WV - Sodder Family - 5 children, Christmas eve 1945 - #3

[Laura_Bean]

The fact that the fire department did not show up until morning has already been explained in back posts. The way the fire department worked back than made it impossible for the fire department to show up any faster than they did. Unfortunatly it worked this way.

First someone had to call the phone operator, and tell him or her, (usually a woman's job back than), that there was a fire at such and such an address.

Than the operator would call the chief of the fire department, and alert him that there was a fire that needed to be attended to. She (or he in the rare cases), would than give the fire chief the address where the fire was located.

Next, the fire chief would call the next person in line.

The next person would call the next person.

It went on until the entire fire department knew of the fire, and than they would meet at the fire house, and leave from there.

It took hours to get the help needed for anyone especially when we are talking about the night being Christmas eve in the middle of the night. It is entirely possible that most of these people were sleeping when they were called.................

_------ HOLD THE PHONE --------- Pardon the pun

I think I need to check on something.

 

[Laura_Bean]

Okay I have a question.... Did the person who called the Sodder family in the middle of the night ask for a man who was a fire department worker? This could be imperative. In the recounts I have read it states, "And asked for a man who had no apparent reason to be at the Sodder home". Was it a firefighter the woman was asking for? Because if it was, it shows to me that the person who called that number knew there would be a fire at the Sodder home before it even started. This would totally disprove my first thought of the line being hit by lightening, and could show that someone knew the fire was going to happen, and called thinking it was just going to be a small fire, and put out quickly, maybe they thought just to scare the Sodder family. No one came forward admitting to making that call did they? Just a thought I have. Maybe a wife whose husband worked for the fire dept and wanted to ensure he was safe because the fire dept knew about it.

 

[Laura_Bean]

Also could someone have called the fire in right as it was started or a little before? Think about this possibility. Someone called the Sodder home looking for a fireman because he wasn't at home, and they were just calling everyone he knew, searching for him. Like I say, they would call each fireman in turn and than meet at the firehouse.

 

[birdie74]

Raf, thank you so much for the info about Edward. I didn't find out about his death until I was in Cortez. I got copies of the obits for several in the family who died in Manatee County, but I didn't post any of it. I should have mentioned that about Edward though, so thank you for doing it.

Laura, there was a report that the phone call was by a Mrs. Frank Harding. I'm guessing it was Lura White Harding, but I may have the wrong Mrs. Harding. From other stories I've read that didn't mention her name, I believe she at one point said she had made the call, but later changed her story. I also believe I had read that the caller asked for someone Mrs. Sodder had never heard of at that time. I would think she probably would have heard of most or all in the fire dept., even a volunteer dept. with it being a rather small community.

 

[raf]

Raf, thank you so much for the info about Edward. I didn't find out about his death until I was in Cortez. I got copies of the obits for several in the family who died in Manatee County, but I didn't post any of it. I should have mentioned that about Edward though, so thank you for doing it.

Laura, there was a report that the phone call was by a Mrs. Frank Harding. I'm guessing it was Lura White Harding, but I may have the wrong Mrs. Harding. From other stories I've read that didn't mention her name, I believe she at one point said she had made the call, but later changed her story. I also believe I had read that the caller asked for someone Mrs. Sodder had never heard of at that time. I would think she probably would have heard of most or all in the fire dept., even a volunteer dept. with it being a rather small community.

Hi birdie74 maybe another input:
Bride:

Florida Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 about Martha Lee Cipriani
Name: Martha Lee Cipriani
Marriage Date: 1952
County of Marriage: Alachua
Volume: 1377
Certificate: 10876
Source: Florida Department of Health

Groom:
Florida Marriage Collection, 1822-1875 and 1927-2001 about Bruce Elliott Parrish
Name: Bruce Elliott Parrish
Marriage Date: 1952
County of Marriage: Alachua
Volume: 1377
Certificate: 10876
Source: Florida Department of Health

well if this Martha Lee is really the daughter of Frank Cipriani and not the daughter of George Sodder, she cannot have in the DNA the sardinian genoma ( genotype?? spell?) that is very, very peculiar.. in facts only a member of Sodder family can have it, because Georde Soddu was of Sardinia isle; instead the Cipriani was continental....
I wish search more... bye,
raf

 

[birdie74]

It was very confusing for law enforcement back when they investigated the Cipriani family bacause 1st cousins were both named Martha Lee. The Sodders and the Ciprianis both had daughters with this name. The Martha Lee who married Mr. Parrish was definitely Frank Cipriani's daughter, and the Sodders didn't dispute that.

