age: 9 yrs
An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Father: Theodore Clouse
Mother: Janelle Sauder Clouse
6 mos pregnant
Sibling: 3 yrs old
Grandfather: Noah Sauder
Grandmother: Arlene Sauder
LOYSVILLE, Pa. – The father was making his rounds in his milk truck and the mother was in the barn, milking the cows, when their 3-year-old daughter smelled smoke and ran for help. By the time the parents reached their farmhouse, it was too late: Seven of their eight children were killed in a furious blaze Tuesday night in Pennsylvania's dairy country.
The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 11 years.
Siblings:
Samantha Lynn, 9 months
Maranda Leigh, 2 yrs
Heidi Ann, 4 yrs
Hannah Marie, 6 yrs
Brady Michael, 7 yrs
Christina Nichole, 11 yrs
♥☆♥
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
In lieu of flowers the family would like contributions in memory of the children to go to World Vision, P. O. Box 70102, Tacoma, WA, 98481-0102 or to Samaritan's Purse, P. O. Box 3000, Boone, NC. 28607. If you wish to make a contribution to the surviving members of the family, they may be made to the Clouse Farm Family Fund, c/o of The Church of The Living Christ, P.O. Box 180, Loysville, PA 17047 or Bank of Landisburg, P.O. Box 179, Landisburg, PA 17040, or any M & T Bank branch.
The Nickel Funeral Home, P. O. Box 910, 3626 Shermans Valley Road, Loysville, PA 17047 is in charge of arrangements.
The family request that no media be at the visitation, service and burial site. Thank you. Nickel Funeral Home
Pennsylvania Farmhouse Fire March 8, 2011
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
The following info received from Bill Corl, a neighbor and friend of the family.
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
Published in Patriot-News on March 12, 2011
BLAIN — Three-year-old Leah came running, screaming from the house.
Her little sister Miranda was "playing with smoke."
Six months' pregnant with her ninth child, Janelle Clouse was milking the cows late Tuesday night in the family barn.
She ran across the muddy yard, past the trampoline, a yellow truck, a bike and several toys. She tried to get into the house and save her children, but the smoke and flames were too intense.
Instinct kicked in.
She ran a quarter-mile down the gravel road, across a state highway to the nearest neighbor who could call 911. No answer.
To the house across the street, where Deana Doran had just come downstairs.
"It sounded like a child. Someone kept saying, ‘Hello?'"
Doran had seen the flames shooting out of a first floor rear window at the Clouse home along Madison Road, about 50 miles northwest of Harrisburg. She told 911 operators there were kids inside.
It felt like forever before the fire trucks arrived.
Janelle, who knew her husband was out on his daily milk route, ran back to the house and got into her car, knowing the fastest way to get to Ted was to drive to him.
Parked in his delivery truck at Mike Trout's dairy farm, Ted Clouse had been getting some shut-eye while waiting for the milk to load.
Working two jobs to feed eight kids, he has to squeeze in naps whenever he can.
"It takes about an hour to pick up at my farm," Trout said. And it was Ted's routine to take a nap while the milk was loading.
About six miles down the road, Janelle's parents — Noah and Arlene Sauder — were asleep.
Two of the three bedrooms in their modest rural home are devoted to the grandkids. Two cribs and two full-sized beds are lined with stuffed animals and toys they keep for visits.
Noah Sauder jumped into his truck as soon as he got the call.
His daughter Carolyn works at Holy Spirit Hospital, and heard about the fire on a scanner.
By the time he got to his daughter's house, the fast-moving fire was out.
Ted was standing in the cornfield across the drive, staring into the orange glow.
Noah knew before he got there: "All but one were gone."
Blain Fire Company is only four miles away. The chief was first on scene, but the house was already engulfed in flames.
From the top of a hill across the street, neighbors watched as a fireball shot through the front door.
It went up so fast, authorities think the kids were dead by the time Janelle got back from the neighbors.
