Mackenzie10
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So I posted a pretty long post from a firefighters perspective and now it seems lost. If it shows up somewhere else, let me know. Otherwise I'll try again later...
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I have followed this case on and off for years. I'm still fascinated by it.
Wondering why the parents kept looking their entire lives for their children.... maybe because the alternative (that they had died in the fire) was too painful. Looking for alive children would give them a glimmer of hope?
it's that hope you have thinking they will come back to you. no bodies to them makes them think they could be alive somewhere.
I'm still trying to find out how my mom knew about him. She's been dead many years, and never even knew what the internet was! But she sure knew us well enough, that if we misbehaved, saying the Sodder man was going to get us, would put the fear of God in us. We are in SE Ky.
In terms of the threats made by Janutolo and others concerning the Sodders house burning down, if you read the Fire Marshalls report concerning this man, here is how he was involved.
" Mr Sodder was formerly employed by Frienzo (or possibly Fiorenzo) Janutolo of Fayetteville, W.Va. who was a lumber dealer and road contractor there. They severed relations in 1943 and Mr. Sodder went into the trucking business, road contracting, and coal stripping business for himself."
http://www.fridley.net/bibb/p1030.htm#i51476Fiorenzo Gambet Janutolo1,2
M, #51476, b. 22 Sep 1889, d. 30 May 1966
Display Family
Birth* 22 Sep 1889 Fiorenzo was born at Piedicavallo, Italy, on 22 Sep 1889.3,2,4,1
Employment Jun 1917 Occupation: jeweler in Jun 1917 at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV.3
Mlt-Registration* 5 Jun 1917 He registered for the draft on 5 Jun 1917 at Fayette Co, WV.3
Residence 5 Jun 1917 He resided at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV, on 5 Jun 1917.3
Marriage* He married Thelma Ogden Bibb.1
Employment* Jan 1920 Occupation: manager in Jan 1920 at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV. Jewelry store.1
Census* 6 Jan 1920 Fiorenzo Gambet Janutolo and Thelma Ogden Bibb appeared on the census as head of household at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV, on 6 Jan 1920.1
Employment Apr 1930 Occupation: merchant in Apr 1930 at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV. Jewelry.1
Census 21 Apr 1930 Fiorenzo Gambet Janutolo and Thelma Ogden Bibb appeared on the census as head of household at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV, on 21 Apr 1930.1
Employment Apr 1940 Occupation: merchant in Apr 1940 at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV. Jewelry.1
Census 16 Apr 1940 Fiorenzo Gambet Janutolo and Thelma Ogden Bibb appeared on the census as head of household at Fayetteville Dist, Fayette Co, WV, on 16 Apr 1940.1
Employment Apr 1942 Occupation: jeweler in Apr 1942 at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV.2
Mlt-Registration 27 Apr 1942 Fiorenzo Gambet Janutolo registered for the draft on 27 Apr 1942 at Fayette Co, WV.2
Residence 27 Apr 1942 He resided at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV, on 27 Apr 1942.2
Residence* May 1966 He resided at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV, in May 1966.4
Death* 30 May 1966 Fiorenzo died on 30 May 1966 at Laird Memorial Hospital, Montgomery, Fayette Co, WV, at age 76. Informant was Nancy J. Hoye, Goebel Place, Marietta, OH.4
Burial* 2 Jun 1966 His body was interred on 2 Jun 1966 at Fayetteville, Fayette Co, WV, at Huse Memorial Park.4
How did the fire start? While it seems easy to chalk this up to faulty wiring, I dont think it should necessarily be attributed to wiring. If it was wiring, it would seem more likely someone overloaded an electrical circuit with Christmas lights on a Christmas tree or some other holiday decorations. I've thought of kids with matches, etc.
I wonder if it was just an electrician looking for work and pointing out "problems" so George would hire him to fix it. I know I have had mechanics, electricians, and plumbers point out something that was fixed wrong by another company and it came across as a way of someone getting more business. I also wonder if the electrician did something to the Sodder's wiring so they would have to hire him only for the electrician's scam to go horribly wrong.Ok, a couple of things....
As well, as far as the wiring inspection goes, we don't know what the context of the term "contractor" is. Was it just someone hired to do a quick job. Was it the handyman from next door? Did they know what they were talking about. Did this person simply look down at a dozen strands of Christmas lights plugged into an overloaded socket and mumble "That's going to cause a fire one day"? We have no idea the context of this remark.
This is a point of the story that makes me scratch my head. How is it she is the only one that hears this noise and no one else considering that she is not only downstairs but exhausted from a hard day's work. I still believe what she heard was a fuse popping and that because she was tired her sense of direction was off and she thought it came from the roof. It also could have been a dream and she woke up and really thought she heard something on the roof. When you are tired you are not always thinking straight.As far as the "noise" from the roof, how does only Jennie hear it? Making so much noise (according to her) that she wakes up sleeping on the ground floor yet none of the kids heard it while sleeping directly under the roof? Not one. Not George. Nobody. Kids excited about Christmas. Kids laying under (an assumed uninsulated) roof. How does that happen? As well, you have a full house and only one person in the whole family hears this? The one person who is probably the most exhausted preparing her home for the holidays with a son on the way home from the service. She is the only one who hears this?
I would respectfully disagree that Jennie would be able to discern that noise being woken up from sleep. As well, she didnt wake up George "Hey honey, I heard a strange noise, can you go check on it?". The phone call doesnt wake George up?
Could it have been people were throwing things on the roof hoping to just scare the Sodders.As well, an arsonist isn't going to throw something on the roof to start a fire. You're going to use an accelerant like gasoline around a large and quickly flammable surface. Fire burns upward (literally). A tin roof doesnt burn well. You need to start the fire quickly and efficiently. A grenade on the roof wont work. Additionally, there is a chance that the "device" would roll down the roof back to the feet of where the thrower stood. I don't buy arson as a theory. If you going to burn a house, start it around the perimeter of the house and if you're sadistic, block the exits. If the roof was on fire the kids would have been the first to know.
Ok, a couple of things....
As far as the "noise" from the roof, how does only Jennie hear it? Making so much noise (according to her) that she wakes up sleeping on the ground floor yet none of the kids heard it while sleeping directly under the roof? Not one. Not George. Nobody. Kids excited about Christmas. Kids laying under (an assumed uninsulated) roof. How does that happen? As well, you have a full house and only one person in the whole family hears this? The one person who is probably the most exhausted preparing her home for the holidays with a son on the way home from the service. She is the only one who hears this?
I would respectfully disagree that Jennie would be able to discern that noise being woken up from sleep. As well, she didnt wake up George "Hey honey, I heard a strange noise, can you go check on it?". The phone call doesnt wake George up?