrove’s room and was covertly picking the powder out of a dynamite cap with a nail. He cleaned the explosive from two of the copper caps and commenced on a third without realizing the imminent danger. The third cartridge suddenly exploded in his hands, blowing away the flesh on his thumbs and badly injuring the fingers on his left hand. A cloud of smoke quickly ascended to the ceiling of the room. John screamed in agony as his injuries began to pain him. Other children in the room saw the smoke, heard his screams and ran, crying into the halls. The pupils in the neighboring rooms became excited by the noise and in spite of the efforts of the teachers to avoid it, a panic ensued, the children tumbling over each other in an effort to reach the school yard. Young Lindvall, Harold Lindseth and Hans Alseth, three little boys who live in Mill Park, secured several dynamite caps by getting into the store room at the Crookston Lumber company’s mill yesterday, while no men were around. The boys found the caps in the room and took a handful with them, and it was while playing with these caps in school this morning that the accident occurred to Lindvall. John was taken to the St. Anthony hospital, where his wounds were dressed by Dr. Gilmore. The lad told the doctor that someone had shot at him through a window, and would only admit that the accident was caused by the explosion when Superintendent Ritchie appeared with the two clean caps and the nail, which he had found under the boy’s desk. He then acknowledged that he and the other two boys had secured the dynamite caps at the Crookston mill. Lindvall’s wounds are getting along nicely. (Bemidji Daily Pioneer, May 2, 1910)