The home's oil furnace didn't keep the kitchen warm enough, so the family used a propane heater and the gas stove in the kitchen to help heat the house.
"Miranda had a blanket, I guess she had it at the propane heater, probably caught it on fire," Arlene Sauder said, clutching a Christmas photo of the eight kids and her other three grandchildren posing together on her living room couch.
"Either at the propane heater or the stove," she said. "That's where the heat was, anyhow. So I don't know if she got too close. We don't know what happened, really."
Grandparents grieve seven children lost in Perry County farmhouse fire.
Authorities are still working to determine what caused the fire.
About an hour before the flames broke out, Arlene was at the house trying to put Miranda down for bed.
"She had slept until like 6 o'clock," Arlene said. "I knew she wasn't ready for bed. I got her nighty on, and she ran and ... was sitting there with her cup, her milk."
She closes the doors to the bedrooms lined with kid blankets and toys.
A photo collage of each child right after each was born lines the dresser. "My arms are empty now," Arlene says, talking about the youngest. Their laughter and playful screams still fresh in her memory, it seems impossible that they are gone.
When Ted left for work, 1-year-old Miranda and 3-year-old Leah were watching television. Coroner Michael Shalonis found 9-month-old Samantha in her crib on the first floor.
The other six were upstairs — three in each of the two bedrooms. Some were still in their beds. Some weren't. They all died of smoke inhalation.
Shalonis has seen a lot in his 37 years as Perry County's coroner. He's seen two, three, four people die in tragedies.
But nothing like this.
Neighbors can't believe it, either.
Until now, the worst thing that happened around here was the tornado in 1989 that tore up the area and sent a man to the hospital with serious injuries.
But this. They can't imagine what the Clouse family is enduring.
The family can't comprehend it themselves.
"She doesn't want to be on the farm anymore," Janelle's mother, Arlene, said.
But Noah thinks her mind will change, and he knows Ted wants to go back.
It's their life. It always has been. They know nothing else.
Relatives and friends remembered the victims:
Christina, 11: The oldest child, she loved to read and help Mom and Dad with the farm.
Isabelle, 9: An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Brady, 7: When he was younger, he'd cry when it was time to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house. The only boy, he wanted a brother.
Hannah, 6: Smaller than her younger sister, Hannah just started kindergarten and was the angel of the class. Her teacher told her parents she wished every kid was as well-behaved as Hannah.
Heidi, 4: Loved to play with and hold the little ones, especially Samantha, who was always in her arms.
Miranda, 1: Loved hanging on Granny and Grandpa, but if a stranger talked to her, she didn't like it. Of a brood of blondes, she was the only one with darker hair.
Samantha, 9 months: The baby of the bunch was a very content, quiet and good baby.
An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Father: Theodore Clouse
Mother: Janelle Sauder Clouse
6 mos pregnant
Sibling: 3 yrs old
Grandfather: Noah Sauder
Grandmother: Arlene Sauder
LOYSVILLE, Pa. – The father was making his rounds in his milk truck and the mother was in the barn, milking the cows, when their 3-year-old daughter smelled smoke and ran for help. By the time the parents reached their farmhouse, it was too late: Seven of their eight children were killed in a furious blaze Tuesday night in Pennsylvania's dairy country.
The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 11 years.
Siblings:
Samantha Lynn, 9 months
Maranda Leigh, 2 yrs
Heidi Ann, 4 yrs
Hannah Marie, 6 yrs
Brady Michael, 7 yrs
Christina Nichole, 11 yrs
♥☆♥
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
In lieu of flowers the family would like contributions in memory of the children to go to World Vision, P. O. Box 70102, Tacoma, WA, 98481-0102 or to Samaritan's Purse, P. O. Box 3000, Boone, NC. 28607. If you wish to make a contribution to the surviving members of the family, they may be made to the Clouse Farm Family Fund, c/o of The Church of The Living Christ, P.O. Box 180, Loysville, PA 17047 or Bank of Landisburg, P.O. Box 179, Landisburg, PA 17040, or any M & T Bank branch.
