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| 1950s |
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More quarry
drownings
from the
1950s |
Due to the high number of quarry related news articles from the 1950s that have been discovered, many of these items are being stored in a separate location in this web site.
See more quarry incidents from the 1950s.
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| OCT 1959 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Material, Indian Creek, Kentucky — James Theodore Rose, age 26, was killed when he was buried by a collapsing embankment at an abandoned strip mine on Indian Creek. Rose had gone to the scene of an abandoned strip mine to dig some coal for his own use. While digging for the coal an embankment, apparently loosened by recent rains, and towering approximately 14 feet above the coal level, collapsed and buried Rose completely. The coroner stated that no bones were broken and there were only minor bruises and lacerations. Suffocation was determined as the cause of death. News Article 
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| APR 1959 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Ironton, Ohio — Bob Russell, 17, was lucky to be alive after his rescue from a mine shaft cave-in. Authorities said the boy and a companion, Jerry Thacker, 10, were exploring a deep mine shaft when a rock fall occurred, trapping the two. Thacker freed himself, but Russell was buried up to his neck. The younger boy ran for help and four men, two of them from a nearby coal company, rushed to the rescue. News Article
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| FEB 1959 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Peckville, Pennsylvania — Two adventurous lads, missing for more than 24 hours, were found safe but "plenty scared" near the bottom of an abandoned mine in a wooded section of Peckville. The youngsters, David Paolucci and Gerald Tyson, had been the object of an all-night search. The 12-year-old boys were found soaking wet and grimy some 250 to 300 feet inside the mine workings by a search party. News Article
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| DEC 1958 |
Abandoned Quarry Drownings, Hamburg, New York — Two young brothers drowned when they fell through thin ice in a Town of Hamburg quarry. Pronounced dead on arrival at Our Lady of Victory Hospital were Melvin Jones, age 11, and Michael Jones, age 8. Another brother, Roy, age 9, ran home to tell their father, who phoned police. The boys sank in about 15 feet of water about 75 feet from the edge of the quarry. News Article
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| OCT 1958 |
Abandoned Strip Mine Lost Person, Carterville, Illinois — A 12-year old Carterville boy was found unharmed in an abandoned strip mine area about a mile from his home. Kenneth Horn, 12, had been reported missing by his parents the night before when he failed to return home. News Article
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| Abandoned Coal Mine Asphyxiations, Centralia, Illinois — The bodies of a man and woman were found Friday in the ruins of an abandoned coal mine shaft here. It appeared that Charles Jenkins, 36, and Mrs. Virginia Goosetree, 45, had been killed by the "black damp" gas seeping from the shaft. The bodies of Mr. Jenkins, a Farina. Ill., farmer, and Mrs. Goosetree, a widowed Salem, III., barmaid, were in a four foot pocket above the sealed entrance of the mine. Residents of the area said "black damp," or methane gas, curled from fissures at the top of the mine. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Roof Fall, Prestonsburg, Kentucky — A miner and a farmer were killed when 10 tons of rock and slate fell on them in an abandoned mine. Authorities said Paul Thruston Dotson, 39, and Charley Pennington, 69, were digging coal for Dotson's use. News Article
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| SEP 1958 |
Abandoned Augur Mine Cave-in, Man, West Virginia — Billy Mills, 12, was killed in the collapse of an augur-mined coal hole while picking coal with his father, a disabled miner. Father and son had filled a light pickup truck and were making ready to leave when the boy climbed back into a hole and was trapped. News Article
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| AUG 1958 |
Abandoned Quarry Drownings, Marion, Ohio — A 33-year-old drowned at Evans Quarry despite rescue efforts by an 11-year-old and three other swimmers. The victim, Harley F. Vance, slipped beneath the surface in approximately eight feet of water, sheriff's deputies said. He apparently was swimming alone and his disappearance was not immediately noticed. According to statements taken at the scene, 11-year-old Mike Hassell dove to the bottom and brought the man to the surface after swimmers saw bubbles rising in the water. Another man at the scene came to young Hassell's assistance. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Centralia, Illinois — Deadly "black damp" gas issuing from an abandoned mine shaft that only 11 years before caused the deaths of 111 coal miners had apparently taken two more lives. Pathologist Louis Rossiter said that Charles (Bud) Jenkins, 36, and Mrs. Virginia Goosetree, 45, whose bodies were found sprawled at the shaft opening, died of some form of poison gas. Jenkins, a Farina farmer, and the widowed Salem barmaid had disappeared days earlier. Their bodies were found in a small pocket above the sealed entrance of Wamac No. 5 shaft. News Article
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| MAY 1958 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall, Harlan, Kentucky — Falling slate in an abandoned coal mine killed a 16-year-old boy. One of the victim's companions was injured. Teddy Coker was crushed to death between two large rocks. Ralph Cloud, 12, was slightly injured. A third youth escaped injury. Officials said the boys had traveled 120 feet into the mine shaft to dig coal. News Article
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| JAN 1958 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Rescue, Crafton Hills, California — Scared and dirty but unhurt, two Yucaipa youths were pulled to safety from an abandoned mine shaft in the Crafton hills area above Oak Glen road by sheriff's deputies and volunteers. The boys, Larry Anderson, 12, and Lee Schumann, 13, waited at the bottom of the shaft for nearly four hours while their companion ran back to Yucaipa for help. The boys had climbed to the area Saturday, discovered the mine shafts and decided to return to the site Sunday with a rope and go down into this particular mine. The Anderson boy made the descent safely on the spindly rope. But when the Schumann youth attempted to go down, the rope broke and he tumbled to the bottom. Neither boy was hurt but they were unable to climb back out. The boys became stranded about 4:30 p.m. and the rescue party set out for the site about 5:45. When the party arrived at the mine, ropes were lowered and Anderson and Schumann were pulled to safety, dirty but otherwise unhurt at about 8:30 p.m. News Article
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| NOV 1957 |
Abandoned Strip Mine Cave-in, Coupon, Pennsylvania — Robert P. Thompson, 14, schoolboy, died after rescuing John T. Vingless, 13, schoolboy, from a cave-in, November 2, 1957. While John and Robert were digging for coal in a small pit four and a half feet deep at an abandoned strip mine, one side of the pit collapsed and clay, slate, and coal in a high ridge above it slid onto them. Robert was posthumously bestowed the Carnegie Hero Award for his bravery. Source Document
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Persons, Pueblo, Colorado — Two teenage boys spent seven hours at the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft Friday after their Jeep plunged 60 feet into the opening. James McCarty, 14, and his cousin, Robert Roblek, 15, suffered severe cuts. The boys were dumping trash. The youngsters said they rounded a hill near the dump and spotted the hole. McCarty, who was driving, attempted to apply the brakes, but the Jeep skidded downhill into the shaft. David Riggs, a game warden, and William McCarty, James' father, lifted out both the boys and the wrecked Jeep with a winch. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Alpine, Texas — During a hunting trip, an 80-foot abandoned mine shaft proved fatal to Clifford Polozeck, age 49. Ed Widmer, chief ranger at Big Bend National Park, said an unidentified companion summoned aid. He said the companion narrowly escaped falling into the old quicksilver mine shaft about 70 miles south of Alpine. Polozeck's hunting companion, described as semi-hysterical, walked five miles through the rugged Christmas Mountains from the mine shaft to the highway, where he found a group of state highway workers. Taking a cable, the men went to the mine shaft, lowered a man into the mine and tied Polozeck to an old door He was lifted out alive but died before rescuers could get him back to the highway. News Article
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| JUL 1957 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Steelton, Pennsylvania — Robert Johnson, 15, drowned in the Bethlehem Steel Co. quarry while swimming with two other youths. His body was recovered 1½ hours after the youth sank beneath the surface of the quarry water. News Article
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| JUN 1957 |
Abandoned Spring Hill Mine Rescue, Helena, Montana — Three teenage boys trapped in the abandoned Spring Hill mine shaft near Helena, Montana for more than 4 hours were rescued. The trio, Louis and George Taylor and John McIntosh, all about 15 years of age, suffered only superficial cuts and bruises on their hands and arms from the sharp rocks while being pulled out of the shaft. News Article
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| MAY 1957 |
Lost Persons Cave Rescue, Easton, Pennsylvania — Three boys and a science writer were rescued from a cave after having been lost underground for twenty-one hours. Two state troopers and a resident of the area trailed a length of rope from the cave entrance to the four. Then they followed the rope back to the surface. The four spent a wet and shivering night in a forty-foot-square chamber 100 feet from the entrance and about twenty feet below the surface. They were in good physical condition after the rescue, although they were wearing light clothing and had had only candy bars to eat. When Mr. Pfeiffer failed to return home, Mrs. Pfeiffer notified the state police. Troopers searched several commercial and noncommercial caves. The lost foursome included John E. Pfeiffer, 42; his son, Tony, 12; Charles Ingham, 11; and Norman Ganter, 11. Mr. Pfeiffer said they had become lost in many twisting passages. They decided to sit down and await rescue. News Article
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| MAR 1957 |
50-year-old Cantrell Owens was rescued from an abandoned Kentucky coal mine near Harlan after spending more than 2 days lost in mine. Rescuers had to give up the search once because of the foul air they encountered. Source document 
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| DEC 1956 |
Trail Mountain No. 2 Mine Explosion, Orangeville, Utah — A coal dust explosion occurred in this mine, fatally injuring the operator and two 12-year-old boys who were visiting the mine. The victims were Tod Robertson, 34, operator of the mine; his nephew, Earl Cox, 12, and Ben Ihler, 12. Web Page
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| SEP 1956 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatality, McAlester, Oklahoma — A prisoner at the state penitentiary was found dead today in an abandoned mine shaft in the center of the prison grounds, apparently where he had hidden a pet dog. He was John Drumgold Jr., 37, Kansas City, serving a 4-year sentence for larceny. He would have been eligible for release Dec. 8. The body was about 500 feet back in the shaft. A medical examiner said he died from carbon dioxide fumes. Officers said some trusties had kept dogs and other pets in the area, but the animals had been picked up recently and taken to
the McAlester pound. Drumgold apparently had hidden his dog in the shaft and was taking food to it. The shaft will be inspected thoroughly, then be sealed off as are two other mines in the area. News Article
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| AUG 1956 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatality, Ringwood, New Jersey — The body of a 21-year-old man missing since Thursday was found at the bottom of a 200-foot-deep abandoned mine shaft. The dead man was August Van Dunk, who was partially blind and weighed 250 pounds. Police said he had been living on Millertown Road with his grandfather, Samuel Van Dunk but no report had been made of his disappearance. Three teenagers found his body and it took police and others 34 hours to haul it to the surface on a stretcher. The medical examiner said an autopsy showed the man died of a fractured skull and ruptured spleen. Acting County Prosecutor Charles S. Joelson said there were no signs of foul play, but he is not ruling the death accidental pending further investigation. The shaft is the rear entrance to a mine owned by the General Services Administration, a federal agency, and unused since 1953. News Article
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| MAY 1956 |
Allegheny Coal and Coke Mine Lost Persons, Tarentum, Pennsylvania — Two teenaged boys, Joseph Pitkavich, 16, and Paul Crawford, 15, who wandered for nearly 24 hours in a vast coal mine were rescued after they entered the Allegheny Coal and Coke Co. mine and became separated from four other hookey-playing companions from Har-Brack High School. The search for the two boys began after they failed to return to the mine entrance where their four companions waited. Parents and neighbors kept an all-night vigil while rescuers made a foot-by-foot search of 10 miles of winding tunnels. Joseph and Paul were found by Lloyd Nicewonger and Dominic Bonino sitting about 2,000 feet from the mine entrance. They said they did not realize they were lost until they had wandered through the mine for nearly two hours. "When we kept coming back to the same place, we knew we were lost," Joseph said. Joseph said his experience taught him "never to go in a mine again or play hookey." Paul admitted he had enough adventure for a while. "I'm never going in a mine again," he said. News Article
Almost four months later, on August 29, 1956, Joseph Pitkavich was killed in an auto accident in which he was a passenger. News Article
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| OCT 1955 |
Abandoned Clay Mine Rescue, East Liverpool, Ohio — Three young men were rescued after being lost in an abandoned clay mine for 15 hours. A searching party of about 50 persons was formed after the trio failed to return home. They were found unharmed 5 hours after the search began. Those rescued included: Ed Unger, 16; Lemoyne Simms, 19; and James Simms, 23. News Article
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| SEP 1955 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Georgetown, Colorado — A rescue squad found the bodies of two missing Kansas uranium prospectors in an abandoned mine shaft. The 11-man squad, wearing special breathing apparatus, discovered the bodies of Glenn Dew, 33, and Melvin LeBlow, 45, both of Ulysses, Kansas, after a search lasting more than 3 days. Sheriff James Sacra said the bodies were nearly 6,000 feet from the mine entrance. The two disappeared in the ancient shaft Thursday afternoon. Two companions waiting at the entrance for their return sounded the alarm after they failed to reappear. The bodies were left inside the tunnel until a coroner arrived at the floodlit scene. News Article
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| MAY 1955 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Cloverdale, California — Floyd Whittaker was recovering at his home in traction after he was seriously injured when he fell down a shaft at a mine on the Geyser Road. He suffered a fractured cervical spine, multiple fractures of the right thumb and contusions and abrasions of the body. He was brought to a local facility and given treatment and then taken to his home and his back put in traction. News Article
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| APR 1955 |
Fall of Person Rescue, Aurora, Colorado — Two-year-old David Mark Counterman was raised to safety after spending nearly four hours at the bottom of an eighteen-foot well shaft. The shaft was eighteen inches in diameter. Workers drilled a parallel shaft, then angled under the child. Three rescuers made their way to the bottom of the rescue shaft and dug through to the boy. They pulled him headfirst into the new shaft and then to the surface as his mother and nearly 1,000 neighbors and other onlookers cheered. David tumbled into the shaft when his father, Charles, 24, turned away to rest from working a hand-operated auger he was using to dig a water well in the rear yard of his home. News Article
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| DEC 1954 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Welch, West Virginia — Three men died Monday or Sunday night, evidently from asphyxiation, in an abandoned coal mine which contained a still for making illicit moonshine whisky. They were McKinley Marcum, 26, and his brother Warren, 23, both of Roderfield, and their cousin William Duncan, 28, of Washington, D.C., who was visiting here. A mine rescue team found the bodies lying in shallow water Monday afternoon inside the old Fall River Mine, which was abandoned about 35 years ago. News Article
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| NOV 1954 |
Abandoned Anthracite Coal Mine Fall of Person, Shaft, Pennsylvania — Alden A. Hartz, 27, construction worker, rescued Catherine M. Murphy, 72, from a cave-in, Shaft, Pennsylvania, November 23, 1954. Mrs. Murphy was crossing a field near her home when a cave-in occurred above an abandoned coal mine underlying that area. Ground gave way beneath her; and she fell into a hole 70 feet deep caused by the cave-in, landing on a mound of fallen earth which rose 20 feet above the bottom of the hole. She sustained severe injuries and partially was buried by earth. The hole was four feet wide at the surface and thence downward to the bottom widened irregularly to 40 feet, the sides having numerous overhanging protuberances. Attracted by the screams of Mrs. Murphy, Hartz and others gathered at the hole. A 20-foot ladder was placed on the ground across the hole. Although he could observe that the sides of the hole were unstable, Hartz, who observed others already there were reluctant to enter the hole, volunteered at once to descend to Mrs. Murphy and tied the end of 150-foot rope to himself. He was lowered into the opening carrying a hand lamp. Three men played out the rope, and another man lay prone on the ladder to guide the rope as Hartz was lowered 50 feet to the mound. Descending 12 feet on the mound, he found Mrs. Murphy and freed her from the fallen earth. She became unconscious. He had difficulty obtaining footing on the muddy slope and called to the men above to pull slowly on the rope. Hartz drew Mrs. Murphy to the top of the mound. He saw small stones and dirt falling from the sides of the hole and realized another cave-in might be imminent but removed the rope from himself and fastened it securely to Mrs. Murphy, deciding because of her injuries to have her taken up separately while he waited on the mound. At Hartz's call the men lifted Mrs. Murphy to the surface. The rope was returned to Hartz, and he was drawn rapidly from the hole after being in it seven minutes. Mrs. Murphy was rushed to a hospital but died of her injuries two days later. Hartz was nervous but recovered. Mr. Hartz was bestowed the Carnegie Hero Award for his bravery. Source document
