When you do interrogations in law enforcement, you watch for body language. The hours ticked by as teachers read stories and students colored pictures and played with Legos. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a married couple with a bomb. Sue Castaneda: Because they said he worked here before. Wielding a homemade bomb and several guns, the Youngs took staff members hostage as they made their way to the first-grade classroom. Itold him, It wasnt Grandma Meister because shes alive and living in Pinedale.. It was. Kneeling, we bowed our heads and folded ourarms. Dana Dodini. Penny speeds to the local police station where she informs them of her father's plan, proving it by showing them Deppe and Mendenhall, still handcuffed. Furthermore, the explosive powder that should have lit the air on fire had been miraculously hindered from its deadly purpose, thanks to the leaking gasoline. Some of the most vocal opponents to the project were Ron Hartley and his wife Claudia (who became the principle characters through which the story is told). He confides in them that he saw people dressed all in white angels. And on the set there were many people who were real survivors of that event. I was a first grade teacher in 1986 at the Cokeville Elementary School. Search for: Search Home; News. As she was ready to take us into the second-grade room, this young woman, very pretty young woman, came flying through the door and she was just hysterical. It is a natural breed which early breeders discovered and fell in love with. For more information about our sponsors and the people behind WyoHistory.org, visit our About Us page: Hostage crisis at the elementary school in Cokeville, Wyo. Ron later tells Claudia that he found out every one of the hostages prayed some time during the crisis, and that some ran back into the room to help others. Williams recalls, When I got to the hallway, I felt a tickling sensation on my shoulder and ear. Joshua Cooper as John Miller, a music teacher who is shot by David Young after the bomb goes off. Hartleys son told him there were angels for everyone in the room that day, and just prior to detonation, the angels joined hands around the bomb and went up through the ceiling with the explosion. The winners of the Church History Museums 12th International Art Competition have been announced, and the artwork is breathtaking. She picked up the kids and they were gone. Janel Dayton: Well, when I got out there and cleared the barricade, I saw one little girl fall and she looked at me like, What is going on? And I never saw that child again. (Laughs). Janel Dayton: Ill tell you one thing that I did. All rights reserved. Thats one thing he cannot do, she says. EDITORS NOTE: This Cokeville Miracle article discusses a traumatic event where death andinjuries occurred. Christensen Film Editing by Casting By Art Direction by Monet Devilliers Costume Design by So I was taking the afternoon off to do some preparation work, and then later, another day, she would take the day off and we would combine the groups. The Cokeville Miracle is a 2015 drama film written & directed by T. C. Christensen[2] and starring Jasen Wade, Sarah Kent and Kimball Stinger. I had this little ditzy-doodle roommate that said there was a beautiful lake up there and we ought to go see it in April. Deppe and Mendenhall refuse to cooperate, and David handcuffs them in the back of his van. The Cokeville Miracle Free with ads PG-13 YouTube Movies & TV 162M subscribers Subscribe 24K Children who were held hostage in their elementary school tell stories of miraculous things, but. Janel Dayton: It made no sense whatsoever! But when they got us all in, he passed out something that hed written to the teachers and some of the students. Ron doubts this but Claudia believes him after Jason points out a picture of his great-grandmother, who had passed away years earlier, saying she was his angel in the classroom. But for Williams, her healing was not the greatest miracle she experienced. Doris then manipulates the rest of the school to go into Room 4, telling them "a surprise" waits for them. I dont remember her saying anything to me, but I trusted and followed her out of the burning room. When my son saw that picture, he just brightened up and said, Thats her! I told him hed have to wait in line to go in the restroom, cause it was occupied and he didnt think I was very funny at all. Pickup your copy on DVD or Blu-ray at Deseret Book stores or at deseretbook.com. the cokeville miracle debunked. Doing this? He says that hatred will not be the answer but prayer will. Williams was baptized on August 16, 1989her 14th birthday. Investigators discovered that wires to three of the bombs five blasting caps had been mysteriously cut, preventing detonation. On May 9, 1986, a small ranching community in Wyoming experiences a divine intervention when a couple detonates a bomb inside a crowded classroom. Then they walked across the plains, 1300 miles. There were previous attempts to turn this incredible story into a movie and those attempts had failed in the eyes of the people who actually survived the incident. Kymberly Mellen as Doris Young, David's second wife, who accompanies him on his devious plan, but treats the children with much kindness. Nobody could help her. Transcribers notes: I have added some reference footnotes to this transcript where I thought appropriate. On May 16, 1986, an elementary school in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming, was held hostage by a married couple with a bomb. Janel Dayton: We slid down and just happened to hit a hole, and the fella that I was with, we. So we decided to have a fire drill in the lunchroom where all the children would be there. 