Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 71, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 March 1912 — HAT SET AFIRE IN CHURCH [ARTICLE]

HAT SET AFIRE IN CHURCH

Nun Smothers Blaze, Started by Taper, With Wrap Ip Lackawanna— Women Uhinjured. Lackawanna.—The sight of a woman’s hat ablaze in the Church of Our Lady of Victory during the services threw priests and worshipers into excitement for a moment. The church was crowded to the doors. Just before the elevation of the host each of the worshipers, men, women and children, held lighted tapers in their hands. In some unaccountable manner the plumage on the hat worn by an unknown woman became ignited and in an instant the foliage and feathers which adorned her hat were burning briskly. Some of the children in neighboring pews screamed. One of the Sisters connected with the Protectory on Victory Hill seized a wrap and wound it about the burning headgear, smothering the blaze. The hat was a total wreck. The woman kept her presence of mind and was not injured in any way whatever.