'The day that shook Georgia': Residents of Woodbine remember Thiokol explosion 53 years later

Fifty-three years ago, the ground quaked in Woodbine, Georgia.

The sound was unmistakable and the fallout unimaginable for the workers and families of the Thiokol Chemical plant where a blast killed 30 workers, the majority of them Black women, and injured more than 50 others.

The Thiokol chemical explosion made national headlines and marked a pivotal moment in American history. It’s considered one of the worst industrial disasters in the United States, along with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire and the West Fertilizer Plant Explosion.

Multiple lawsuits jumpstarted a prolonged 17-year legal battle among victims and the Thiokol Chemical Corporation and the U.S. Government, which eventually led to major changes in America’s tort reform law. Those reforms were instrumental in developing the formula for compensating the victims and their families after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The disaster also forever changed how firefighters respond to emergencies, triggering the transition from private and funeral home ambulance services to fire department EMS in Jacksonville, Florida.  And, about three months after the 1971 explosion, the U.S. Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), standards to ensure safe working conditions.

Making sure the people of Woodbine never forget

As the years ticked away, the magnitude of the event faded. Some folks in Woodbine may not even know what you’re talking about if you ask.

Jannie Everette and the Thiokol Memorial Museum continue to work to change that narrative.

“In the past year, we've had four initiatives. One was the renaming of Harris Bluff Road as Patriots Parkway. We are advocating to have the State Superintendent of schools to teach this history across the state. The third initiative is to paint the freeway with purple and white flowers at each interchange (in Camden County),” Everette said.

“The fourth initiative was the blessing of the land. We wanted to go out to the Thiokol site and under the guidance of religious leaders, we wanted to perform a blessing of the land to recall the soil where blood was spilled. We had an overflight in August by a drone that spotted the location of where (Building M132) stood so that we could do those operations.

“We got with the company that now owns that area and the hold up in doing that was that (it has to be determined if) the land was contaminated or not contaminated. The EPA has to give clearance.”

“I carry over (initiatives) from last year or from the year prior (such as) having the 30 people declared distinguished Georgia citizens, which happened in 2023. But we started in 2022. And we're continuing the campaign to have the 30 people receive or be bestowed with the Congressional Gold Medal. We've also been working on Congressional direct funding, which we were denied because we didn't own the land to bring a national park here (in Camden County).”

Another year, another moment of silence at 10:53 a.m. on Feb. 3

It’s a packed auditorium at the Camden County Public Service Authority in Kingsland, Georgia. Over the past few years, Everette and her fellow volunteers have seen the numbers grow as their outreach efforts bring more interested folks from around the state to South Georgia every February.

Other efforts, such as an upcoming documentary from Pat and Anne Longstreth and the “Tripwire” podcast by the Savannah Morning News, have turned new eyes to the Thiokol Memorial Museum’s cause.

“The podcast was so great, and a lot of people talk to us about it. It started to build interest (and) promoted interest in (the history of Thiokol). People were amazed in the quality that it was done, of the work put into it to make it sound so great. The story is so interesting,” she said.

“Then we have the documentary, and the documentary’s purpose is to capture the story and have it when we get to a national park. Anybody can walk in and hear the story. The people tell the story in their own voice.”

Each of these ceremonies operates about the same: local schools bring students to hear about the history, community leaders and sometimes state leaders walk up to the podium to explore how the story of those 29 people has affected them, and in the most impactful moment, the room enters into a moment of silence at 10:53 a.m. (the exact time of the blast at the Thiokol plant) and it is followed with a ringing of a bell as survivors and volunteers of the museum read off the names of those who lost their lives that day in 1971.

“When we have the moment of silence, at the time that the plant exploded, it's like the answer to a prayer. All of those people prayed, they were injured, they were trying to rescue them. They could see their children and they were asking God to save them. And it was a moment of grace.

“So, always in that moment, it's a quiet moment, I pause and I remember the people from back thenl and their families.”

The year is always tough on Everette and the volunteers who dedicate their time to the museum that sits in historic downtown Kingsland, about 15 miles from Woodbine. The project appreciates the exposure and work on the documentary and podcasts as it allows them to capture the perspectives of the survivors and their family members as they grow older and pass on.

“Well, everyone has a story in this journey… So all of their stories of grace, and hope and mercy. They have a purpose. You have the Patriots here. And you have the Vietnam veterans there. And so a lot of people come into our doors, former workers, family members of the factory workers, the workers themselves.”

But as they remember those who have passed on, they continue to have their stories told as broadly as possible.

“It's just a fundamental story of looking at people that lived during that time, how their work and their service helped other human beings. It's a great story.”

Listen to the “Tripwire” podcast by the Savannah Morning News on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. The documentary, “The Day That Shook Georgia,” will premiere 10 p.m., on March 25, on GPB and on PBS on April 8.

To learn more about the Thiokol Memorial Project and the Thiokol Memorial Museum, visit thiokolmemorial.org.

Former Savannah Morning News editor Zach Dennis and reporter Nancy Guan produced the Tripwire podcast last year. They returned to Camden County on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, to observe the anniversary of the Thiokol explosion.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Residents of Woodbine Georgia remember Thiokol explosion 53 years later