Two men buried in Riverside Cemetery in Old Forge in September of 1934 have never been claimed by relatives and the mystery of their deaths has never been solved. They died as the result of a dynamite explosion in a house in Eagle Bay Park on Thursday, Sept. 6, 1934.

According to records, the men somehow set off an explosion that completely destroyed the house, left a deep hole in the ground and sent house parts flying considerable distances. William Olson and a man believed to be Nels (sic) Ready were killed instantly. One report said, “Both bodies were dismembered at the waistline and the lower portions were terribly mutilated.”

Olson owned the house in Eagle Bay Park and had lived there for some time. He had recently made a trip to Sweden to visit family and upon his return it was noted that much of the time after returning he had been under the influence of “intoxicating liquors.”

It was reported that Olson had stored several sticks of dynamite under a cot and that he planned to use it to blast stumps. Little was known of Mr. Ready who had arrived at the Olson home several weeks earlier and during that time neighbors and others reported that both men were in a state of intoxication. But what really happened isn’t known.

The explosion occurred about 5 p.m. Dr. Cole of Inlet was called to the scene and he in turn summoned the coroner, Mr. Graves, who gave a verdict of “death due to shock when their bodies were dismembered in an accidental blast of dynamite being handled while both men were in an intoxicated condition.”  

The bodies were taken to the Eldridge Funeral Parlors in Old Forge and since there were no known relatives in this country, the men were buried in Riverside Cemetery on Friday, Sept. 7, 1934.

Conjecture was rampant as to what caused the explosion since dynamite is harmless if handled properly. Somehow a cap must have been attached to a stick of dynamite but the mystery has never been solved.