The Nickel Funeral Home, P. O. Box 910, 3626 Shermans Valley Road, Loysville, PA 17047 is in charge of arrangements.
The family request that no media be at the visitation, service and burial site. Thank you. Nickel Funeral Home
Pennsylvania Farmhouse Fire March 8, 2011
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
The following info received from Bill Corl, a neighbor and friend of the family.
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
Published in Patriot-News on March 12, 2011
BLAIN — Three-year-old Leah came running, screaming from the house.
Her little sister Miranda was "playing with smoke."
Six months' pregnant with her ninth child, Janelle Clouse was milking the cows late Tuesday night in the family barn.
She ran across the muddy yard, past the trampoline, a yellow truck, a bike and several toys. She tried to get into the house and save her children, but the smoke and flames were too intense.
Instinct kicked in.
She ran a quarter-mile down the gravel road, across a state highway to the nearest neighbor who could call 911. No answer.
To the house across the street, where Deana Doran had just come downstairs.
"It sounded like a child. Someone kept saying, ‘Hello?'"
Doran had seen the flames shooting out of a first floor rear window at the Clouse home along Madison Road, about 50 miles northwest of Harrisburg. She told 911 operators there were kids inside.
It felt like forever before the fire trucks arrived.
Janelle, who knew her husband was out on his daily milk route, ran back to the house and got into her car, knowing the fastest way to get to Ted was to drive to him.
Parked in his delivery truck at Mike Trout's dairy farm, Ted Clouse had been getting some shut-eye while waiting for the milk to load.
Working two jobs to feed eight kids, he has to squeeze in naps whenever he can.
"It takes about an hour to pick up at my farm," Trout said. And it was Ted's routine to take a nap while the milk was loading.
About six miles down the road, Janelle's parents — Noah and Arlene Sauder — were asleep.
Two of the three bedrooms in their modest rural home are devoted to the grandkids. Two cribs and two full-sized beds are lined with stuffed animals and toys they keep for visits.
Noah Sauder jumped into his truck as soon as he got the call.
His daughter Carolyn works at Holy Spirit Hospital, and heard about the fire on a scanner.
By the time he got to his daughter's house, the fast-moving fire was out.
Ted was standing in the cornfield across the drive, staring into the orange glow.
Noah knew before he got there: "All but one were gone."
Blain Fire Company is only four miles away. The chief was first on scene, but the house was already engulfed in flames.
From the top of a hill across the street, neighbors watched as a fireball shot through the front door.
It went up so fast, authorities think the kids were dead by the time Janelle got back from the neighbors.
The home's oil furnace didn't keep the kitchen warm enough, so the family used a propane heater and the gas stove in the kitchen to help heat the house.
"Miranda had a blanket, I guess she had it at the propane heater, probably caught it on fire," Arlene Sauder said, clutching a Christmas photo of the eight kids and her other three grandchildren posing together on her living room couch.
"Either at the propane heater or the stove," she said. "That's where the heat was, anyhow. So I don't know if she got too close. We don't know what happened, really."
Grandparents grieve seven children lost in Perry County farmhouse fire.
Authorities are still working to determine what caused the fire.
About an hour before the flames broke out, Arlene was at the house trying to put Miranda down for bed.
"She had slept until like 6 o'clock," Arlene said. "I knew she wasn't ready for bed. I got her nighty on, and she ran and ... was sitting there with her cup, her milk."
She closes the doors to the bedrooms lined with kid blankets and toys.
A photo collage of each child right after each was born lines the dresser. "My arms are empty now," Arlene says, talking about the youngest. Their laughter and playful screams still fresh in her memory, it seems impossible that they are gone.
When Ted left for work, 1-year-old Miranda and 3-year-old Leah were watching television. Coroner Michael Shalonis found 9-month-old Samantha in her crib on the first floor.
The other six were upstairs — three in each of the two bedrooms. Some were still in their beds. Some weren't. They all died of smoke inhalation.
