The 405 Aired Nov 10th, 2026
I want to again welcome you to The 405 Coffee Break. Guys, get you a cup of coffee, glass iced tea. Let's see what's happening out there.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat ain't nothing to write home about. I'll tell you. $5.64 a bushel. Did I tell you that in 1974 when I was a junior in high school, wheat was $5 a bushel? Not for long, but it was there, and that my friend, was a long time ago. 550lb steer calf, way higher than it was back in 1974, $4.10 to $4.35 a pound, and they're moving now. And a 100lb fat lamb in Billings tapered off $2.85 up to $2.94 a pound depending on their quality. But guys, there's more... Much more.
OK Solberg:Okay, I'll talk fast because I have lots to say. If I leave something out, it's you that has to pay. Oh, did I have fun researching the 1966 and 1967 Phillips County newspapers? Understand this. The thing I was looking for, and I've been looking a long time, was the date and time of the Equity Co op explosion where Alan Crowder senior was injured.
OK Solberg:How did I know about it? Well, I'll tell you. I'll tell you how. Dan Perry was visiting with us guys and the topic led to the past, as it often does. And he reported that he and Bimbo Robinson were riding their bikes on Front Street back in the day and he didn't say it was near Ben Franklin right near J C Penny, but I'm sure it was.
OK Solberg:And dad said... Dan said he and Bimbo saw a Mushroom Cloud down to the east over across the street from the equity co op station. Well, they rode down and saw all the action. Allen was injured but not hospitalized. Now I believed every word of it.
OK Solberg:People don't make that kind of stuff up. I knew it happened. I visited with Irvin Crowder and his daughter Leslie and, well, they confirmed it. Leslie said, oh, I don't know what year, but I do know the day. It was a Saturday.
OK Solberg:And Alan was out to the first crick hall that night because he didn't wanna miss the dance. I believed it. I just wanted to find it. Well, since Dan and Bimbo were riding their bikes, I did a little calculation and figured they'd be about, oh, maybe eight to 12 years old, but it was just a guess.
OK Solberg:But I found nothing in those old newspapers. Then Leslie's uncle Harold told her that it was either 1966 or 1967 because it was before Harold went into the service.
OK Solberg:So down to the library I went. I got through 1966. Lots of fun stuff, but no cigar. On Monday of last week, I went back to the library and pulled down the 1967 PCNs one page at a time.
OK Solberg:One page at a time. Finally, when I got to 11/23/1967, there it was. Houston. We have a winner. Front page picture of the elevator with the bottom seam blown away from the foundation and a crack wide enough for a man to crawl through.
OK Solberg:And it reads, a dust explosion at the Equity Co op elevator grinding room Saturday afternoon caused considerable damage to the building and a Malta man. Alan Crowder narrowly escaped serious injury or death in the incident. Crowder was getting some grain ground and had just gone into the grinding room to turn off the grinder when the explosion happened.
OK Solberg:He was standing near the door when the room exploded breaking out the rear wall which is pictured above and also damaging the rough and other parts of the building. Now there was no major fire following the explosion, but smaller fires did break out later in the evening.
OK Solberg:Crowder suffered 1st and 2nd degree burns on his face and hands according to Elmer Bond, elevator manager. Crowder had worked at the elevator previously and was helping grind his own grain. There you have it. Dan Perry was absolutely correct.
OK Solberg:I never doubted him for a minute, but now it's in shrine in history and we can all say Alan Crowder survived an explosion at the local elevator and didn't even stay overnight in the hospital.
OK Solberg:Shoot. What's the worth of that? Alan didn't want to miss the dance at 1st Creek Hall. Thanks, Dan Perry. Thanks to Leslie Crowder.
OK Solberg:And much thanks to Harold Crowder who pinned the date down to 1966 or 1967. I couldn't nor wouldn't have been able to do it without you. Oh, p s. I also saw Dan Perry's wife Peggy marching in the homecoming parade back then in October of nineteen six seven. The parade was led by the Twirlers.
OK Solberg:She is in the front row along with Doreen Rude, Theresa Simonton, Linda Demery, and Leslie Long. So what about that then? That's just fun to remember. And I hope you'll tune in again tomorrow as I'll share more of what I found in 1967. But Alan Crowder survived and that we are very happy for.
OK Solberg:So here's a bible verse and check it out. Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. I think it's perfect. Isaiah 43 verse 2.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.