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| OCT 1954 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Eatonville, Washington — Second Lt. James Clinkingbeard, of Fort Lewis, was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft 18 hours after he had fallen into a 40-foot pit. Clinkingbeard was pulled from the shaft by a search party organized after his hunting companion, Lt. Joseph Jacob, also of Fort Lewis, reported that Clinkingbeard had failed to return to their car at nightfall the day before. Sheriff's officers said the officer tumbled 40 feet down the shaft and landed on water and rocks at its bottom. He fractured a wrist in the fall. News Article
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| AUG 1954 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Diamondtown, Pennsylvania — A seven-year-old Mt. Carmel boy was rescued after an undisclosed period from an abandoned coal hole into which he fell while flying a kite on the hillside north of Diamondtown. William Boychuk was taken to Shamokin Hospital where he was treated for multiple abrasions of the back, arms, right ear and legs. The youngster, one of several flying kites on the mine-scarred hillside, was believed to have been running backwards with his tow string when he failed to notice the abandoned shaft and dropped into it. His playmates didn't notice his absence immediately but discovered him when they saw his kite string leading into the old mine opening. The alarm was spread, and rescue workers used a clothesline to haul the lad to the surface. A loop was fashioned in the rope and lowered to the boy who was instructed to fasten the loop beneath his arms. Rescue workers said it appeared the boy landed on sandy soil that had created a shelf 50 feet from the
top. Had he missed the shelf he would have plunged to an unknown depth. News Article
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| APR 1954 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Person, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — An 8-year-old boy was rescued from an abandoned coal hole at Shamokin through the combined efforts of a police officer and volunteers. Little Denny May fell 75 feet into the hole and had to spend an hour there before he was brought to the surface. Denny was playing in the vicinity of his home with some other children when he fell into the mine located on North Mountain, just north of Shamokin. News Article
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| FEB 1954 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — Two four-year-old boys drowned in an abandoned suburban quarry despite efforts of their mothers, one of whom was expecting another child, and two men to rescue them. The four adults in turn had to be rescued from the numbing waters of the 80-foot-deep quarry. The victims were Michael Collins and Michael Mitchell. They had been chasing a golf ball over a thin covering of ice on the quarry when they broke through. Mrs. Alicia Collins and Mrs. Betty Mitchell, summoned by playmates, jumped in after the boys. Police said Mrs. Mitchell was expecting another child any day. Jack Parker, 21, and his brother Harvey, 23, also plunged into the icy water after the children. The younger Parker said he succeeded in bringing the Collins boy back to shore, but the boy apparently slipped back into the quarry when he returned for the Mitchell child. The children's bodies were recovered about an hour later. News Article
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| Dec 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Unity, Pennsylvania — One boy was dead and another injured as a result of a cave-in in an abandoned mine at Unity in Penn Township. Joseph Haas, Jr., 13, died of hemorrhages and shock when he was buried beneath dirt and shale near the mine entrance. Joseph Molchan, 12, was rescued from the slide by his brother, Francis, 17, and was in Columbia Hospital, Wilkinsburg. The extent of his injuries were to be determined. News Article 1, News Article 2
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| NOV 1953 |
Smokeless Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Boynton, Pennsylvania — While visiting his father in the Tressler Coal Co., Smokeless mine, a 15-year-old boy was killed by a roof fall. The boy was taken into the mine by his father. News Article
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| AUG 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Centerville, Iowa — Three teen-agers who left home early on August 11 to explore a cave, were found dead the next night in a coal mine which had been closed down for the summer. Sheriff A. G. Morlan said the three apparently were victims of "black damp," a deadly gas which sometimes accumulates in mines. Bodies of Carl Hobart, 14, Charles Dunham, 15, and Mickie Coulter, 15, were found by Walter Adams, their scoutmaster, and Albert Adams, a tavern owner. News Article
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| JUL 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, New Castle, Alabama — Black damp in an abandoned coal mine killed one New Castle man and hospitalized another. Dead was Leroy Lucas, 36. A companion, Frank Jordan, was hospitalized where attendants described his condition as good. The Coroner said Lucas and a third man, Coleman Dyle, were gathering scrap coal from an abandoned slope when Lucas was overcome. Dyle staggered from the shaft and enlisted the aid of Jordan to go back in to get Lucas. Jordan was overcome, however, and Dyle carried him back out. News Article
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| MAY 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Goodsprings, Nevada — This story comes from Boulder City and relates to a father who rescued his son from a deep mine shaft near Goodsprings in Clark County. On a Sunday, about two weeks earlier, the family — Jake Dielemans and his wife and their two sons, Dick, age 13, Bobby, age five — went out with a group of local people interested in prospecting. They were perusing the area around Goodsprings. Jake and the other men were out checking rocks and formations when suddenly Jake looked around back toward where he had parked his car and saw the legs of his son Bobby shooting downward. At the same time, he heard a deafening scream from the lad. All hands went running and found that Bobby had fallen down a deep, dark, and treacherous looking mine shaft. They could see nothing and were frantic. They judged the hole at least 70 feet deep. They thought they detected a faint cry from the bottom of the pit. Then everyone went to work. One man raced to his vehicle, pulled out a couple of ropes and tied them together. Someone had to be dropped to the bottom of the pit. Jake insisted on doing it. But the rope was not strong enough to hold the hefty 200-pound man. It was Dick, the older brother, who cried to be allowed to go down after his brother. The little fellow — who last year was an All-American Pony Bowl footballer — again showed he was an All-American boy. The men tied the rope around him, gave him another loop for his brother, and lowered him into the pit. Jake, the father, meantime had scrambled down the hole about 15 feet and hung onto a ledge and guided the rope. Little Dick reached bottom, tied the halter onto his brother, and the men above hauled the two lads up. The rest is now a big sigh of relief. The lad was rushed to the Boulder Hospital. No bones were broken, thanks to a bed of blow sand at the bottom of the pit, and the lad was just a bit shaken. News Article
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| Abandoned Lime Mine Fall of Person, Rosendale, New York — Jack Rustemeyer, 13, was rescued after an undisclosed period by Binnewater firemen after he plunged 50 feet to a ledge in an old lime mine in the Maple Hill section of Rosendale. He was taken to Kingston City hospital and attended for shock and multiple bruises and abrasions and later taken to his home. The boy and three companions were walking near the edge of the mine when the ground gave way. Three boys managed to run to safety. The Rustemeyer boy dropped into the mine. He landed on a ledge 50 feet below the surface. The other boys ran to the Rustemeyer home and told Mrs. Rustemeyer her son had fallen into the mine. She summoned Binnewater firemen, who lowered a rope to the injured boy. He tied the rope around his waist and firemen pulled him to safety. News Article
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| JAN 1953 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Lordsburg, Nevada — A 15-year-old high school boy was recovering from several broken bones and assorted bruises after miraculously surviving a fall down a 330-foot mine shaft. Ray Harrington received a broken collarbone, broken arm and broken leg when he tumbled down the abandoned Nevada mine shaft. Rescuers attributed his survival to the fact that the shaft had a jog in it about midway down. This, they say, may have broken his fall. News Article
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| Saint Louis Mine Blasting Fatality, Virginia, Minnesota — A 10-year-old boy was fatally injured by fly rock while he and two companions watched miners blasting at an open pit mine near Virginia. The boys had been warned away from the area but apparently did not go far enough. News Article
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| Gilberton Coal Company Drill Hole Entrapment, Gilberton, Pennsylvania — Five-year-old Laura Mae Heiser was freed from her 90-minute confinement after falling 10 feet into an 11-inch test hole at the strip mine owned by the Gilberton Coal Company. Rescuers ingeniously fashioned a make-shift vertical stretcher to free the child from her entrapment. News Article
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| AUG 1952 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Worland, Wyoming — Three men were killed by the deadly black damp of an abandoned coal mine as the result of an exploration adventure. Tony Martinez of Worland and Joe Martinez of Pueblo, Colo., (no relation), decided to explore the mine while on a picnic. Tony Martinez' wife, who remained at the mouth of the mine became alarmed when the men did not reappear after a few minutes. Peering into the hole, she saw the men lying about 85 feet from the entrance. Mrs. Martinez rushed for help, and Jaye Leo Vialpando came to her aid. Vialpando went into the mine after the two men and was immediately overcome himself. Other members of the party summoned additional help. Firemen found the bodies after entering the mine with gas masks. News Article
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| Abandoned Strip Mine Rock Slide, McComas, West Virginia — On August 25, 1952, at about 11:30 a.m., a rockslide occurred from the highwall of an abandoned strip mine near McComas, West Virginia, which resulted in the instant death of Harold Allen Wall, age 10, and the serious injury of Bettis Wall, age 35, the victim's father. On the day of the accident Bettis Wall and the victim drove a pick-up truck into the abandoned strip pit which was about 200 yards off the main highway for the purpose of digging house coal. The highwall at this point was approximately 30 feet high. Witnesses to the accident were not available at the time of the investigation but the evidence indicated they had dug very little coal from underneath the highwall when the slide consisting of several tons of loose rock and dirt occurred, killing Harold Allen Wall instantly and seriously injuring his father. USBM Accident Report
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| MAY 1952 |
Abandoned Shale Mine Fall of Person, Royal Gorge, Colorado — Donna Zarnowski, 17, of Burns, Kansas, tumbled 100 feet and became trapped in a mine shaft by a quarter-ton boulder during a senior class visit to scenic attractions which included the abandoned shale mine shaft near Royal Gorge. A boulder at the mine entrance on which Donna was leaning gave way and she tumbled down the 60-degree entrance shaft after it. She came to rest 100 feet down the shaft and the boulder rolled back and pinned her against a slate pillar. A doctor was lowered into the pit to give her a hypodermic while a wrecking truck and firemen were enroute. A Catholic priest was also let down by rope at her request. Two hours later the boulder was moved by a winch and cable. Firemen strapped the girl to a stretcher, and she was hauled to the mine entrance. She was transported to Canon City hospital where she was reported in serious condition from injuries suffered. News Article
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| JAN 1952 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Springfield, Missouri — Don M. Searle, 18, suffered serious injuries when he fell into an abandoned mine shaft on Pierson Creek, five miles east of Springfield, Missouri. Searle was searching for traces of uranium in the old mine with three companions. He was being lowered into the shaft with a windlass and rope when the rope broke, dropping him about 50 feet. Ropes were used to bring him to the surface about 30 minutes after he tumbled into the shaft. He suffered a leg fracture, back injury and cuts. News Article
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| FEB 1951 |
Sizemore Farm Roof Fall Fatality, Erose, Kentucky — On February 14, a young schoolboy was killed instantly by a roof fall in a shallow excavation on the Sizemore Farm. The accident occurred about 11:30 a.m., February 14, 1951; the office at Barbourville, KY was notified of the occurrence at 4:30 p.m. Gambrel was 12 years old and is survived by a mother, father, sister and brother. Source: MSHA Fatality Database
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| DEC 1950 |
Higgenbottom Cavern Rescue, McMinnville, Tennessee — National Guardsmen, passing along a stretcher on their hands and knees, rescued 17-year-old Don Ball, Nashville high school football star, after a tortuous five-mile underground trip from the fifty-foot pit into which he toppled. Ball was reported in critical condition with head and leg injuries and the possibility of a pneumonia complication due to his seventeen hour entrapment in Higgenbottom Cavern. William Greer, a 125-pound volunteer, was lowered into the chasm deep inside the cave to tie a rope around Ball so the Guardsmen could haul his limp body to the cavern floor. News Article
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| NOV 1950 |
Elliot No. 1 Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Woodbine, Kentucky — A 14-year-old boy was killed by a fall of roof on November 2nd while digging coal from a closed mine. Source: MSHA Fatality Database
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| AUG 1950 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Bethalto, Illinois — A 15-year-old was killed when he fell 90 feet down an abandoned mine shaft at Bethalto. The victim, Elza Kenneth Neese, apparently died of a broken neck, said Deputy Coroner Darrell Smith. A Bethalto volunteer fireman, Buford Walters, was overcome by gas fumes when he attempted to rescue the boy and was taken to Wood River Township Hospital. A second fireman, Charles Bennett, finally recovered the body. A second youth, David Brown, said he and Neese decided to investigate the mine shaft. Brown said he had left the shaft because he felt dizzy when he suddenly heard a splash as the other boy hit the shaft bottom. The abandoned mine was on the farm of John Henkhaus. News Article
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| JUL 1950 |
Abandoned Anthracite Strip Mine Entrapment, Glen Carbon, Pennsylvania — A 13-year-old Philadelphia boy was rescued from the bottom of a 60-foot abandoned stripping pit at Glen Carbon, near Minersville, after being trapped for more than two hours. John Murphy, who was visiting relatives in the Schuylkill County area, was playing baseball with a group of companions. The ball rolled into the pit and Murphy entered the hole to retrieve the ball. At the bottom, he sank waist-deep into heavy mud, but kept from slipping beneath the surface of the mud by clinging to a rock ledge. Rescue workers erected a platform over the muddy section and then released the uninjured boy. News Article
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| APR 1950 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Cawood, Kentucky — On April 11th, a 10-year-old boy was killed instantly by a fall of rock while digging house coal in an abandoned mine. Source: MSHA Fatality Database
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| Abandoned Mine Roof Fall, Bobs Creek, Kentucky — William David Irvin, age 10, died instantly when he was crushed under a slate fall as he and his father gathered coal in a worked-out mine at Bobs Creek. His father, Brown Irvin, was not injured in the slate fall. The father and son were digging coal for home use when a two-ton piece of slate rolled off and crushed the boy. News Article
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| FEB 1950 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Stanley, North Carolina — A 100-year-old abandoned iron mine caved in near here killing one boy and hurting three. They were among 25 Stanley High School students on an educational tour. A road crew working nearby rushed to the scene and dug frantically for 30 minutes before rescuing the four boys who had entered an underground shaft. Boyd Ledford, 12, died in a hospital. Witnesses said they believed the weight of other members of the party walking over the area caused the cave-in. News Article
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| 1940s |
|
|
More quarry
drownings
from the
1940s |
Due to the high number of quarry related news articles from the 1940s that have been discovered, many of these items are being stored in a separate location in this web site.