Shalonis has seen a lot in his 37 years as Perry County's coroner. He's seen two, three, four people die in tragedies.
But nothing like this.
Neighbors can't believe it, either.
Until now, the worst thing that happened around here was the tornado in 1989 that tore up the area and sent a man to the hospital with serious injuries.
But this. They can't imagine what the Clouse family is enduring.
The family can't comprehend it themselves.
"She doesn't want to be on the farm anymore," Janelle's mother, Arlene, said.
But Noah thinks her mind will change, and he knows Ted wants to go back.
It's their life. It always has been. They know nothing else.
Relatives and friends remembered the victims:
Christina, 11: The oldest child, she loved to read and help Mom and Dad with the farm.
Isabelle, 9: An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Brady, 7: When he was younger, he'd cry when it was time to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house. The only boy, he wanted a brother.
Hannah, 6: Smaller than her younger sister, Hannah just started kindergarten and was the angel of the class. Her teacher told her parents she wished every kid was as well-behaved as Hannah.
Heidi, 4: Loved to play with and hold the little ones, especially Samantha, who was always in her arms.
Miranda, 1: Loved hanging on Granny and Grandpa, but if a stranger talked to her, she didn't like it. Of a brood of blondes, she was the only one with darker hair.
Samantha, 9 months: The baby of the bunch was a very content, quiet and good baby.
age: 9 yrs
An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Father: Theodore Clouse
Mother: Janelle Sauder Clouse
6 mos pregnant
Sibling: 3 yrs old
Grandfather: Noah Sauder
Grandmother: Arlene Sauder
LOYSVILLE, Pa. – The father was making his rounds in his milk truck and the mother was in the barn, milking the cows, when their 3-year-old daughter smelled smoke and ran for help. By the time the parents reached their farmhouse, it was too late: Seven of their eight children were killed in a furious blaze Tuesday night in Pennsylvania's dairy country.
The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 11 years.
Siblings:
Samantha Lynn, 9 months
Maranda Leigh, 2 yrs
Heidi Ann, 4 yrs
Hannah Marie, 6 yrs
Brady Michael, 7 yrs
Christina Nichole, 11 yrs
♥☆♥
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
In lieu of flowers the family would like contributions in memory of the children to go to World Vision, P. O. Box 70102, Tacoma, WA, 98481-0102 or to Samaritan's Purse, P. O. Box 3000, Boone, NC. 28607. If you wish to make a contribution to the surviving members of the family, they may be made to the Clouse Farm Family Fund, c/o of The Church of The Living Christ, P.O. Box 180, Loysville, PA 17047 or Bank of Landisburg, P.O. Box 179, Landisburg, PA 17040, or any M & T Bank branch.
The Nickel Funeral Home, P. O. Box 910, 3626 Shermans Valley Road, Loysville, PA 17047 is in charge of arrangements.
The family request that no media be at the visitation, service and burial site. Thank you. Nickel Funeral Home
Pennsylvania Farmhouse Fire March 8, 2011
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
The following info received from Bill Corl, a neighbor and friend of the family.
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
Published in Patriot-News on March 12, 2011
BLAIN — Three-year-old Leah came running, screaming from the house.
Her little sister Miranda was "playing with smoke."
Six months' pregnant with her ninth child, Janelle Clouse was milking the cows late Tuesday night in the family barn.
She ran across the muddy yard, past the trampoline, a yellow truck, a bike and several toys. She tried to get into the house and save her children, but the smoke and flames were too intense.
Instinct kicked in.
She ran a quarter-mile down the gravel road, across a state highway to the nearest neighbor who could call 911. No answer.
To the house across the street, where Deana Doran had just come downstairs.
"It sounded like a child. Someone kept saying, ‘Hello?'"
Doran had seen the flames shooting out of a first floor rear window at the Clouse home along Madison Road, about 50 miles northwest of Harrisburg. She told 911 operators there were kids inside.
It felt like forever before the fire trucks arrived.
