Our Arklahoma Heritage: Explosion of Fort Smith grain mill silo just off Wheeler Avenue in 1964 killed two and injured others

By Dennis McCaslin - Editor

On February 22, 1964, a terrible explosion at the OK Feed Mill in Fort Smith took the lives of two workers, Robert Blevins, 43, and Charley McCurley, 33, both World War II veterans.

The tragedy happened three months after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, adding to the town’s sadness.

The explosion happened at 4 p.m. in the mill’s mixing area, just over a mile from Belle Grove Elementary School.

Robert Blevins lived at 601 North Sixth Street, across from the school, with his wife and six children: sons Robert, Wayne, and Denis, and daughters Zelma, Betty, Martha, and Ramona.

His daughter Martha, nicknamed Suzy, was 12 and on the porch when the blast shook the neighborhood. She told her friend, “I think OK Feed Mill just blew up!”

Now 74 and still in Fort Smith, Suzy shared her story. Martha (Suzy), Betty, and Ramona are still alive, but Zelma, Robert, Wayne, and Denis have passed away.

Charley McCurley left behind a wife, two sons, and three daughters.

The blast, likely caused by a spark from a light used to check grain levels igniting dust in the air, ripped through the three-story mill. Grain dust can catch fire easily in mills if there’s a spark, air, and a closed space.

The explosion tore off metal walls and made the ceiling collapse onto the office. It was so strong it threw Robert Blevins off the roof, and his body was found in a Little League baseball field near Andrews Field.

Charley McCurley’s body was found in the mill’s burned rafters when workers tore down a wall near him to keep it from falling. Seven other workers in the mixing area got burns but were all deemed okay by the next day.

As helpers rushed the injured to the hospital, a crash happened on Wheeler Avenue with two ambulances, a taxi, and a pickup truck. No one in the crash was badly hurt, but it showed how chaotic things were.

Suzy said her family got some money from the mill after the explosion. Her mom used it to help buy their house, but soon they needed Social Security.

Suzy remembers the Salvation Army helping with food and gifts, especially at Christmas that year. The town’s support meant a lot to her family.

Robert Blevins was interred at the Fort Smith National Cemetery shortly after the explosion.

The mill’s company asked for a $1,250,000 bond to rebuild, but Fort Smith voters said no, 2,998 to 1,519. Collier Wenderoth, the mill’s president, was upset but accepted the vote. He wasn’t sure if they’d rebuild.

Months later, the company decided to build a new five-story mill south of the old one. It was rare for Arkansas voters to turn down a company’s request like that.

OK Feed Mills still runs in Fort Smith as part of OK Foods, bought in 2011 by Industrias Bachoco, a big Mexican poultry company. OK Foods makes 15.3 million pounds of chicken a week for stores and restaurants, and the Fort Smith mill helps feed their chickens.

The 1964 OK Feed Mill explosion was a dark day for Fort Smith. The Blevins and McCurley families suffered great loss, but the community rallied to help. Suzy’s memories show how the town came together, and the story should remind Fort Smith of its strength and care for one another.