See more quarry incidents from the 1940s.
|
| OCT 1949 |
Abandoned Well Rescue, Austin, Texas — A 3-year-old boy fell 14 feet down a narrow shaft of an abandoned well and was rescued alive three hours later. Bobby Gow, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Gow of Austin, toppled into the 10-inch shaft while playing. A 12-year-old playmate saw him fall and spread the alarm. His rescue came after three steam shovels, compressed air hammers and volunteer pick and shovel workers tore away the earth from the 20-foot hole. Except for the happier ending. The incident was reminiscent of the tragedy of Kathy Fiscus, age 3, who died last April after a 98-foot fall down an abandoned well pipe at San Marino, California. News Article
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| JUN 1947 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Glendale, Arizona — A vacation day jaunt into the desert in search of adventure and to explore abandoned mines ended in death for three Glendale, Arizona youths. The bodies of the victims were recovered from an abandoned mine shaft in a hillside by sheriff's deputies. The dead were Gordon Read, 18, Bob Holly, 17, and Bruce MacDonald, 18. The youths were victims of their lack of knowledge that it was dangerous to build a fire in the dead end of the shaft where there was no ventilation. Smoke and carbon monoxide gas created by exhaustion of oxygen killed them. One apparently tried to crawl out before he died. News Article
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| OCT 1946 |
Abandoned Pennsylvania Coal Co. Mine Rescue, Pittston, Pennsylvania — A Pittston coal miner was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft after being entombed for several hours. Benjamin Desko, 58, was locked in the shaft when the exit was filled in by a bulldozer operator, who was unaware that he was in the shaft. Desko was reported missing by his wife when he failed to return home. She went to the shaft where her husband said he would be working and discovered the entrance blocked. The alarm was sounded and workers of the Pennsylvania Coal Company made the rescue. When examined at the Pittston Hospital, Desko was found to be none the worst for his experience. News Article
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| SEP 1946 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatality, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania — The body of Charles Waselus, 58, was discovered in a coal hole at an abandoned stripping before in Plains Township. Trooper John Harkovich said Waselus was apparently caught under a fall of earth while engaged in picking coal and suffocated. His body was discovered by his son-in-law, Michael Loncoski. Loncoski and several companions surmised the man had been trapped in the fall and they discovered the body after digging a few feet into the earth. News Article
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| FEB 1946 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Lost Persons, East Scranton, Pennsylvania — After spending a night, lost in an underground gangway in an abandoned Anthracite mine, three Scranton youths were rescued. Rescued were: Joseph Buydos, 16; George E. Lowe, 17; and Edward Liptock, 16. The boys entered the workings of the abandoned East Scranton mine shortly after school closed Monday. Exploring the passages, they became lost in the many tunnels and decided to wait until rescue came. When found the next day, after an undisclosed period, despite their long imprisonment in the damp and cold tunnels, the boys were unaffected physically, but were tired and hungry. News Article
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| AUG 1945 |
Abandoned Mine Landslide, Beechwood, Maryland — The cows came home safe and sound — all four of them — after being trapped by a landslide for three days in an old coal mine without food or water. Shifts of men worked by lantern and carbon lamp hauling out wheelbarrow loads of rock and attempting to erect roof supports against recurrent rock fall. All were in good condition, their owners said. The last cow to be rescued, found about 150 feet from the entrance, was temporarily light-blinded, but was expected to be all right. News Article
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| MAY 1945 |
Mine Subsidence Rescue, Pittston, Pennsylvania — A 57-year-old mother of 11 children was rescued from a 25-foot pit, after a section of her yard subsided as she stepped from the rear porch of her home. The woman, Mrs. Clayton M. Ryce, was rescued after an undisclosed period by her husband and neighbors after suffering lacerations and contusions. The Ryce home is located over abandoned mine workings near the scene of a former mine-subsidence which claimed the life of a five-year-old boy. News Article
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| NOV 1944 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — John Stebila, 16, was a patient in serious condition at Shamokin Hospital, the result of an accident which befell him as he was assisting in fighting a forest fire. The youth was a member of a fire-fighting group which was summoned to battle a blaze near the mining community. According to companions who took him to Shamokin Hospital, he fell a distance of more than 250 feet to the bottom of an abandoned mine shaft. Rescue workers worked for some time before they were able to bring the injured boy to the surface, and he was then taken to Shamokin Hospital. Doctors at the hospital said the accident victim sustained compound fractures of the hip, lacerations of the scalp, pelvic injuries, and a possible skull fracture. News Article
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| MAR 1944 |
Anthracite Mine Hole Fall of Ground, West Scranton, Pennsylvania — Edward Pall, age 7, from West Scranton, appeared little the worse at his home following his rescue from a mine cave hole which held him prisoner for nearly two hours. The boy was on his way to school and walking along a path through a field near his home when the earth gave way and swallowed him to his shoulders. Nearly two hours later, his father, Charles Pall, on his way to work heard the boy's cries and saw his head sticking out of the ground. After digging frantically, Pall rescued his son and carried him home. Examination of the youngster showed he was unhurt but suffering somewhat from shock. Police said the cave was four feet deep. News Article
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| Mine Subsidence Fall of Ground, Pittston, Pennsylvania — Seven-year-old Robert Adrian was swallowed up by the earth in a mine subsidence today, only 300 feet from the spot where Jule Ann Fulmer, age 2, was killed in a similar cave-in a month earlier. But Robert lived to tell about it. Walking home from a barber shop, Robert plunged 10 feet into the earth when the paving opened beneath him, but he was buried only to his waist. The terror-stricken youngster scrambled to safety before passersby reached him. Almost simultaneously, another cave-in occurred nearby, but no one was near the spot. News Article
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| FEB 1943 |
Abandoned Mine Lost Persons, Scranton, Pennsylvania — Cold and weak, two Scranton boys found their way out of an abandoned mine after being lost 24 hours. The boys, Robert Ritchie, 13, and Paul Foytack, 12, entered the working to retrieve a half dollar which rolled in after falling from Ritchie's hand. Police and Boy Scouts had searched for them in a nearby woods. News Article
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| SEP 1942 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Renton, Washington — A Renton, Washington father's three sons failed to return home. He found two of their bodies at the bottom of an abandoned test shaft of a coal mine near Renton. The boys, James Geary, 6, and his brother, Willard, 15, were the victims of "black damp," police said. The third son, Joe, and a friend named Lorenz, also may have perished. News Article
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| AUG 1942 |
Abandoned Clay Mine Lost Persons, East Liverpool, Ohio Two youths lost for 15 hours in an abandoned clay mine were found safe by a rescue squad. The youths, Robert Clutter, 17, and Donald Mahon, Jr., 18, became separated from companions after entering the multi-chambered mine, extending from five to six miles into hills overlooking the Ohio river. They were frightened but unhurt. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Dupont, Pennsylvania — One boy was killed, and several others narrowly escaped a similar fate while they were playing in an abandoned mine at Dupont, near Scranton. Frank Koza, 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Koza was walking some distance ahead of several other boys in the old workings when the roof caved in and crushed him. Koza's companions rushed out through the opening and gave the alarm. A rescue squad labored more than an hour before they recovered the crushed body. News Article
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| NOV 1941 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Camden, Kentucky — After returning from his work as machine operator in No. 4 mine, Jim Gallion, about 50, went into an old, abandoned mine on the creek bed near his home at Camden to get a little coal for the family's use. After putting off a shot, Gallion was said to have gone back into the mine to see the result of the blast, when the heavy fail came that blotted a valued employee of the Consolidation for more than twenty years. News Article
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| SEP 1941 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, Martins Ferry, Ohio — Ten-year-old Clifford McConnell, who disappeared from his home Saturday, was found dead of "black damp," deadly mine gas, in an abandoned coal shaft. Playmates led searchers to his body. News Article
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| JUL 1941 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Commerce Oklahoma — A 9-year-old Commerce boy miraculously cheated death when he plummeted more than 300 feet to the bottom of a mine shaft. Bobby Turley escaped with a left leg broken at the ankle and shin. Bobby, playing with Howard Jones, 8, had backed into the abandoned shaft while searching for eggs in bird nests. Two miners, Art Bushner and Roy Kelley, both of Miami, were lowered to the bottom on a cable from a truck equipped with a winch line, to effect the rescue. News Article
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| MAY 1941 |
Abandoned McKisick Mine Fall of Person, Jackson Hot Springs, Oregon — After being trapped at the bottom of an 85-foot shaft in an abandoned mine, 13-year-old Robert Porter was rescued after an undisclosed period and was none the worse for his experience. Young Porter along with Warren Davis, 13, discovered a mine shaft of the old McKisick Mine and decided to give it the once over. Robert was the first to start down the 65-foot ladder, with Warren following at a distance. Near the bottom, the ladder broke off and dropped Robert the remainder of the distance. With an unimpaired portion of ladder remaining, Davis climbed back out and ran for help. State Policeman Phil Stansbury, City Policeman Parker Hess, and Fire Chief Clint Baughman answered the call. They went to the scene and pulled young Porter from the shaft by means of a rope. The youth was unhurt except for some minor scratches and bruises, but after their experience the boys decided to return to their homes and forego their night in the wilds. News Article
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| DEC 1940 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall Fatality, Daughman, Kentucky — Herman Honeycutt, 17, was killed when caught beneath a slate fall today as he went into an abandoned mine near his home at Daughman for some coal. His widowed mother, searching for him. found the body beneath a ton of debris. News Article
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| OCT 1940 |
Fall of Ground Incident and Rescue, Scranton, Pennsylvania — Eleven-year-old Joseph Steindel rested comfortably at his home, seemingly none the worse from his brief entombment when the walls of an eighteen-foot crater near Cornell Park collapsed while he was digging coal. The little victim was jerked from the brink of eternity by four South Scranton men who extricated the victim with their bare hands. When Edward Nowrocki arrived after being attracted by the boy's screams, he saw only a blackened hand extending above the rock and debris. Nowrocki and the others joined in the rescue and digging with their hands, the skin of their fingers torn with each thrust, they piled rock, coal, and dirt to one side and in less than a minute little Joseph's head was unearthed. The youngster was unconscious but started to breathe freely by the time the rescuers had loosed his wedged body from the landslide. The lad was rushed to State Hospital in a police radio car, where he was found to have incurred only minor body bruises and shock. News Article
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| SEP 1940 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Stonerville, Pennsylvania — Found unconscious in an abandoned coal mine at Stonerville, near Ohiopyle, William Morrison, 21, and John Michaels, 30 were dragged to safety by Robert Morrison, the former's brother. The men were overcome by "black damp" 200 feet in the mine, where they had gone in search of parts to repair a wagon. Robert Morrison went to look for them when they failed to reappear. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Rescue, Charleston, West Virginia — Two half-nude men, so crazed by hours of exposure to "black damp" that they tore off most of their clothing, were rescued from an abandoned coal mine by crews wearing oxygen helmets. The men were rushed to a hospital at Montgomery, where attaches said Earl Mason, 21 years old, had been placed under an oxygen tent. Both Mason and his companion, Elmer Gay, 33, Montgomery, are expected to recover. They were in the mine for 16½ hours. The men told hospital attendants that they entered the old mine to obtain coal for their families. Rescue crews found Gay and Mason sitting with their backs against the wall of the mine, in a delirium. They had torn off their caps, mining lamps, shoes, and shirts, and were "nearly dead." Apparently there was just barely enough oxygen in the air to keep them alive. News Article
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| AUG 1940 |
Coaldale Mine Roof Fall, Osceola Mills, Pennsylvania — A mine ceiling at the Coaldale operations a mile from this central Pennsylvania community collapsed and killed two boys who had gone into the idle workings "just for fun." The dead were Kenneth Thompson, 14, of Osceola Mills, and Amos Cowfer, 15, of Philadelphia. Samuel Cowfer, 17, a cousin of Amos and son of the superintendent of the mine, escaped uninjured. Young Cowfer said the trio hitched a mule to a coal car and rode into the mine. About 100 feet from the mouth he said, the car hit and dislodged timbering, showering tons of earth on the two boys in the back of the car. News Article
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| 1930s |
|
|
More quarry
drownings
from the
1930s |
Due to the high number of quarry related news articles from the 1930s that have been discovered, many of these items are being stored in a separate location in this web site.