Janelle, who knew her husband was out on his daily milk route, ran back to the house and got into her car, knowing the fastest way to get to Ted was to drive to him.
Parked in his delivery truck at Mike Trout's dairy farm, Ted Clouse had been getting some shut-eye while waiting for the milk to load.
Working two jobs to feed eight kids, he has to squeeze in naps whenever he can.
"It takes about an hour to pick up at my farm," Trout said. And it was Ted's routine to take a nap while the milk was loading.
About six miles down the road, Janelle's parents — Noah and Arlene Sauder — were asleep.
Two of the three bedrooms in their modest rural home are devoted to the grandkids. Two cribs and two full-sized beds are lined with stuffed animals and toys they keep for visits.
Noah Sauder jumped into his truck as soon as he got the call.
His daughter Carolyn works at Holy Spirit Hospital, and heard about the fire on a scanner.
By the time he got to his daughter's house, the fast-moving fire was out.
Ted was standing in the cornfield across the drive, staring into the orange glow.
Noah knew before he got there: "All but one were gone."
Blain Fire Company is only four miles away. The chief was first on scene, but the house was already engulfed in flames.
From the top of a hill across the street, neighbors watched as a fireball shot through the front door.
It went up so fast, authorities think the kids were dead by the time Janelle got back from the neighbors.
The home's oil furnace didn't keep the kitchen warm enough, so the family used a propane heater and the gas stove in the kitchen to help heat the house.
"Miranda had a blanket, I guess she had it at the propane heater, probably caught it on fire," Arlene Sauder said, clutching a Christmas photo of the eight kids and her other three grandchildren posing together on her living room couch.
"Either at the propane heater or the stove," she said. "That's where the heat was, anyhow. So I don't know if she got too close. We don't know what happened, really."
Grandparents grieve seven children lost in Perry County farmhouse fire.
Authorities are still working to determine what caused the fire.
About an hour before the flames broke out, Arlene was at the house trying to put Miranda down for bed.
"She had slept until like 6 o'clock," Arlene said. "I knew she wasn't ready for bed. I got her nighty on, and she ran and ... was sitting there with her cup, her milk."
She closes the doors to the bedrooms lined with kid blankets and toys.
A photo collage of each child right after each was born lines the dresser. "My arms are empty now," Arlene says, talking about the youngest. Their laughter and playful screams still fresh in her memory, it seems impossible that they are gone.
When Ted left for work, 1-year-old Miranda and 3-year-old Leah were watching television. Coroner Michael Shalonis found 9-month-old Samantha in her crib on the first floor.
The other six were upstairs — three in each of the two bedrooms. Some were still in their beds. Some weren't. They all died of smoke inhalation.
Shalonis has seen a lot in his 37 years as Perry County's coroner. He's seen two, three, four people die in tragedies.
But nothing like this.
Neighbors can't believe it, either.
Until now, the worst thing that happened around here was the tornado in 1989 that tore up the area and sent a man to the hospital with serious injuries.
But this. They can't imagine what the Clouse family is enduring.
The family can't comprehend it themselves.
"She doesn't want to be on the farm anymore," Janelle's mother, Arlene, said.
But Noah thinks her mind will change, and he knows Ted wants to go back.
It's their life. It always has been. They know nothing else.
Relatives and friends remembered the victims:
Christina, 11: The oldest child, she loved to read and help Mom and Dad with the farm.
Isabelle, 9: An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Brady, 7: When he was younger, he'd cry when it was time to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house. The only boy, he wanted a brother.
Hannah, 6: Smaller than her younger sister, Hannah just started kindergarten and was the angel of the class. Her teacher told her parents she wished every kid was as well-behaved as Hannah.
Heidi, 4: Loved to play with and hold the little ones, especially Samantha, who was always in her arms.
Miranda, 1: Loved hanging on Granny and Grandpa, but if a stranger talked to her, she didn't like it. Of a brood of blondes, she was the only one with darker hair.
Samantha, 9 months: The baby of the bunch was a very content, quiet and good baby.