There were just some claims that other kids had been there before they were investigated. Until a few months ago, I really thought the Sodder children had been there. I still think it's possible, but I really don't know what to think. I believe any other kids there may have belonged to Frank and Jennie's brother, Jimmy Cipriani, who went back and forth between West Virginia and Florida quite a bit for a while. I just don't know.

 

[christine2448]

Getting close to the holidays. Would like to see this case on front page news again. Was trying to find it, shadow205 worked tirelessly on this and got it in news on christmas before, and I know I have emails w/reporters relating. I am searching......

 

[Laura_Bean]

Can we find out if it is possible for the phone wire to have been hit with lightning and created a spark which set that home ablaze? How would we find that out, remembering that these were old wires?

 

[christine2448]

Where are the children?
Internet sleuths awaken 61-year-old Christmas mystery

Audrey Stanton
Register-Herald Reporter


The Sodder children were excited on Christmas Eve 1945. After all, their 17-year-old sister, Marian, had just given them new toys from her dime-store job.

Three of her sisters, Martha Lee, 12, Jennie, 8, and Betty, 6, and two of their brothers, Maurice, 14, and Louis, 10, didn’t want to go to bed. They begged their mother, Jeannie, to let them stay up a little longer and play with their new toys. It was already 10 p.m.

Their mother told them they could, but she reminded Louis and Maurice to feed the cows and close the chicken coop before they settled in for the night.

<snip>

For decades, the mystery lived on throughout the region, fueled by the large billboard fence the Sodders placed near Ansted. It offered $10,000 for information leading to the five children. The weathered sign has since been torn down, but the mystery did not die with it.

The popularity of the Internet has led a number of sleuths to try their hands at finding out what became of the Sodder children.

“My personal interest stems from seeing the Sodder billboard as a child. An image was etched in my mind that to this day remains with me, and just as strong, the desire to know what really happened to this family,” said Nancy Rust, a retired law enforcement officer who resides in Greenbrier County and participates in an Internet forum on the topic. “I believe the main thing that draws people to this particular case is the pure mystery of it, and also as with me, many saw the billboard and it just stayed with them.”

Rust is a member of Wewsleuths.com, where forums allow many hobbyist detectives to post their theories on a variety of unsolved events. Their theories on the Sodder case range from a fire caused by an angry World War II veteran seeking revenge on an Italian to the possibility that some of the children started the fire and fled. Some theorize about a vengeful kidnapping followed by a community-wide cover-up, not unheard of in the days of coal wars.

But none of them knows what happened to the children.

Neither does Sylvia (Sodder) Paxton, 64, who resides in St. Albans.

“We are touched deeply to know that people still care about the fate of our family after so many years,” she said. “Our parents hoped that some day their efforts would bring a resolution, even if it came after their lifetimes.”

Her daughter, Jennie Henthorn of Saint Albans, the granddaughter of Jeannie and George Sodder, still has hope answers can be found. She has also posted on websleuths.com.

“It was always a part of my life growing up,” she said. “It wasn’t until much later that I realized it was something more of a regional mystery and not just a family thing.”

Henthorn said the revival of the mystery among Internet sleuths has meant a great deal to her mother.

“She promised my grandparents she wouldn’t let the story die, that she would do everything she could,” Henthorn said.

Still, despite the sleuths’ collective resources, the family has seen no fruits from their efforts.

“It honestly is just a mystery still, for everyone,” Henthorn said. “Just to have some resolution for my mom would be a good thing.”

Rust, for one, has hope that could happen.

“Myself and fellow armchair sleuths have more than hope, we have determination and strong belief that if we continue to push on, and continue to get people ... getting this story back in the spotlight we will find the answers that the family has searched for 61 years to find,” she said.

— E-mail:

bnaudrey@register-herald.com

For more information on the Sodder children mystery, read “West Virginia Unsolved Murders,” a book by George and Melody Bragg.

http://www.register-herald.com/local...358182913.html

Thank you Audrey and Merry Christmas to all.