See more quarry incidents from the 1930s.
|
|
DEC 1939 |
Leggett's Creek Colliery Fall of Person, North Scranton, Pennsylvania — Albert Owens, 17, was recovering from injuries and exposure after a fall down a deep shaft at the Leggett's Creek Colliery of the Penn Anthracite Company near his North Scranton home. He finally was rescued and brought to the surface after he had clung to bracing timbers that had broken his fall. If he had lost his hold, police said, he would have plunged 700 feet to certain death. Young Owens and his brother, Frank, 15, were playing near the mine entrance, when Albert dropped down the chasm. The brother ran to a house a half-mile away and State Motor Police were notified. Patrolman John Owens first attempted to rescue the youth but the rope was too short. A ladder then was placed across the shaft and with a longer rope Nicholas Williams descended and was pulled up with young Owens. Officials were informed there were no guard rails at the shaft. The victim was removed to Scranton State Hospital with a broken right leg, possible internal injuries. He suffered from exposure in the bitter cold in the mine shaft before his rescue. News Article
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| NOV 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Rock Fall, Trinidad. Colorado — A 12-year-old boy exploring an abandoned coal mine was crushed to death by a huge rock. Coroner Ed Toupal said the victim, Arthur Brandolino, went into the mine with his brother, Nick, 14. Arthur stayed behind when Nick left. A rock fell from the roof and crushed the boy. News Article
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| JUL 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Explosion Fatalities, Uniontown, Pennsylvania — An explosion of gas in the partly demolished fan house of an abandoned mine at nearby Tower Hill No. 1 killed four men. George Porter, manager of a community store, reported an acetylene torch which the men had been using to remove junk iron from the building apparently ignited the gas seeping up the mine shaft. Porter identified one of the victims as Albert Brashure. who had purchased the junked material in the mine. News Article
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| JUN 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Murray City, Ohio — Two brothers were found dead of poisonous black damp in the abandoned Sunday Creek Mine No. 5. The victims were Kenneth Shuttleworth, 33 years old, mine watchman, and Huge Shuttleworth, 45 years old. Porter Shuttleworth, a third brother, found the bodies after he and Earl Mitchell had begun a search for the men unreported since the night before. News Article
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| MAR 1939 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Coalburg, Alabama — This rescue involves a most unlikely pair that became lost in an abandoned mine in Coalburg, Alabama. Cecil Morgan was apprehended and taken into custody when he was found operating a still a quarter of a mile underground. Deputy Sheriff Jim McAdory had captured Morgan and while attempting to make their way to the surface, the pair became lost. More than 100 officers and miners spread through the workings in search for the two men and found them resting on a mud bank after being confined for 18 hours in the mine, much of the time in total darkness. News Article
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| MAY 1938 |
Abandoned Lead & Zinc Mine Powered Haulage Fatalities, Commerce, Oklahoma — Efforts of eight unemployed miners to grub a living from an abandoned once-rich vein in the tri-state lead and zinc field cost two of them their lives yesterday. An old derrick collapsed and the car in which three were riding plummeted 200 feet. Fred Rosson, 40, and Bill Sholtz, 45, were killed. Two other miners were injured and four trapped by the wreckage, but rescuers dug them out after two and a half hours. News Article
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| NOV 1937 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Duelwel, Missouri — Joe Snyder, age 10, was rescued from an abandoned mine shaft, 90 feet deep, two hours after he had fallen into the shaft while fleeing to his home following a fist fight with two schoolmates. Examination at a hospital showed the boy suffered a broken back and skull fractures. His condition was described as critical. News Article
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| AUG 1937 |
Abandoned Coal Mine Rescue, Marion, Illinois — Jesse Wilson, 30, was rescued 2 days after becoming lost in an abandoned coal mine near Marion, Illinois. Wilson, a mine owner, had entered the pit with the announced intention of exploring the workings which were adjacent to abandoned workings of a deep shaft mine no longer operating. The search for Wilson began when he failed to come out at 5 p.m. with the other workers. News Article
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| JUN 1937 |
Abandoned Quarry Fall of Person, Lansdale, Pennsylvania — Nine-year-old, Salvatore Onorato, was rescued after he plunged with his bicycle over the side of an abandoned quarry. He was rescued after clinging for 30 minutes to a projecting rock. Ross Smith, also nine, who was with Onorato, rode two miles on his own bicycle for aid. Magistrate Howard F. Boorse and three other men lowered a rope to the stranded boy and pulled him from the pit. He was injured slightly. News Article
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| MAR 1937 |
Bootleg Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — After more than 12 hours, six-foot, 330-pound Willie Politis was rescued from tons of earth and rock in a mountain coal hole. This was the second rescue needed for "Big Willie" within a few weeks. News Article
One news article found spells his name William Tavolitis and states he was trapped for 15 hours in the abandoned Burnside mine of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company. News Article
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| FEB 1937 |
Robert Johnson spent eight days without food in utter darkness in an abandoned Flemington, West Virginia coal mine. Guided by his weak cries, Bill McDonald, Minor Cleavenger and Lon Smith found the man and brought him out on a stretcher. Source document
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Abandoned Fleck Coal Company Mine Cave-in, Carnegie, Pennsylvania — His face still marked by the grit that had pierced his flesh when he was buried under tons of coal and shale in the cave-in of an abandoned mine near Carnegie, Jacob Wright yesterday lay on his hospital cot and painfully told the story of the entombment that nearly cost him his life. Fearful for the health of his three-week-old son, Jacob, Jr., Wright set out yesterday morning to get coal to warm the ramshackle wind-swept dwelling on Hope Hollow Road in which he and his family make their home. Dragging a pick after him, Wright wormed his way into a small tunnel angling into the shaft of the abandoned Fleck Coal Company mine, from which poverty- stricken families in the little valley settlement obtained their fuel. "I was crouched low, picking away at the roof, and I must have cracked one of the supporting ledges of coal," Wright said. "The first thing I knew the whole roof of the tunnel had caved in, smashing me to the ground." "My arms got pinned, but I kept trying to work them loose, so I could poke some air holes through the rock and dirt. I don't know whether I was hurt or not. I only knew that I had to get air. "Then I lost consciousness. When I came to, they were working on me out on the hillside." The rumbling of rock down the steep slope above the mouth to the tunnel first apprised neighbors of the accident. Hearing the noise, Homer Phillips, a neighbor of Wright, exclaimed, "I wonder if that's at the mine?" He and his wife rushed to the tunnel and saw Wright's legs protruding from the debris that cluttered the entrance. Their cries aroused others, and a rescue crew soon was working feverishly to free the entombed man. Twenty minutes after he had been trapped by the cave-in Wright was dragged, unconscious, from the tunnel. A neighbor revived him by artificial respiration. He was rushed to Mercy Hospital, and X-rays taken to determine the extent of his injuries.
News Article
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| NOV 1936 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Merced, California — Alvin Peterson, 22, was critically injured as the result of a fall down a 150-foot abandoned mine shaft. Peterson suffered a fractured pelvis, spine injuries, possible basal skull fracture and internal injuries, arm injuries and numerous lacerations and bruises. He was rushed to the hospital by Dr. J. S. Webster of Mariposa. News Article
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| Abandoned Anthracite Mine Rescue, Morris Ridge, Pennsylvania — Rescuers found Andrew Chuba, 19, and Michael Bolick, 18, alive yesterday after 7 hours entombment in a coal hole at nearby Morris Ridge. The youths were taken to an Ashland hospital suffering from shock. They were trapped after they entered an abandoned hole. News Article
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| SEP 1936 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Fulton, Missouri — The deaths of four brothers in a gas-filled coal mine brought a move to prohibit the reopening without state inspection of abandoned collieries. Louis Metz, 32 years old, the owner, and his father-in-law, T. J. Wolfe, 53, went down into the mine with a gasoline engine to pump out water so operations could be resumed. The mine has no air shaft, and both were prostrated almost instantly by carbon monoxide gas from the engine. Metz' three brothers, Freddie, 21, Ernest, 21, and Harry, 19, descended the 30-foot shaft, one by one, in a rescue attempt. Each was at the bottom of the ladder only a few minutes before he was overcome by the fumes to fall into seven feet of water on the mine floor. Wolfe, in critical condition, was rescued by a miner, Jesse Pierson. Metz was dead when he was brought to the surface. Efforts to recover the bodies of the three brothers was delayed until Columbia. Mo., firemen, equipped with oxygen masks, went down into the mine. News Article
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| MAY 1936 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Two would-be copper thieves were rescued and arrested 15 hours after they became lost in an abandoned coal mine near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Police arrested Arthur Tonner, 35, and Robert Dyer, 36, after they were rescued from 15 miles of tunnels by a crew from the U. S. Bureau of Mines. The officers said Tonner and Dyer went into the mine to hunt copper wire while another man, Edwin Miller, 35, stayed above ground, on guard. Miller was also arrested. News Article
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| SEP 1935 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Connellsville, Pennsylvania — Norman Thomas, 16, was trapped and fatally injured while digging coal in an abandoned pit hole. A fall of dirt broke his neck. Clyde Keffer, Jr., 11, brought help in a few minutes but Norman died in a hospital. News Article
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| APR 1935 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Newtown Hill, Pennsylvania — Roy Gauntlett, 32, was rescued from an abandoned mine working at nearby Newtown Hill, where he was held trapped by a fall of coal for eight hours. Gauntlett was taken to a hospital to be treated for exposure and exhaustion. A score of men tunneled through the fall to the spot where he was buried, while he directed the rescue. News Article
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| NOV 1934 |
Abandoned Lincoln Colliery Cave-in, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — Charles Barr, of Pine Grove, was reported recovering from a harrowing experience of being entombed for more than six hours in an abandoned mine shaft. A rush of earth and coal trapped Barr in the abandoned workings at the Lincoln colliery. Twenty men digging in shifts rescued him. News Article
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| AUG 1934 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Locust Dale, Pennsylvania — Aloysius Tyson, 23, and Patrick Manley, 26, smothered by black damp in an abandoned mine shaft between Locust Dale and Germantown. Tyson and Manley had gone in the woods for a walk with two other youths. While roaming around they came upon the abandoned shaft near the site of the old Potts colliery. Manley was the first to descend the hole approximately 25 feet deep. When Manley failed to come out or did not answer, Tyson entered the hole to see what had happened. The other two youths remained around the top of the shaft and when Tyson, too, failed to emerge or answer, summoned employes from Potts colliery. Manley and Tyson were found together at the bottom of the 25-foot hole. Rescuers used pulmotors on the young men but to no avail. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania — Black damp, a monoxide poison which hangs in abandoned mine holes, killed two jobless miners. The men Aloysius Omlor, 24 and Patrick Manley, 25, were overcome in a so-called "bootleg" mine hole near Bast Colliery. News Article
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| JUL 1934 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Bloomington, Indiana — Leaving five younger companions in a wading pool to bathe in the cooler, cleaner waters of a stone quarry resulted in the drowning of Charles Epperson, 17. Epperson, who was unable to swim, called frantically for help soon after leaving his companions. Opal Hostler, 13, was first to reach the quarry hole and saw Epperson go under for the last time. None of the five were able to swim. Epperson's body was found in 20 feet of water after seven dives. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Gallup, New Mexico — Three 14 and 15-year-old boy were crushed by a rockfall, two seriously, while picking coal in an abandoned mine east of Gallup. The two most seriously hurt had back injuries. Attendants feared their backs were broken. They were Henry Ariar, 15, and Tony Rodriguez, 15. Joe Leone, 14, had chest injuries. The accident happened at the Old McDermott mine. Either four or six boys were "stripping" coal cut of the old slope when the celling is believed to have caved and buried them. Those who were injured were pulled out by their comrades. News Article
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| JUN 1934 |
Abandoned Diamond Colliery Rescue, Scranton, Pennsylvania — The wanderings of two North Scranton boys in the darkness of the abandoned Diamond Colliery of the Glen Alden Coal Company, ended after — 75 hours — of torturous travel through pockets of blackdamp and perilous cave squeeze areas. Their underground journey was terminated in a thrilling rescue by Fuhrman Ballus, who on his second attempt in two days to locate the boys, found them without lights, huddled against the gob. The youths, Walter Gilasavage, 13, and John Stasko, Jr., were sadly the worse for their experience when brought to the surface. Both boys were exceedingly nervous and exhausted almost to the point of emaciation. The youngsters each lost nine or ten pounds in the adventure and had been without food for three days. The only water available was the subterranean drippings of sulphur water. Gilasavage was taken to the state hospital and was examined. His physical condition was reported as good considering shock and his long vacation from the dinner table. Stasko was treated by a physician and was removed to his home. Both boys had bruises on the leg from tearing along the road and vaulting over fall of roof. The boy were so weakened as to be scarcely able to follow Ballus over the gangway as he piloted them to the surface. News Article
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| Unnamed Mine Cave-in, Cream City, Ohio — Powell Hall, age 12, was crushed to death in a cave-in while digging coal for family consumption in a small unnamed mine near his home. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Des Moines, Iowa — Julian Troskis, 16, was killed and Joe Muniz, 13, was overcome when they fell victims of black damp in an abandoned coal mine near Des Moines. The boys, with two companions, were returning home from playing when they entered the mine. One of their companions, Charles Doolittle, 11, warned the boys not to go into the shaft. The fourth youth, Manuel Muniz, 14, attempted to go in after his brother, and was almost overcome when Doolittle grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out. The boys then received aid from nearby residents, and the two victims were taken out. The Muniz boy who was overcome was said to have a chance for recovery. News Article