An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Father: Theodore Clouse
Mother: Janelle Sauder Clouse
6 mos pregnant
Sibling: 3 yrs old
Grandfather: Noah Sauder
Grandmother: Arlene Sauder
LOYSVILLE, Pa. – The father was making his rounds in his milk truck and the mother was in the barn, milking the cows, when their 3-year-old daughter smelled smoke and ran for help. By the time the parents reached their farmhouse, it was too late: Seven of their eight children were killed in a furious blaze Tuesday night in Pennsylvania's dairy country.
The victims ranged in age from 7 months to 11 years.
Siblings:
Samantha Lynn, 9 months
Maranda Leigh, 2 yrs
Heidi Ann, 4 yrs
Hannah Marie, 6 yrs
Brady Michael, 7 yrs
Christina Nichole, 11 yrs
♥☆♥
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
In lieu of flowers the family would like contributions in memory of the children to go to World Vision, P. O. Box 70102, Tacoma, WA, 98481-0102 or to Samaritan's Purse, P. O. Box 3000, Boone, NC. 28607. If you wish to make a contribution to the surviving members of the family, they may be made to the Clouse Farm Family Fund, c/o of The Church of The Living Christ, P.O. Box 180, Loysville, PA 17047 or Bank of Landisburg, P.O. Box 179, Landisburg, PA 17040, or any M & T Bank branch.
The Nickel Funeral Home, P. O. Box 910, 3626 Shermans Valley Road, Loysville, PA 17047 is in charge of arrangements.
The family request that no media be at the visitation, service and burial site. Thank you. Nickel Funeral Home
Pennsylvania Farmhouse Fire March 8, 2011
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The following info received from Bill Corl, a neighbor and friend of the family.
LOYSVILLE - Christina Nichole Clouse, 11; Isabelle Hope Clouse, 9; Brady Michael Clouse, 7; Hannah Marie Clouse, 6; Heidi Ann Clouse, 4; Miranda Leigh Clouse, 1 and Samantha Lynn Clouse, 9 months; went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at home.
The five oldest children attended The Church of the Living Christ and the four oldest children attended Blain Elementary School.
Surviving are their father and mother, Theodore "Ted" S. and Janelle K. (Sauder) Clouse, a sister, Leah Catherine Clouse, grandparents, Robert S. and Betty S. Clouse, Newville; Noah W. and Arlene Z. Sauder, Loysville, great-grandmother, Eva B. Martin, Womelsdorf and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be held 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center, 350 Green Park Road, Elliottsburg, PA 17024 with the Rev. Adam Williams and Rev. Donald Snyder officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 pm Monday, March 14, 2011 and 10:00 to 11:00 am Tuesday, March 15, 2011 in the Perry Mennonite Reception Center. Burial will be in the Church of The Living Christ Cemetery, Loysville, PA 17047. Fellowship with the family will follow the burial at the Reception Center.
Published in Patriot-News on March 12, 2011
BLAIN — Three-year-old Leah came running, screaming from the house.
Her little sister Miranda was "playing with smoke."
Six months' pregnant with her ninth child, Janelle Clouse was milking the cows late Tuesday night in the family barn.
She ran across the muddy yard, past the trampoline, a yellow truck, a bike and several toys. She tried to get into the house and save her children, but the smoke and flames were too intense.
Instinct kicked in.
She ran a quarter-mile down the gravel road, across a state highway to the nearest neighbor who could call 911. No answer.
To the house across the street, where Deana Doran had just come downstairs.
"It sounded like a child. Someone kept saying, ‘Hello?'"
Doran had seen the flames shooting out of a first floor rear window at the Clouse home along Madison Road, about 50 miles northwest of Harrisburg. She told 911 operators there were kids inside.
It felt like forever before the fire trucks arrived.
Janelle, who knew her husband was out on his daily milk route, ran back to the house and got into her car, knowing the fastest way to get to Ted was to drive to him.