2023 www.azcentral.com. Summary: On May 16, 1986, in the small, ranching community of Cokeville, Wy, David and Doris Young took an elementary school hostage for several hours before detonating a bomb inside a single classroom that held every teacher and student in the school. I think theyd been burned. He said that he and his wife had lost their home five times and he said, Neither of us have ever murmured. So thats faith! Do you have anyyoure a pretty perceptive person, so what do you think was goin on? Mark Junge: Thats a really interesting statement! At my left is Sue Castaneda. I took a few steps and started feeling heat on my skinI realized I was on fire.. Oh, Hallelujah, we got it.. Angels camein fact, he cant ever tell anybody about it, and he tells a lot of peoplehe cant ever tell anyone about it without crying. Mark Junge: You went out the south door, I assume. Absolutely. I dont know whyI cant explain it.. Thousands flocked to see it. The magic of T.C.s vision is that its a film for everyone, adds actor Shawn Stevens, who plays the character of ecclesiastical leader John Teichert in the film. academy of western music; mucinex loss of taste and smell; william fuld ouija board worth. Ive never doubted for a second that they saw exactly what they claimed to have seen or heard, Wixom says. Thats not entertainment to me anymore. top 20 worst suburbs in perth 2021. cokeville miracle hoax. Children on set reenact escaping from Cokeville Elementary School the day students and teachers were held hostage and a bomb was detonated. I believe what everybody else says and have faith that they saw what they saw. Eyewitnesses remember her gesturing carelessly, even though one false move would trigger a catastrophic explosion. But one of the miracles of it was that there was so much emergency personnel in town, and Im sure youve heard about that. But even they have no doubt that miracles occurred. Nearly three decades since the miraculous events transpired in the tiny town of Cokeville, Wyoming, movie producer T.C. Soon, more victims began to arrive, and Williams learned that two priesthood holders were offering blessings, so she asked for one. But in the opinion of many, Hollywood missed. First grade teacher Janel Dayton on the 1986 bombing of Cokeville Elementary School Published: November 8, 2014 Janel Dayton, Wyoming State Archives photo. He indicated that he wouldnt mind dispensing with the teachers. cokeville miracle hoax. So I went down to the office and by the time I got there they had talked to the secretary. It was about 1 oclock in the afternoon, and I decided I would go down to the office and get my mail. My Grandma Toomer looked at the picture of her aunt Ruth, whom I was referring to, and said she had never been a teacher that she knew of and that she was not from Cokeville. The film was based on the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis in 1986[3] and the book The Cokeville Miracle: When Angels Intervene by Hartt Wixom and Judene Wixom. Janel Dayton: Well, the only thing that I noticedone thing I was worried was that somebodyd come back and try to finish the job. He then expresses his triumph with his second wife, Doris (Kymberly Mellen). The focus had always been on the evil motivations of David and Doris Young rather than on the series of amazing coincidences that brought everyone out of their control alive and deeply bonded the town of Cokeville forever. His latest, The Cokeville Miracle (read my review), portrays the events of a 1986 elementary school bombing, in which multiple children witnessed angels protecting them. I felt immediately uncomfortable, recalls Amy Bagaso Williams, who was in the fifth grade. Janel Dayton: Very cohesive. The fact that the perpetrators didnt survive was a huge blessing or wed still be going to court to make sure they were treated fairly. One of the very interesting things, I dont know if it was two weeks, a month before this happened, one of us, and I think I might have been the one who said, What would happen if we were all in the same room and had to get out? Because we had fire drills on a regular basis, but we had them from our own classrooms. The film was based on the Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis in 1986 [3] and the book The Cokeville Miracle: When Angels Intervene by Hartt Wixom and Judene Wixom. 5 talking about this. So they moved furniture out of the middle of the room and taped off an area that he had the bomb in so that the kids werent with him. Because nobodythe parents didnt know what had happened. The Cokeville Elementary School hostage crisis occurred on Friday, May 16, 1986, in Cokeville, Wyoming, United States, when former town marshal David Young, 43, and his wife Doris Young, 47, took 136 children and 18 adults hostage at Cokeville Elementary School. She is a beautiful example of turning tragedy into triumph. The film is essentially divided into two parts. On Sunday, Jason refuses to attend church unless his dad does so as well. Sue Castaneda: What do you thinkwhen we were little we did fire drills, but all it was, was line up, go outside. Janel Dayton: When this book was written, one young man says he put it in a badger hole. So if you would just give me your name and tell me what you did at the school, and then on what day it was, and so forth. But I knew the instant mymom opened the locket that it was her. 93 min. Personally I'm glad that TC did not make this a "Mormon" movie -- it deserves as large and audience as possible. By that time I was hysterical, because what happened to these little children that I was responsible for? Words emphasized by the speaker are italicized. Today were going to talk with Janel about her experience in 1986. And then another teacherId been over preparing a talk for church once, and he came in and I was talking to him a little bit about religion, and he said, Oh, Im waiting to see the burning bush. And so, after this happened, I said, Well, what did you think? He said, I dont know who saved us, but I sure like his style! (Laughs). Several of the survivors that visited the set found it difficult to be around the actor that played their tormentor, David Young. Theres an energy that comes at you that you feel; maybe cant necessarily explain. In the wake of the madness, Ron Hartley, whose children were inside . But it gets brought up a lot. 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