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| MAR 1934 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Pomeroy, Ohio — Caught by a fall of slate when he sought to put out a fire started by a whisky still, Will Durst, 36, was killed in an abandoned mine near here. Slight injuries were suffered by Van Brown, a state mine inspector. News Article
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| DEC 1933 |
Abandoned Mine Injury Victims, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania — Charles Zalonis, 19, suffered injuries of the pelvis when he fell down a bank while picking coal at Mahanoy Plane. He was taken to the Ashland Hospital. Also in the region, Edward Mitchell, 40, had his right arm fractured while picking coal at Maizeville, and submitted to an operation at the Ashland Hospital. News Article
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| OCT 1933 |
Abandoned Mine Lost Person, Indiana, Pennsylvania — Suffering from shock, exposure, and exhaustion after spending 18 hours in a dark, partly flooded old mine, nine-year-old Milton Hancock was barely able tonight to tell of his weird experience. "I was too scared to sleep, I just walked and hollered and then sat down," the youngster told Dr. E. M. Bushnell of Black Lick, who was called after a posse found Milton this morning. Barefooted and wearing summer clothing, the boy went into the mine with his uncle, Louis Hancock, yesterday to salvage some coal for the house. Milton wandered away and became lost. The uncle hunted, then called friends and firemen. Sheriff A. Eugene Wilson, his deputies and highway patrolmen took up the search through the labyrinthine of passages in the mine, which has not been worked regularly since the World war. News Article
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| AUG 1933 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania — Earl Spears, 43, father of five children, was killed beneath a fall of dirt and rock while picking coal in an abandoned mine near Shenandoah. His brother, Carl, who accompanied him, was partially imprisoned but managed to free himself. News Article
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| MAR 1933 |
Bootleg anthracite miner, John Cheslock, was rescued from the abandoned Sayre colliery near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. In a state of collapse, but conscious, Cheslock was rescued following a 4 day entrapment. Sadly, John Cheslock, Jr., 27, entombed in the abandoned mine near for more than 100 hours after he was trapped by a slide of earth and rock, died in Ashland State Hospital, 12 hours after he was rescued. Mr. Cheslock was trapped in the abandoned working while picking up coal with Stanley Orluskie. Orluskie escaped when he grabbed hold of a ladder as an avalanche of dirt rushed down on them. Cheslock was swept down the untimbered mine hole. After sinking a shaft 775 feet, they finally reached Cheslock. He was removed to Ashland State hospital. First examination of the youth revealed that his injuries were not serious. Physicians at the hospital believed his death was due to shock. Source document 1 Source document 2
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| Bituminous Strip Mine Operation Fatality, Harmon Creek, Pennsylvania — Crushed by a slide in a coal stripping plant where they had gone to gather coal for their homes, David Crawford, 59, was found dead, and his brother Joshua, 45, seriously injured. The younger brother's wife found the two men after she and other members of the family had searched all night. They were lying in an excavation, made by a steam shovel at the Harmon Creek coal company's stripping operations. News Article
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| FEB 1933 |
Lucky Baldwin Mine Fall of Person, Placerville, California — Lester Simmons, engaged with companions, climbed about 30 feet down the shaft, part of the abandoned Lucky Baldwin mine, to bring out some iron ore. He slipped from the ladder, his friends said, and fell about 5 feet before his clothes caught on a piece of timber. He dangled in the shaft for an undisclosed period, which mining men said was between 1,000 and 1,500 feet deep, until his companions lowered a rope and brought him to the surface. News Article
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| DEC 1932 |
Moonshiners Asphyxiated in Abandoned Mine, Montgomery, West Virginia — Carbon monoxide gas from a fire burning in an unused mine near Montgomery took the lives of a man and a boy who had entered the mine apparently to operate a moonshine still. The victims of the unusual accident were Elver Van Meter, 19, and Jack Reed, 37. They had entered the mine shortly after nightfall through an entrance at an opposite side from the mine in which the fire had been burning in the coal for more than a year. A breeze apparently carried the fumes through the mine and to the two men. Van Meter was overcome before he could make a move toward the outside. Reed pulled himself a few feet toward the entrance before he become unconscious. The bodies of the two men were found when Mrs. Reed became alarmed at her husband's absence. She called a neighbor, and he entered the mine and discovered the bodies. News Article
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| SEP 1932 |
Abandoned Quarry Rescue, Ironville, Pennsylvania — Arthur E. Brown, 24, saved Beatrice V. White, 31, from drowning in an abandoned quarry at Ironville, Pennsylvania on September 5, 1932. While wading in the water, Mrs. White lost her footing at a point seven feet from the bank and was submerged in water 10 feet deep. She rose threshing and drifted to a point 12 feet from the bank. Brown, who was winded from swimming and had a slight cramp in one of his arms, dived from a rock at the other side of the quarry and with great exertion swam 85 feet to Mrs. White. As he tried to take hold of her, she threw her arms around his neck, and both were submerged. Under water Brown broke her hold. Both rose to the surface. Brown then took hold of her and with difficulty swam 12 feet to the bank. For his bravery, the Carnegie Hero Award was bestowed to Arthur E. Brown. Source Document News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Plymouth, Pennsylvania — Engulfed when the ground crumpled under her feet, Lucille Rustay, 9, suffered back and leg injuries while picking coal in an abandoned mine opening near her home. The child was buried and was rescued by other coal pickers. News Article
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| AUG 1932 |
Abandoned Badger Mine Fall of Person, Little Lost River, Idaho — Ole Meddaugh, 50, Little Lost River miner, was suffering from an imprisonment of six days and nights in an abandoned mine shaft 45 miles east of Arco, Idaho. He was rescued the day before in a weakened condition after his continued absence had given rise to fears for his safety. A week earlier Meddaugh lowered himself with a rope for 60 feet into the abandoned shaft of the Badger mine and descended the remaining 40 feet to the bottom of the shaft on timbers. When he attempted to ascend the timbers gave way and he saved himself from dropping to the bottom by hanging to a projecting rock. Since he was unable to reach the dangling end of the rope, he found a seat on a rock and waited for help to arrive. News Article
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| JUL 1932 |
Abandoned Nellie Mine Cave-in, Uniontown, Pennsylvania — Rescuers recovered the bodies of a man, and two small boys buried in a fall of tons of slate in Nellie mine. Allert Shearer, 35, unemployed, of Vanderbilt, went into the abandoned mine working with his sons, James, 8, and Charles, 10, to dig coal. Physicians said Shearer and James probably had died within a short time after the cave-in; Charles had been dead but a few minutes. News Article
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| JUN 1932 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Fatalities, Glen Carbon, Illinois — Two boys living near an abandoned shaft of what was formerly Mine No. 4 of the Madison Coal Corporation east of Glen Carbon lost their lives when they fell part way down the shaft. They were found by Frank Hauranek, 18-year-old brother of one of the victims. Authorities and mine company officials were endeavoring to determine the circumstances under which they were killed. The dead boys are Henry Polach, 13, and John Hauranek, also 13. The two bodies were lying on the "third landing" of a flight of stairs into the mine. Henry, the smaller boy of the two, was lying on the step just above the body of his associate. Both were bruised. The Hauranek boy had a bruise over the right temple and a depression in the skull which may have caused concussion of the brain. He also had a slight depression of the skull over the right ear. That the Polach boy received an injury to the back and spinal cord which caused his death. News Article
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| APR 1932 |
Abandoned Mine Roof Fall, Turkey Run, Pennsylvania — Edward Jurewicz, 19, was killed while picking coal in an abandoned mine, east of Turkey Run. Jurewicz, with several companions, was engaged in getting coal from the vicinity of a gangway, twenty feet underneath the surface. When the fall occurred. Jurewicz was alone in the hole that sealed his fate. His skull was fractured, jaw broken and body badly injured. News Article
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| MAR 1932 |
Mary Ann Mine Fall of Person, Picker, Oklahoma — Gerald Collins, 3 years old, was rescued by miners after he lay for twelve hours wedged between rocks 20 feet down in a drill hole into which he had fallen while at play at the Mary Ann lead and zinc mine. The baby, to save whose life volunteer miners had driven a 22 foot shaft through rock parallel to the one that imprisoned him, and then a connecting tunnel, was numb from exposure and suffering from shock, but otherwise apparently unharmed. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Roof Fall, Johnstown, Pennsylvania — Charles E. Briggs, 18, was crushed by a boulder while picking coal in an abandoned mine; four others escaped. News Article
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| FEB 1932 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Collapse, Swoyerville, Pennsylvania — Nicholas Drobniak, 19, was caught under a fall of coal and instantly killed today at an abandoned stripping operation in Swoyerville. The young man with several companions was mining coal at the place when the mishap occurred. A large chunk of the mineral dropped upon him. His skull and left leg were fractured when he was removed. His coworkers escaped without a scratch. News Article
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| JAN 1932 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatality, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — Edwnrd Topolskl, 22, trapped by a cave-in while seeking coal for his home, was brought to the surface of an abandoned mine at Shamokin last night. News Article
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| DEC 1931 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Clarence Bohman, 31, trapped by a fall of slate and dirt digging coal in an abandoned mine near his home was rescued by nearby residents after an undisclosed period. News Article
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| OCT 1931 |
Abandoned Mine Explosion Fatalities, Trinidad, Colorado — Three men died as a result of a blast in an abandoned coal mine near here which unemployed miners had hoped to work. They were killed while exploring a shaft idle for the last eight years with open lanterns. Nick Stagnoli, a companion, was injured dangerously by the explosion and resultant cave-in. A fifth man, Dan Scappucci, said he accompanied the party to the entrance, but had declined to go further in fear of coal damp. Rescue workers toiled five hours to reach the bodies. The dead were Identified as Frank Lapanl, Lorenco De Giacomo, and Sam De Giacomo. News Article
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| MAR 1931 |
Anthracite Coal Outcrop Cave-in Fatality, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — Chris Minchoff, 13, Pottsville, was killed under a fall of top rock in the tunnel of an anthracite outcrop there. The boy was working in an abandoned tunnel mining coal for the use of his family when the fall occurred. A rescue squad of five men worked in the narrow tunnel for five hours before reaching the body. Three other members of the family escaped in the tunnel. News Article
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| DEC 1930 |
Abandoned Mine Multiple Asphyxiations, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Five boys died, and a fireman recovered in a hospital from the effects of blackdamp in an abandoned mine. The bodies of Steve Polka, aged 10; Andrew Novak, aged 16; John Vojick, aged 14; Walter Kubala, aged 15; and Joseph Kasiclk, aged 17, were brought from the abandoned mine. They had been playing and gathering coal in the mine. Battalion Chief Saul Klein who crawled through the entrance to rescue the youths, was overcome. He was taken out of the mine by an aid, and rushed to a hospital where he was revived. Klein was among the first to arrive. He entered the mine without a gas mask and was overcome. Other firemen donned masks and brought the youths to the surface. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Five boys were dead, and a fireman was recovering in a hospital from the effects of black damp in an abandoned mine. The bodies, those of Steve Polka, 16; Andrew Novak, 16; John Vojick, 14; Walter Kubala, 15, and Joseph Kasicik, 17, were brought from the abandoned mine. They had been playing and gathering coal in the mine. Battalion Chief Saul Klein, who crawled through the entrance to rescue the youths, was overcome. He was taken out of the mine and rushed to a hospital where he was revived. News Article
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| JUL 1930 |
Abandoned Quarry Rescue, Pekin, New York — Elmer G. General saved Elmer Mount Pleasant, Jr., from drowning in an abandoned quarry at Pekin, New York on July 23, 1930. Mount Pleasant, 15, waded in darkness on a ledge for a few feet from the bank of an quarry and stepped off the ledge to another ledge, on which the water was eight feet deep. General, 21, dove into the water from the bank, got hold of Mount Pleasant on the lower ledge, and sprang upward three or four times before he reached the surface. Mount Pleasant then grasped General, and after a brief struggle General became so fatigued that he let go his hold of Mount Pleasant, who again sank to the lower ledge. General lowered himself to Mount Pleasant, and by making a strenuous effort, he pulled him to the surface and flung him toward the bank. A man pulled Mount Pleasant out of the water. General got upon the upper ledge and was helped out of the water. He was dazed and temporarily exhausted. Mount Pleasant was unconscious but was revived. For his bravery, the Carnegie Hero Award was bestowed to Elmer G. General. Source Document News Article
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| MAY 1930 |
Terry-Butterskill Quarry Explosion, Union, West Virginia — Two workmen and four children were killed when six boxes of explosives let go with a terrific force in a blacksmith shop at a rock-quarry operated by A. B. Terry of Roanoke, Va., sub-contractor of a road improvement project. The four children, who were playing nearby, were badly mangled. The Welkie boy, water boy for the road workmen, lived for half an hour before he succumbed to his injuries. The home of Mrs. Wiseman, a widow, is located near the quarry. Web Page
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| Abandoned Mine Drowning, Keyesville, California — Exploration of an old tunnel in the Keyes mine, near Keyesville, resulted in the death of one man and the narrow escape of three others, who were seriously injured. Salvadore Acosta, 25, was drowned when several tons of rock caved in and water from an old shaft rushed over him. Charles Knowles, Joseph Denchok and Herbert Lee, although injured, managed to pull themselves to safety. News Article
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| APR 1930 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatality, Blossburg, Alabama — Carbon monoxide gas produced by a gasoline burner used to operate a whiskey still in an abandoned mine caused the death of John Manning, a young farmer. Authorities discovered him when they raided the distillery. Two companions, also found unconscious, were rushed to a hospital. They were expected to recover. News Article
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| 1920s |
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More quarry
drownings
from the
1920s |
Due to the high number of quarry related news articles from the 1920s that have been discovered, many of these items are being stored in a separate location in this web site.
See more quarry incidents from the 1920s.