 

[Teresa Larson]

Can we find out if it is possible for the phone wire to have been hit with lightning and created a spark which set that home ablaze? How would we find that out, remembering that these were old wires?

The wires wouldn't have been old back then. They also wouldn't have had any voltage coming through them to start a fire. The wires were cut not struck by lightening. It was the middle of winter it wasn't raining or lightening. If I remember correctly the ladder wasn't near the house it was further away from it. They looked for it the night of the fire and it was no where to be found. I believe who ever took the children called the house and moved the ladder.

 

[birdie74]

Also, the authorities said that the lines were cut. I believe even back then they would be able to tell the difference if the lines were burned, struck by lightning, or anything else rather than cut. I know he wasn't very credible, but the man who was arrested for stealing that night admitted to cutting the lines.

 

[birdie74]

Getting close to the holidays. Would like to see this case on front page news again. Was trying to find it, shadow205 worked tirelessly on this and got it in news on christmas before, and I know I have emails w/reporters relating. I am searching......

Great idea Christine!

 

[raf]

It was very confusing for law enforcement back when they investigated the Cipriani family bacause 1st cousins were both named Martha Lee. The Sodders and the Ciprianis both had daughters with this name. The Martha Lee who married Mr. Parrish was definitely Frank Cipriani's daughter, and the Sodders didn't dispute that.

There were just some claims that other kids had been there before they were investigated. Until a few months ago, I really thought the Sodder children had been there. I still think it's possible, but I really don't know what to think. I believe any other kids there may have belonged to Frank and Jennie's brother, Jimmy Cipriani, who went back and forth between West Virginia and Florida quite a bit for a while. I just don't know.

ok dear birdie74, I read no all postings of this case and sure I missed something...
abt Jimmie Ciprianos what are the more recent infos that you have?
death record?
marriage record? ( until 1943 he was single)

and also abt Edna...: it is possible that she changed the surname when raising the Sodder children? what are the more recent infos that you have abt Edna?
Thanks for a reply.
Regards, raf

 

[fox1950]

Yes, I thought Jimmie was single also during this time. Good point.

 

[Laura_Bean]

Okay listen I'm not saying the lines were old back than. Nor am I saying that they started the fire. What I am saying is that the lines were made of different material than they are made of today, I am sure. Secondly, my suggestion is that because it was a rainy night, there could have been lightening which struck the line, (where it was supposedly cut). Because of the material they used back than, could it be possible for the line to have sparked if the lightening hit it directly, and sent the spark all the way down the line, and to the house where it was connected for the phone.

 

[Laura_Bean]

Someone said it was a cold rainy night. Hold on let me look that up.

 

[Laura_Bean]

It was a cold, rainy night. Ice was hanging from the house and probably trees, phone and telephone lines, also. Mrs. Sodder awoke when the phone rang and thought it strange the children had not locked the door and closed the curtains. If the children had died during the night due to exposure, Fayetteville is a avid hunting area. Some hunter would have found their bones even in a remote area.

Fayetteville is a some town, there was much going on that night with people passing by and stopping and watching the fire. Where the Sodder's lived is country, even through it was just a few miles from Fayetteville. I can't see them running away-someone who would have picked them up would surely have told the family.

Great Laura. Your posts always give us food for thought. Keep posting.

Yes this is where it was. Fox says it was a cold and rainy night.

 

[Laura_Bean]

However, Birdie has a good point. You would think that the fire department would know if the line had been cut by lightning and not actually cut with something sharp. There would be burns on the line, you would think. Never thought of that. Thanks Birdie, you always have good insight.

 

[Valiant]

It would be very rare to expect lightening at that time of the year in that part of the country.

 

[raf]

Yes, I thought Jimmie was single also during this time. Good point.

right:

U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 about James Cipriani
Name: James Cipriani
Birth Year: 1911
Race: White, citizen (White)
Nativity State or Country: West Virginia
State: West Virginia

Enlistment Date: 8 May 1943
Enlistment State: Virginia
Enlistment City: Huntington West
Branch: No branch assignment
Branch Code: No branch assignment
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life

Education: Grammar school
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 08
Weight: 134

bye, raf