Parked in his delivery truck at Mike Trout's dairy farm, Ted Clouse had been getting some shut-eye while waiting for the milk to load.
Working two jobs to feed eight kids, he has to squeeze in naps whenever he can.
"It takes about an hour to pick up at my farm," Trout said. And it was Ted's routine to take a nap while the milk was loading.
About six miles down the road, Janelle's parents — Noah and Arlene Sauder — were asleep.
Two of the three bedrooms in their modest rural home are devoted to the grandkids. Two cribs and two full-sized beds are lined with stuffed animals and toys they keep for visits.
Noah Sauder jumped into his truck as soon as he got the call.
His daughter Carolyn works at Holy Spirit Hospital, and heard about the fire on a scanner.
By the time he got to his daughter's house, the fast-moving fire was out.
Ted was standing in the cornfield across the drive, staring into the orange glow.
Noah knew before he got there: "All but one were gone."
Blain Fire Company is only four miles away. The chief was first on scene, but the house was already engulfed in flames.
From the top of a hill across the street, neighbors watched as a fireball shot through the front door.
It went up so fast, authorities think the kids were dead by the time Janelle got back from the neighbors.
The home's oil furnace didn't keep the kitchen warm enough, so the family used a propane heater and the gas stove in the kitchen to help heat the house.
"Miranda had a blanket, I guess she had it at the propane heater, probably caught it on fire," Arlene Sauder said, clutching a Christmas photo of the eight kids and her other three grandchildren posing together on her living room couch.
"Either at the propane heater or the stove," she said. "That's where the heat was, anyhow. So I don't know if she got too close. We don't know what happened, really."
Grandparents grieve seven children lost in Perry County farmhouse fire.
Authorities are still working to determine what caused the fire.
About an hour before the flames broke out, Arlene was at the house trying to put Miranda down for bed.
"She had slept until like 6 o'clock," Arlene said. "I knew she wasn't ready for bed. I got her nighty on, and she ran and ... was sitting there with her cup, her milk."
She closes the doors to the bedrooms lined with kid blankets and toys.
A photo collage of each child right after each was born lines the dresser. "My arms are empty now," Arlene says, talking about the youngest. Their laughter and playful screams still fresh in her memory, it seems impossible that they are gone.
When Ted left for work, 1-year-old Miranda and 3-year-old Leah were watching television. Coroner Michael Shalonis found 9-month-old Samantha in her crib on the first floor.
The other six were upstairs — three in each of the two bedrooms. Some were still in their beds. Some weren't. They all died of smoke inhalation.
Shalonis has seen a lot in his 37 years as Perry County's coroner. He's seen two, three, four people die in tragedies.
But nothing like this.
Neighbors can't believe it, either.
Until now, the worst thing that happened around here was the tornado in 1989 that tore up the area and sent a man to the hospital with serious injuries.
But this. They can't imagine what the Clouse family is enduring.
The family can't comprehend it themselves.
"She doesn't want to be on the farm anymore," Janelle's mother, Arlene, said.
But Noah thinks her mind will change, and he knows Ted wants to go back.
It's their life. It always has been. They know nothing else.
Relatives and friends remembered the victims:
Christina, 11: The oldest child, she loved to read and help Mom and Dad with the farm.
Isabelle, 9: An active child who loved the trampoline and playing with the neighbor boy, David. They would sit on hay bales and try to catch pigeons.
Brady, 7: When he was younger, he'd cry when it was time to leave Grandma and Grandpa's house. The only boy, he wanted a brother.
Hannah, 6: Smaller than her younger sister, Hannah just started kindergarten and was the angel of the class. Her teacher told her parents she wished every kid was as well-behaved as Hannah.
Heidi, 4: Loved to play with and hold the little ones, especially Samantha, who was always in her arms.
Miranda, 1: Loved hanging on Granny and Grandpa, but if a stranger talked to her, she didn't like it. Of a brood of blondes, she was the only one with darker hair.
Samantha, 9 months: The baby of the bunch was a very content, quiet and good baby.
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