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| OCT 1929 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Rescue, Youngstown, Ohio — Two boys were recovering after spending three hours trapped in an abandoned coal mine. An alarm was sounded by playmates of the pair when the two failed to return from an exploration trip. Police, firemen and city street employees gathered to remove the shale which had caved in after the boys entered. Before the work had progressed far a father of one of the boys found another entrance to the mine and had crawled 1800 feet into the shaft to help the imprisoned pair to freedom. One of the boys fainted as he was rescued. News Article
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| JUN 1929 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Franklin, Pennsylvania — Suspended on a rock, 80 feet down in an abandoned coal mine, with a pool of water below, William Harrison, 10, was rescued suffering from a broken leg, cuts, and bruises. He was removed to Grove City Hospital. The boy and a playmate went to the shaft and attempt to throw a heavy club into the hole. A nail in the wood caught in the boy's clothing and caused him to plunge into the opening. Rescuers worked for more than an hour before bringing the lad to the surface. News Article
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| NOV 1928 |
Abandoned Mine Explosion Fatalities, Himlerville, Kentucky — Three officials of the Glogora Coal Company were instantly killed in a mine explosion which rocked the countryside near Himlerville. The men were on an inspection tour of an abandoned mine with a view of gathering data concerning the reopening of the mine when the blast let go. It was thought the deadly "black damp" in the mine became ignited and caused the explosion. Those killed included Richard H. Williams, Charles H. Beidenmiller, and C. D. Schlegel, president, chief engineer, and superintendent, respectively, of the company. News Article
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| OCT 1928 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Edward Schaff, 14, was suffocated by fumes when caught in a cave-in near the mouth of a burning coal mine in Mifflin Township. Schaff was playing with two other boys near the mine opening when the ground gave way beneath them and the one boy was carried with the slide of earth into the abandoned mine working forty feet below. The other two escaped. News Article
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| AUG 1928 |
Old Orchard Mine Asphyxiations, Cambridge, Ohio — Benjamin and William Kissenger, brothers, aged 28 and 26, were rescued from the abandoned Old Orchard coal mine, after being overcome by gas in the old workings for 30 hours. They were revived and tonight and apparently are out of danger but were too weak to relate their unusual experiences. The thrilling rescue of the brothers was effected by State Mine Inspector Jerome Watson and a crew of experts from his office In Columbus. Several attempts were made to find the men which proved unsuccessful because of the dread black damp. Late in the afternoon, after the rescue car had been brought to the scene, the squad found the unconscious men 3,000 feet from the mine entrance. Search for the Kissenger brothers was started after they had failed to return home from an expedition to explore the abandon workings. The state mine inspector rescue office was notified, and Watson, with his squad, rushed to the scene. Fresh air was pumped into the old mine, enabling the workers to search for the men in comparative safety. The Old Orchard mine had been closed for the previous 15 years. News Article
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| SEP 1927 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, New Cambria, Missouri — Clarence Johnson, a 32-year-old farmer, residing two miles south of New Cambria was killed by black damp in an abandoned coal mine south of his farm. Johnson, an amateur wrestler, and in fine physical condition, was lowered into the mine by a rope to get a set of harness which had been left there. After a long delay the men on the surface became suspicious and another man was about to be lowered when they felt a pull on the rope. They drew it up and found Johnson's body was hanging by the right foot in a loop at the end of the rope. He had managed to get his foot into the loop before losing consciousness. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, Crooksville, Ohio — Charles Anderson, aged 35, met a horrible death in a mine on the John McTeague farm, three in miles east of New Lexington, when he was asphyxiated by "black damp." Anderson had entered the mine to get some machinery and after meeting the cloud of poisonous gas, his life was snuffed out. It was reported that he fell a short distance down the shaft. Another miner was working in the old abandoned mine and stumbled over the body of Anderson. News Article
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| JUL 1927 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Spring Grove, Pennsylvania — Stricken while swimming in the Bittinger stone quarry near Spring Grove, Edward Jamison, 16, was drowned. His body was recovered from the quarry the next morning at 8:15 o'clock after a search which had started at 7 o'clock the night before. News Article
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| MAY 1927 |
Abandoned Quarry Drownings, Elsmere, Delaware — Two boys went to their deaths together in the deep waters of Foreman's quarry hole, near Elsmere. They were Paul Kempski and William Nitchie, both 12 years old. Running along the embankment, Paul slipped, and he started to fall, his companion made a lunge forward in an effort to save him. Their arms locked, but the Nitchie boy's strength wasn't enough. They struggled at the quarry edge, then fell into the treacherous water. Unable to swim, both sank from sight. Alexander Triepka, who was sitting on the opposite bank, witnessed this and plunged after them. The dark waters of the quarry pit had closed over the two bodies before Triepka reached the spot where they fell, and he was unable to locate them. News Article
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| NOV 1926 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Greenfield, Pennsylvania — Paul Bannister, age 13, was killed and two others were injured when the side of an abandoned open coal mine caved in near Winders and Gladstone Streets in Greenfield. News Article
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| JAN 1926 |
Harvey Gap Mine Explosion, Rifle, Colorado — William Cook, age 6, was killed due to an explosion which occurred at the Harvey Gap mine near Rifle, Colorado. The explosion, which occurred 100 feet from the mine entrance hurled pieces of a mine car hundreds of feet outside the opening. The Cook boy was in the mine office, 300 feet from the mine opening and was killed when fragments of the coal car were hurled through the walls of the building. William's father, a miner, was injured in the explosion. News Article
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| AUG 1925 |
Multiple Abandoned Coal Mine Asphyxiations, Pleasantville, Iowa — Three youths fainted and plunged to death in an abandoned coal mine near Pleasantville, Iowa. Ildon Koons, 12, was overcome by gas while climbing down a ladder and fell. His older brother Milburn, 19, summoned to the mine was also overcome and followed his brother in a fatal fall. Donald Hodgson, 17, was overcome and fell too, in a futile attempt to rescue the other boys. The bodies were recovered by means of grappling hooks. News Article
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| JUN 1925 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Adamsville, Alabama — Mart Ingram, 21, died and Alec Somerville, 20, was recovering from the effect of black damp they inhaled in the shaft of an abandoned coal mine at Adamsville, in the western part of Jefferson county, according to the Coroner. When 60 feet inside the shaft, Ingram suddenly pitched forward on his face. Somerville, thinking that Ingram had been felled by persons concealed in the shaft, ran from the mine and summoned help. H. M. Black, a former miner and constable of Adamsville, entered the mine shaft to assist Ingram. The constable also inhaled the black damp, became dizzy and staggered from the mine in a semi-conscious state. Ingram's body was later taken from the shaft by men wearing masks. News Article
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| FEB 1925 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Galena, Kansas — Jesse Toller, 8 years old, was saved from a watery grave when he was rescued following an undisclosed period after plunging fifty feet into an abandoned shaft containing twenty-five feet of water. Aside from being badly frightened and ducked twice in the icy cold water, the second time when he fell from a rope while being hoisted from the shaft, the child suffered no ill effects from his perilous experience. The boy fell into the shaft while on his way home from school, at noon. Several other school children were with him when the accident occurred, and they notified several men nearby. They shouted into the shaft and when the youth replied a looped rope was lowered. The boy could not swim but was clinging to the walls of the shaft. He was instructed by his rescuers to place the loop under his arms. This he did and was hoisted about fifteen feet when he slipped out of the loop and again plunged into the water. Percy Watson, who was in the rescue party, volunteered to go into the shaft after the boy. He was lowered and found the child clinging to the loop of the rope. The boy was tied securely and pulled out. An ambulance from the Clark Undertaking Company took him to his home where an examination failed to reveal any injuries. News Article
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| JAN 1925 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in, Mount Washington, Pennsylvania — Tony Bertullo,14, was rescued from an abandoned mine in Mount Washington after having been imprisoned for twenty hours by a cave-in. The boy was exploring the mine Saturday when a portion of the roof fell, confining him in a space about five feet square. He was rescued by his father and a neighbor after an all-night search had led them to the abandoned mine. With the exception of being hungry, the boy showed no ill effects. News Article
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| Aug 1924 |
Abandoned Gold Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Howbert, Colorado — Rev. Chalfont Groves, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was killed by a fall into an abandoned gas filled mine shaft near Howbert, Colorado. Albert Davidson, of Howbert, who was accompanying the minister, was overcome by gas at the bottom of the shaft and was rescued by Harry Rogers, of Howbert, a third member of the party. Davidson's condition was serious. Rev. Groves, who was 26, was a member of a picnic party. The three men decided to explore the deserted shaft which twenty-five years ago was a producer of rich gold ore. Davidson went down first with flashlights and apparently was overcome by the gas before he could call for help. The minister was following and it is believed a rung on the old ladder broke under his weight and he plunged to the bottom of the shaft. Rogers carried Davidson up the ladder and later brought out Rev. Groves' body. News Article
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| JAN 1923 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Youngstown, Ohio — Gordon and Mark Whalen, employes of a local rubber company, lost their lives while attempting to make repairs to a pump in an abandoned mine owned by the company and used as a water reservoir. They were overcome by "black damp." Another employe who was working with Gordon and Whalen at the time, had a narrow escape from death from the same cause, but succeeded in reaching open air. Rescuers made a heroic but unsuccessful effort to save the two men. Before the bodies of the two dead men could be recovered, firemen and police worked for seven hours, during which time one fireman was also overcome. The mine had been abandoned for 20 years. News Article
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OCT 1922 |
After becoming lost in an abandoned coal mine for two days and a night at Pomeroy, Ohio, Jack Gobel was found by a searching party. Gobel became lost after a dynamite explosion jarred him enough to put out the light on his miner's cap. The search party was formed after his wife notified mine officials. News Article
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| JUN 1922 |
Shuttered Mines Lures Five to Death, Huntington, Arkansas — Five persons lost their llves near Huntington, Arkansas when two men sought to save three children who had wandered to the mouth of the mines closed since the strike. The children were overcome by "black damp" gas, as were the men who sought to rescue them. Names of the victims were not provided. News Article
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| Aug 1921 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, Gadsden, Alabama — Tobe Strickland died, and John McDaniel was seriously injured from the effect of gas in an abandoned coal mine. These were the results of the operation of a small still and making moonshine whisky. Strickland and McDaniel left their homes at 6:30 Thursday morning for the mine and when they did not return by noon the next day Mrs. McDaniel became alarmed and sent her son Carl to look for her husband. The boy returned home in a short while with the statement that he went to the mine and found the men in the mine, and that he thought both of them were dead. Mrs. Daniel gave the alarm, and her neighbors found Strickland was dead and McDaniel was in an unconscious condition, but he was revived soon afterwards. News Article
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| Jun 1921 |
Abandoned Bicknell Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Knox County, Indiana — Jeff Wedding, 35 years old, while dismantling a fan in the old Bicknell mine in northern Knox county today, fell down the shaft and was killed instantly. The mine was abandoned some time ago and full of gas and water. The fumes were so deadly that it was impossible for one to stand over the opening. The mine contained thirty feet of water. A rescue party with helmets was planning to enter the mine to recover the body. News Article
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| May 1921 |
Abandoned Quarry Rescue, Covington, Kentucky — John M. Weisenberger, 19, saved Stanley J. Egan, 17, from drowning at Covington, Kentucky on May 23,1921. Stanley was seized with cramps in his legs while swimming in deep water in an abandoned quarry 50 feet from the bank. He threshed and moved to within 30 feet of the bank. Wiesenberger, who was a very poor swimmer, swam about 35 feet to Stanley and was submerged as he reached to take hold of Stanley. Upon surfacing, Weisenberger grasped Stanley around the neck and swam with great effort about 37 feet to wadable water with him and then dragged him to the bank. For his bravery, the Carnegie Hero Award was bestowed to John M. Weisenberger. Source Document News Article
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DEC 1920 |
Abandoned Bellaire Mine Rescue, Bellaire, Ohio — Ross Julian, 40, gave thanks for his life to the promptness of the helmet men in effecting his rescue from asphyxiation by black damp in an abandoned mine at Bellaire, Ohio. Julian said that if the rescuers had been a half-hour later, he would have succumbed to the deadly gases. The man's lamp gave out while he was in the mine and, becoming confused, he walked away from the mouth of the mine. He wandered around in the darkness for several hours and was beginning to lose consciousness when mine inspectors reached him. News Article
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| OCT 1920 |
Abandoned Manitou Copper Mine Fall of Person, Peekskill, New York — While conducting his class in minerology through the old Manitou copper mine, about three miles north of Peekskill, H. C. A. Schmitt, aged 60, a professor in the Hackley School, Tarrytown, slipped into a half-concealed shaft, 250 feet deep, and dropped into a deep pool of water at the bottom. Professional divers searched the pool extensively but could not find the body. Prof. Schmitt and other instructors from the Hackley School, accompanied by a party of students, went to Manitou to explore and do research work in and about the mine. It was believed that other tunnels radiated from the bottom of the shaft, and that the body had floated into one of these passages. News Article
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| Jul 1920 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue Team Training Fatalities, Seattle, Washington — Five men, forming the mine rescue team of the Pacific Coast Coal Company's mine at Black Diamond, were overcome by gas today during a practice drill in an abandoned mine. Two are probably dead and three others rescued in a serious condition will likely recover, according to information received in Seattle. The deceased, according to the report were Henry DeWinter, Hugh Hughes, and James Hudson. The other two in serious condition were not named. News Article and Accident Report
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| Abandoned Mine Drownings, Owensboro, Kentucky — Joseph Fuqua, 50, was drowned this afternoon in a futile attempt to rescue his 15-year-old son, Robert, who had been overcome by black damp fumes. Near the shaft of the abandoned Fern Hill coal mine, Fuqua and his son started out to pick blackberries. The theory was advanced that the boy was leaning over the shaft and fell into the water, overcome by the fumes. News Article
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| 1910s |
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| NOV 1919 |
Anthracite Coal Outcrop Cave-in Fatality, Germantown, Pennsylvania — While in a mine breach getting winter coal, William Pechesky, aged 21, was caught under a fall of top. He was rescued in two hours and died shortly after. He was the only support of his widowed mother and several small children. News Article
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| SEP 1919 |
Abandoned Rudisill Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Charlotte, North Carolina — After his fall to the bottom and being trapped all night and half a day, Miles Pegram was pulled from the 36-foot Rudisill gold mine shaft. Nearby residents who heard his calls went to his rescue and sent ropes down and hauled him to the top. He was not injured. Mr. Pegram was in the vicinity of the old mine, when he stepped into some honeysuckle vines and fell. Before he could recover, he had plunged into the hole and went to the bottom. At police headquarters it was said the entrance to the shaft was so hidden by the growth of vines that it was not surprising than an accident had come. News Article
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| AUG 1918 |
Men Lost in Abandoned Mine, Morgantown, West Virginia — Lost in an abandoned coal mine, without lights, and prisoners for five hours, Walter Mayfield, Harley Warman and J. C. Fortney, prominent residents of this city, were saved by a searching party after they had given up hope of rescue. The men went into the mine to investigate it when their lamp went out and for five hours they wandered about vainly in an effort to find their way out. News Article
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| Mine Boiler Explosion, Greenfield, Illinois — Three boys, all aged 7 years, were killed, three others were badly burned, and ten other persons sustained injuries when a boiler furnishing steam for a mine pump exploded on the farm of Norman Mayberry, five miles northeast of Greenfield. News Article
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| JUL 1918 |
Benton Mine Lost Miner, Benton, Illinois — Tony Dooering, a miner, was rescued from the Benton Coal Company mine at Benton, Illinois after being lost for two days without food or drink. He was said to have started for the main shaft and became lost, wandering around in abandoned parts of the mine. Several hundred searched the mine before he was found. News Article
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| MAY 1917 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Pittston, Pennsylvania — Two boys, Sylvester W. McKeon, age 12 and Robert E. Fear, age 13, were rescued after they descended the slope of a hole that had caved in the ground and entered the chamber of an old mine to gather coal. They were caught by a fall of earth overhanging the entrance to the chamber. Sylvester was buried to his hips, and Robert was buried to his chest. Cracks at the top of the hole and the dropping of clay earth overhanging the chamber indicated another cave-in was imminent. Their rescuers were Michael J. Franklin, Edward F. Norton, and Patrick J. Gallagher, both track layers. After an undisclosed period, the men first extracted Sylvester followed by Robert. The three men were awarded the Carnegie Hero Award for their bravery.
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| JUL 1916 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Newtonville, Indiana — Arthur Parker, age 16, and Vincent Bullington, age 14, met with death in an abandoned mine near Newtonville in Spencer county. The youngsters were found by Edward E. Parker, father of the former, at a depth of 22 feet in the shaft. Before he could drag the boys out he realized that he was being overcome by gas. He at once cried out in horror, which was heard by a nearby neighbor, who came to his rescue just in time. By lowering a rope into the shaft, Mr. Parker was saved. Evidently, the boys had gone down the shaft to explore the mine, where they suffered a horrible death by being overcome by gas. News Article
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| JAN 1916 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Globe, Arizona — L. Lepi, a miner, was found and rescued by men working at a nearby mining lease after being robbed and thrown down a 40-foot shaft of an abandoned mine two days earlier. The miner was suffering from bruises of the face and knees, declaring he was nearly famished and that he was minus a $20 gold piece taken by the robbers. Lepi said that he was attacked by two men. They took his gold, but overlooked $300 in currency, and then hurled him into the shaft. He called for help frequently throughout the two days. The men who rescued him said they heard a voice yesterday, but did not recognize it us a call for help. News Article
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| JUL 1915 |
Johnson Colliery Lost Person, Dickson City, Pennsylvania — Lawrence Brady, 60, was found in an abandoned working of the Johnson mine at Dickson City, near Scranton. He had been wandering aimlessly for nearly 3 days in the darkness of an underground prison which seemed to offer no means of escape. Brady was employed for a number of years at the Johnson colliery. About three months earlier he quit his job, but instead of removing all of his tools, he hid some of them in an abandoned part of the workings. Recently he became re-employed and decided to gather his hidden tools. Knowing that he would be gone for some hours he carried a lunch with him in a dinner pail. According to Brady's story, he had only proceeded a short distance through an old chamber when the light of his lamp played out, and he was left in the darkness, not having any matches with him. Rescuers found his dinner pail at the top of the heading and following the course indicated by its position, found the missing man. News Article
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| APR 1915 |
Abandoned Mine Rescue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — After they had gone missing for a week, two small boys were located by searchers in a long-abandoned mine. The boys were in a small 5-foot drop that had several inches of water in it. Albert Tomlinson, age 10, was found barely alive and hungry. His companion, William Hale, age 5, was dead, believed to have starved to death. The Hale boy was partly submerged in water and his head was held in the lap of Tomlinson. News Article
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| MAR 1915 |
Lost Boys Found in Abandoned Mine, Banksville, Pennsylvania — When searchers, peering into the dark recesses of an abandoned coal pit, lighted only by their pit-lamps, saw a young boy staggering toward them, dragging a limp form that might have been a sack, a search that had continued a week ended and a ghastly tragedy came to light. The boy who dragged his burden toward the dim flicker of the pit lamps was Albert Tomlinson, 10 years old, of Banksville. The limp form was Willie Hale, a five-year-old playmate. "Willie is dead." the searchers heard the elder boy sob. Almost starved when found, bruised and cut from contact with sharp slate and coal as he had groped about in the unlighted worklng, the boy quickly lapsed unconscious. He was hurried to St Joseph's Hospital for treatment. The boys had been lost for — 8 days — in the mine. The Banksville entry of the abandoned mine was in the back yard of the Tomlinson home. Although within probably 200 yards of home, young Tomlinson and his companion had not been able to find their way out of the working, and even daily searches of the pit by members of the family and neighbors had been futile. News Article
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| DEC 1914 |
Bituminous Coal Digging Cave-in Fatality, Martindale, Pennsylvania — Tony Callen, aged 16, was crushed to death at Martindale, near Portage in Cambria county last evening while digging for coal to keep his home warm. His 10-year-old brother escaped the 20-foot mine unhurt. The two boys went to a hillside near their home, and were digging under rocks when the roof caved in. News Article
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| AUG 1914 |
Union Mining Company Haulage Fatality, Savannah, Oklahoma — Herbert Ray Harrison, age 12, died in a mine of the Union Mining Company. The boy had gone to the mine with his brother who was cleaning the slope. Returning in a car, the cable coupling slipped off and the car ran 600 feet to the bottom of the slope which dips over 45 degrees. The car was broken into pieces and the boy was killed. His body was badly mangled. News Article
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| NOV 1913 |
Sunday Creek Mine No. 9 Lost Miner, Shawnee, Ohio — Ben Arbaugh, 37, was rescued from the Sunday Creek Mine No. 9, after being lost for — three days and nights — in an abandoned part of the mine without food or water. He went into the mine on October 31st to get some tools and became confused. He wandered into an old tunnel and tramped for hours trying to find his way. Arbaugh's lamp finally burned out and he groped around in the dark for 48 hours. Exhausted and partly overcome by black damp, he gave up all hope of escape. When found he was in a semi-conscious condition, but soon regained his senses after being brought out to light and fresh air. He would recover. News Article
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| OCT 1913 |
Trapped in an abandoned chamber of the Continental Mine operated by the Lehigh Valley Coal Company in Centralia, Pennsylvania, Thomas Toshesky was finally freed by rescuers after 8 days. He was in good condition and spirits, refusing a stretcher and making it out of the mine under his own power. Source document
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| MAR 1913 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person, Bush, Illinois — Jesse Hayden, village clerk of Bush, a mining town west of Herrin, has disappeared and the entire community was searching for him. It was feared that he has fallen into an abandoned mine shaft. News Article
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| JUN 1912 |
Abandoned Mine Electrocution Fatality, Jasonville, Indiana — Frank Bridwell, 12 years old, was found dead In the Bogel mine, about two miles northeast of Jasonville. In water which scarcely covered his body, it is thought that he had been struck by a bolt of lightning while in swimming. News Article
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| MAY 1912 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Roof Fall Fatalities, Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania — Two boys aged 13 and 14 years, were killed and three others about the same age, were seriously injured by a fall of coal in an old abandoned mine working which they were exploring. Since the suspension of the mines, miners have been taking coal out for their own use. Earlier in the day, miners fired a shot in the old drift and then retired for the air to clear. While gone, the five boys came along and out of curiosity entered the drift. They got to the spot where the shot had been fired when the roof gave way and tons of coal fell down. Four of them were pinned down by the fall. John Keretis, aged 14, with a broken leg crawled to the mouth of the drift where he notified several men who came along soon afterward. They found James Besloch, aged 18, with a broken arm and leg, and Frank Thursick, aged 15, with a broken leg, pinned down by debris. John Megosh, aged 14, and Frank Sketulsko, aged 13, were under a mass of coal, their deaths having been instantaneous. News Article
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| FEB 1912 |
Eddy Creek Mine Rescue, Dickson City, Pennsylvania — Michael Hudy was rescued by a searching party after being lost for 3 days in the Eddy Creek mine of the D & H Coal Company. Hudy was found in an abandoned working, exhausted, starving, and lying in a ditch. He could not explain how he lost his way. He was expected to recover. News Article
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| JAN 1912 |
Ellen Mining Claim Fall of Person, Avawatz Mountains, California — Walter Crawford, an aged miner, was rescued from the abandoned shaft of the Ellen mining claim in the Avawatz mountains by Burt Lawrence and Chris Holman after the old man had been held prisoner for over a day. He had started to lower himself into the shaft for the purpose of examining the ledges when the rope broke, and he was precipitated to the bottom. The rescuers were passing the shaft and were attracted by Crawford's hat, which was lying near the mouth. News Article
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| AUG 1911 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation, Murray City, Ohio — While intoxicated, Charles Loter, 30, walked into the mouth of an abandoned mine here and was killed by black damp. News Article
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| MAR 1911 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Galena, Kansas — His grasp becoming weaker and weaker and the vitiating air of an abandoned mine shaft affected his reeling brain, Mort Friendt, a miner, lost his life after a battle between endurance and determination. With a companion Friendt was exploring a deserted shaft upon which they had a lease option. A pole, to which a rope was attached, was placed across the mouth of the shaft and the two slid down to the first shaft. They explored the workings and were about to drop further down the shaft when they discovered it was filled with water to within about eight feet of the level upon which they were standing. Frlendt's companion started to climb up the rope, lifting himself, hand over hand, until he reached the top. He called down to Friendt to hurry and received an answering call. A moment later the pole bowed under the weight of Friendt's body. His companion could tell from the sudden dips of the pole just when his friend exerted his strength to lift his body. The dips became less and less frequent and the companion realized that something was wrong. He called down to Friendt, but the only answer he received was a moan of distress. There were a few more feeble jerks upon the rope, then the pole suddenly straightened out, jerking the rope so that it curved over it. Miners were summoned from the neighborhood and, with the aid of grappling hooks, Friendt's body was recovered from the water at the bottom of the shaft. News Article
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| NOV 1910 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Redford, New York — The body of Charles Dubray, a Civil War veteran who disappeared from his home in Standish on November 2, was found by searchers in sixty feet of water in an abandoned mine shaft near Redford. The veteran's hat lying on the ground a few feet from the opening led the party to drag the shaft. Dubray left the home of a son in Standish to visit another son in Redford, taking with him pension papers and $20. No fear for him was felt when he failed to return, as It was thought he was prolonging his visit. On Sunday the two sons met and the fact that the father was missing came out. Search was instituted at once and was continued. The mine shaft was but a short distance from a short-cut path that the old man evidently took, and it is thought he missed the trail in the darkness and stumbled into the pit. The papers and money were still in Dubray's pockets. News Article
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| Coal Mine Cave-in, Canal Dover, Ohio — "I'm going in the mine, grandpa," remarked Ray Longabaugh, aged 16, to his grandfather as the two walked past a coal mine. His entrance into the mine was followed by screams. Rushing in, the grandfather found the boy dead, crushed by heavy pillars which fell from the roof of the mine. News Article
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| MAY 1910 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Ishpeming, Michigan — Miss Lulu Leisemer, member of Ishpeming high school faculty, laid critically ill at a local hospital as the result of injuries sustained by a fall of about 70 feet into an abandoned mine pit. Both legs and one arm was broken, and her head and face were injured. She is not injured internally, however, and the physicians said she may recover. She went to the mine pit to recover a glove left there Monday evening. Her companion stated that she deliberately jumped into the pit. There was no further reliable speculation regarding this statement. News Article
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| FEB 1910 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Dubuque, Iowa — While a crowd of boys were playing near a mineral shaft on the outskirts of the city. Albert Weisor, age 10, fell backwards into the shaft a distance of 30 feet. When taken out he was unconscious and was found badly cut about the head and face. He suffered internal injuries. He was taken to the hospital and his condition was critical. It was believed he might die. News Article
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| 1900s |
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| AUG 1909 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Fostoria, Ohio — Michael Atweis, 18, of New Riegel drowned while swimming in Holoran's quarry at noon yesterday. He swam out and suddenly sank before companions knew anything was wrong. After hours had been spent in fishing and diving for the body, dynamite was used without effect. The quarry is abandoned, the water being thirty feet or more in depth and ice cold beneath the surface. News Article
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| JUL 1909 |
Abandoned Mine Shaft Fall of Person, Houghton, Michigan — Searching parties were unable to find the body of 12-year-old Frank Pakling of Hurontown, who was drowned while trying to rescue his dog from an abandoned mine shaft. Attempts made today to raise the body with dynamite failed. It was believed the body laid at the bottom of the old slope several hundred feet below the surface. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning Rescue, Bluffton, Indiana — George Hurt, 71, a civil war veteran, fell into twelve feet of water in the Starr rock quarry yesterday afternoon, and would have drowned had not his sister-in-law, Mrs. David Hurt, heard his cries for help from across the street. She ran to the quarry and, picking up his cane from where he dropped it at the edge of the water, extended it to him and tried to draw him out, but instead came very near being pulled Into the quarry herself. She then secured a heavy brush, on which he was able to support himself until Dr. C. L. Landfair, David Myers, and Lewis English were summoned and got him out of the water. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning Rescue, Bluffton, Indiana — Miss Veora Garrett, 18, daughter of County Auditor O. D. Garrett, was rescued from a watery grave yesterday afternoon when Elzey Thompson, a young man on the bank of the gravel pit on her father's farm, plunged into the deep and cold water of the pit and pulled her to a place of safety. Miss Garrett was considered a good swimmer, but she had tired herself by swimming twice across the big pond, and when she became exhausted and sought to rest on the bottom of the pit she found that it was beyond her depth. She was so nearly exhausted that she could not propel herself to shallow water, and but for Thompson's prompt action would have drowned. News Article
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| Abandoned Mine Fall of Persons, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania — Three Latrobe women who had gone out early to pick berries on a farm, were rescued late in the afternoon by farmers, after having been buried in an abandoned coal mine for five hours. While trapped they fought continuously with a nest of big snakes. Two of the women became hysterical when released and were in a serious condition. As the women approached an inviting field of berries the earth suddenly sank, engulfing them. All three fell about 25 feet through a break in the roof of an abandoned mine. They killed 15 snakes in the darkness before the farmers pulled them out by the aid of a team of horses. News Article
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| JUN 1909 |
Abandoned Mine Cave-in Fatalities, Asheville, North Carolina — Buried in an abandoned mica mine in the great mountain forests of Mitchell county, far removed from any habitation, John English, a young prospector, pinned by a mass of earth and mica which covered him as he stood upright from his feet to his chin so that only part of his face protruded, endured the agonies of hunger and thirst from Monday morning until Wednesday night. The only sounds in the desolation wore the groans of his companion, Henry Woody, who finally died i1801n agony, and the yelping of English's little dog, which brought rescue, which, however, came too late, as Woody was dead when his body was recovered, and English died a few hours afterward. News Article
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| MAY 1908 |
Anthracite Mine Shaft Fall of Person Fatality, Inkerman, Pennsylvania — A terrible accident which caused the death of Alexander Hendrilitis, a thirteen-year-old Italian boy, occurred at the No. II shaft of the Pennsylvania Coal company at Inkerman. The young lad left his home early In the day, telling his mother he was tired of being idle and was going to the mines to look for work. He went, only to be carried home an hour later dying, with nearly every bone broken in his body. It appeared that the boy went to the No. 11 shaft and stood about watching the hoisting apparatus work. Becoming curious he went up close to the opening and looked down in the dark hole where the carriage disappeared to return with its load of freight. While standing there holding on to one of the guideposts, he lost his balance and fell into the shaft, striking the hood of the carriage a hundred feet below. On the carriage at the time were several miners returning to the surface, and when the body struck the carriage with a sickly thud they were badly frightened, but little realized that It was a human form until the carriage reached the light. When the surface was reached it was found that the boy was alive and the mine ambulance was quickly called, but before medical aid could be summoned the boy died without regaining consciousness. News Article
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| JUL 1907 |
Anthracite Mine Hole Fall of Person, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania — While playing near a mine hole on the Locust Mountain, William Graham, Jr., had a narrow escape from death or serious injury from a fall. The hole was perpendicular for a considerable distance, and then sloped gradually. On the bottom of the lift was coal dirt which impeded the fall and saved the lad from death. Upon landing he slid down the slope unable to check his progress. Playmates, realizing the danger of their friend, summoned aid. Ropes and ladders were lowered to Graham with instructions to attach himself to the rope and ladders to tops of cliffs when raised. The child followed the orders and after an undisclosed period was hoisted to safety, bruised considerably. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Poultney, Vermont — Arnold Edwards, the 12 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Edwards of North Poultney was drowned at about 3 o'clock by falling into an old pit filled with water at the William E. Lloyd quarry. Young Richards was sitting alone on the bank, which apparently caved in, throwing him into the water. He was missing later and a search at the quarry pit resulted in the finding of his body in several feet of water. The boy's mother was attending a funeral at Fair Haven when she was notified of the accident and returned at once to her home here, where the body was taken. News Article
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| JUN 1907 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Bedford, Indiana — The bodies of Claude Davis and Willis Jesse, aged eight and eleven years, were taken from the water in the Torphy quarry. The boys had been missed since the night before and were drowned while swimming. News Article
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| OCT 1906 |
Anthracite Mine Fall of Person, Middleport, Pennsylvania — Falling 400 feet down an abandoned mine shaft, Joseph Schroeder of Pottsville was rescued alive, after he had been virtually buried all day and all hope of his rescue abandoned. When examined it was found Schroeder had not even a broken bone. At the time, it was the most extraordinary escape known in the history of anthracite mining. Young Schroeder left town in the morning in company with William Kalbach, to shoot pheasants. While pushing their way through the brush toward the mountain top Schroeder took the lead. He walked into a drift, lighted a match, and called to Kalbach to follow. Suddenly he gave a cry of surprise and attempted to step back, but the ground at the edge of a hole gave way with him, and he plunged feet first down into an abyss.
Kalbach hurried forward and he, too, almost plunged down the hole after his companion. Had he done so the mystery of their disappearance probably never would have been solved. Seeing he could be of no aid to his unfortunate companion, Kalbach started down the mountain for Middleport on the run and in a short time a dozen men accompanied him back with long length of rope. They went as close as they possibly could in safety and called down the shaft. Nothing but the echo of their voices greeted them. Then they tied a weight to the end of a rope and lowered it carefully into the black pit. It struck several times along the side of the jagged opening, but finally it was lowered to its full length, but the bottom had not been reached.
Men were sent back to town for more rope and when they came back the attempt was again made, but again the end of the rope failed to reach bottom. Messengers were dispatched to the collieries at Kaska and Silver Creek, whence experienced mining men were sent by officials with a long coil of stout rope. This was lowered, and, although 200 feet of it was used, the bottom of the shaft could not be touched. Not a sound came from the black hole, except the rattling of the weighted rope.
Again, messengers were dispatched for more rope. The boy's father also arrived, accompanied by several employees of the shops. One of them, John Calloway, was lowered into the opening, and after going down 200 feet he heard cries for help. Calloway was then hoisted to the surface, where he related his discovery to the great joy of the boy's father. Calloway again went into the shaft, this time at the end of a rope more than 400 feet long. He found young Schroeder at the bottom of the pit and was drawn to the surface with him. Schroeder was terribly bruised and shaken, but no bones were broken, and he would recover. News Article
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| AUG 1906 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Holland, Michigan — Alonzo King, aged 10, was drowned while swimming at the Waverly stone quarry near this city. The father recovered the boy's body after dragging several hours. News Article
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| MAY 1906 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Greensburg, Pennsylvania — Wasall Kircera gave up his life while trying
to save three boys from death in an abandoned mine, where blackdamp was known to escape from the old workings. The boys were playing and soon became senseless under the influence of the deadly gas. Kircera saw the boys peril, plunged down into the hole and hurled two of them to the outside. Then Kircera fell, overcome by the gas fumes. A friend went down after him and, after throwing the remaining boy out, dragged Kircera up the bank. The gas was too much for Kircera, however, and he died in a few minutes, while his friend was in a serious condition and not expected to live. News Article
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| DEC 1905 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning Rescue, Huntington, Indiana — John C. Fry, the five-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. John Fry, came nearly drowning in the Smith stone quarry. He was playing on the ice with his sled when the ice gave away and the boy went into the water. The chill of the water and the sharp edge of the ice made it impossible for him to help himself and would have soon drowned had it not been for two young companions who were near the quarry. Othel Kramer, aged eight, and Carl Slusser, aged six, saw the Fry boy's danger and risked their own lives to save their companion. They hurriedly crawled to the edge of the ice and by getting hold of the unfortunate boy's hand, managed to drag him from his perilous position. The lad was then taken to a warm room and his clothes were dried and he was cured of his chill. News Article
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| JUL 1905 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Rochester, New York — Charles Crombach, 14 years old, was drowned in a deserted quarry near the New York Central tracks just east of Culver road. Crombach, with two companions, was bathing in the quarry, which for the most part is but a shallow pool, when he stepped into a hole and disappeared. The other boys became frightened and ran away. They told of young Crombach's mishap, and a crowd soon gathered. In the meantime the accident had been reported to the Third precinct and Captain Stein sent Policeman Van Auker to the quarry. Van Auker obtained an engine rake and with the assistance of Walter Stone, who dived for the body, managed to bring Crombach to the surface after he had been in the water for nearly an hour. The bole into which the boy stepped is about fifteen feet deep. When the body was recovered the long immersion had destroyed all signs of life. The Coroner was notified, and the body removed to the morgue. News Article
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| JUN 1905 |
Abandoned Quarry Drowning, St. Louis, Missouri — Julian Singleton, son of Police Sergeant and Mrs. Seth Singleton, and a great nephew of Gen. John C. Bates was drowned in an abandoned quarry, three miles west of St. Louis, near the Creve Coeur lake electric line, Saturday afternoon. Up to late that night the body had not been recovered. The boy, who was 13 years old, went to a pond known as Rabe's quarry with a dozen other boys of about the same age to fish and to swim. When in the middle of the quarry the Singleton boy cried for help and then sank, from what cause his companions do not know. Friends and officers made every attempt to recover the body, working until 2 o'clock in the morning, and continuing again later. Dynamite was used freely, but on account of the great depth of the water it had no effect. It was said that the quarry would be pumped dry with engines if the body is not found. News Article
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| OCT 1904 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Cave-in, Shenandoah, Pennsylvania — Frank Borjerko, an old miner, was digging coal for his family's winter supply in an abandoned drift at the Furnace colliery when the roof caved in, completely covering him. Fellow coal pickers, at the risk of their own lives, set to work and soon uncovered the victim's head, so that he could breathe. For twelve hours they feverishly worked to free him, despite another threatened fall, and finally got him out alive. He was seriously injured about the body and limbs. News Article
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| AUG 1904 |
Cook's Quarry Drowning, Minneapolis, Minnesota — While swinging on a derrick rope at Cook's quarry, John Benolkin, age 10, lost his hold on the rope, fell into a pool of water which had accumulated in the quarry and was drowned. Several of the boy's playmates were present as the little fellow fell and looked on horrified, but unable to assist him. The water was extremely cold, and the lad may have been too numb to struggle. The boy's mother was immediately notified and hurried to the scene. Almost insane with grief, the woman jumped frantically into the pool of water in a useless effort to recover the body of her child. The boy had disappeared. however, and it was not until employes at the quarry began a search for the body that it was recovered. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, Pewaukee, Wisconsin — Archie Meyers, the 12 year old son of Walter Meyers, was drowned in the old Hadfield quarries between Grand and East avenues. He and a son of George Harter had gone to the quarry and young Meyers went in swimming but slipped from the shallow water over the edge of a sharp decline and went over his depth. He sank immediately. His companion, knowing that Archie could not swim, started to run for help and managed to attract the attention of A. J. Gleason, an engineer on the Northwestern road. Without hesitating he shouted to his fireman and then leaped from the engine and jumped into the water, a few feet away. He found the boy on the bottom and brought him to shore where efforts were made to revive him, but they were in vain. He died a few moments after being brought on shore. News Article
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| MAY 1904 |
Abandoned Quarry Double Drowning, Milwaukee, Wisconsin — Fourteen-year-old Lillie Seuberth gave her life in a vain attempt to save her 8-year-old sister Lydia from drowning. The little one lost her footing on the bank of an old stone quarry and fell into the water. Her older sister jumped into the pond after her and both were drowned. The children were fishing in the quarry when the accident happened. Many people have been drowned the same quarry and the authorities are trying to have it filled up. News Article
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| SEP 1903 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Providence, Kentucky — Two lives were lost in the air shaft of the abandoned Martin's coal mine. Several boys were playing around the air shaft when James Hunter, 12, climbed down the shaft and was overcome by the black damp. When Bud Holtclaw, a young man twenty years old, went to the boy's rescue he was also overcome, both bodies falling to the bottom of the shaft, death doubtless being instantaneous. News Article
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| JAN 1903 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Ground, Olyphant, Pennsylvania — Abandoned workings of the Eddy Creek colliery of the Delaware and Hudson company beneath the very heart of the town of Olyphant caved in and engulfed four frame buildings, covering an aggregate ground space of 6,000 square feet. The settling was gradual, and people in the affected territory escaped safely. A gang of men and boys who were at work in the mine beyond the fall encountered a flooded "dip" or depression in a vein in making their way out by a circuitous route and had to swim from one rise to the other. No one above or below ground, however, sustained any injury. At 8 o'clock the settling began. At 3:30 o'clock it was no longer perceptible. A few houses are projecting over the edge of the pit. The vein that caved is 115 feet below the surface. The workings which caved were in the uppermost part of the worked out veins. The sink was caused by the bursting of water mains in the mine, the water flushing the foundation from under the bed rock of the surface. News Article
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| NOV 1902 |
Abandoned Mine Methane Explosion, New Straitsville, Ohio — Maurice O'Brien, a miner; Charles Sampson, stable boss; and Herbert Coran. bookkeeper, were killed by an explosion of gas in the Lost Run mine near here. It was supposed the gas found its way into the mine from an adjoining mine which has been abandoned for several years. It was believed the men went in to explore the mine and that the gas was ignited by the lights they carried. News Article
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| APR 1902 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Fall of Ground, Hamtown, Pennsylvania — Sixteen dwellings were wrecked at Hamtown, a small mining village near Wilkes-Barre, by a cave-in at the abandoned No. 8 colliery of the Pennsylvania Coal company. The broken water main was flooding the mine, and the cave was extending. Huge fissures appeared in the streets of the town and many houses were in danger. Residents near the mine were moving to places of safety. News Article
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| NOV 1901 |
Abandoned Anthracite Mine Rescue, Pittston, Pennsylvania — John Zuranki was rescued in a pitiable condition after spending 4 days lost without food and light in an abandoned Anthracite mine near Pittston, Pennsylvania. He was discovered accidentally by a watchman who had entered the mine. Zuranki was not missed from his boarding house since he told his family he was going away. News Article
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| JUL 1901 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiation Fatalities, Catsburg, Pennsylvania — Four Italian miners were found dead In an abandoned coal mine at Catsburg. They were Steve Coskey, Andrew Getzllnski, Mike Manoski, Frank Yanky. They attended an Italian dance at Monongahela and after the dance, it is understood, took a keg of beer and went to the mine. The wet weather caused an accumulation of fire damp, and all were suffocated. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, St. Louis, Missouri — The nude body of Peter Fox, 14 years old, was found In a quarry pond at Spring avenue and Forest Park boulevard, at 10 o'clock yesterday morning. It was supposed that he was drowned while swimming. Novey Frost, who made the discovery, dragged the body to the shore and notified the police. Later the body was removed to the morgue and then to an undertaker's rooms. Young Fox disappeared from home July 4. Some boys who went to swim In the quarry Saturday at noon found a suit of boy's clothing and a cap on the bank. A thorough search of the neighborhood was made, but the owner of the clothes was not found. The clothes had been identified as those worn by young Fox. The theory of the police is that the boy was overcome by the heat while swimming or was seized with cramps. News Article
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| Abandoned Quarry Drowning, St. Louis, Missouri — Arthur Hohenstein, 16 years old, drowned in Grund's quarry, at the foot of Osceola street. Two companions, Frank LeIndecker and Leonard Bachler, who were with Hohenstein, made heroic efforts to save him, but were unsuccessful. The boy's body was recovered. Hohenstein was the first to dive Into the pond. He appeared on the surface almost Immediately and showed signs of distress, then sank out of sight. His friends thought that he was joking, and It was several minutes before they realized his danger. Bachler and LeIndecker plunged in after the sinking form, fully dressed. They failed to catch Hohenstein, and when he failed to come to the surface dived after him several times. News Article
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| 1890s |
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| JAN 1897 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Shamokin, Pennsylvania — While Frederick Graeber and Miss Maud Gothie were driving along the public road, the earth caved in and they were precipitated into an abandoned mine working. The young woman jumped from the carriage but was unable to reach solid ground. She fell into the opening and was buried beneath the earth. Mr. Graeber remained in the carriage and sustained a compound fracture of one leg. Both horses were crushed to death. The searching parties were unable to locate the couple for 8 hours. Miss Gothie's body was horribly bruised and death must have been instantaneous. Both of Mr. Graeber's feet were frozen, and he was almost dead from exposure. It was feared that he couldn't recover. The cave-in was thirty feet deep. The couple was engaged to be married. News Article
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| AUG 1896 |
Abandoned Mine Missing Person, Benton, Wisconsin — Dennis Mehan. a resident of Bernard, Dubuque county, about 60 years old, disappeared from his home last Friday. Thursday night, August 6, his body was found in an abandoned mine shaft near Benton, Wisconsin. His throat was cut, and his hands were
upon an open razor. News Article
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| JUL 1896 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Tamaqua, Pennsylvania — Frederick Losch, 21, and John Aikin, Jr., 18, met an awful fate yesterday afternoon while picking huckleberries on the mountain side about a mile east of Tamaqua. They were entombed, either dead or alive, in an abandoned mine working. The people of Gerrytown and Tamaqua were startled about half-past 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon by a rumbling sound, similar to the forerunner of an earthquake. It came from the direction of the mountain side, where there are a number of mine breaches that had caved in eight years ago when the pillars were robbed in the first lift of No. 11 colliery of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Many people went to the place and found a little girl standing on the brink of a new chasm that had been formed by one of the old breaches reopening. The child was crying and at first was so frightened that she could not tell anything and mutely pointed to the ugly hole. After she was quieted bystanders she was able to tell her story. She said that Frederick Losch and John Akin and herself had come there and that when they reached the cave-In the men told her to stay behind while they went into it to pick some berries. They had not been down more than a few minutes when the earth opened and they disappeared from sight. The ground shook terribly, the child said, when the cave-in occurred. Directly under the cave-in miners were at work In the second lift. They heard the noise but paid no attention to it at the time. The news of the terrible accident spread quickly and caused a pall of gloom to fall over the little towns nearby. No attempt was made to rescue the ill-fated men. as it was said by experienced miners that nothing could be done. They said the men must have gone down at least 100 feet into an old mine and if they were not killed in the fall, which was almost sure, they would be dead before they could be reached by tunneling. News Article
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| JUL 1894 |
Abandoned Mine Asphyxiations, Streator, Illinois — While some boys were playing ball, their ball suddenly disappeared in a sinkhole over an abandoned coal mine. One of the boys named Goldschmidt went after it. As he did not return the other boys went to the sink and could see him lying at the bottom. They called a young man named John Munn, aged 19 years, and be jumped into the hole to assist Goldschmidt. He, too, fell to the ground, and then it was learned that the boys in the sink bad been overcome by the black dump from the abandoned mine. Michael Irgang and Henry Ostert, who were nearby, were summoned, and they also jumped into the hole. By using ladders, the crowd which had assembled succeeded in bringing all, except Goldschmidt, to the top, Munn was dead and Ostert was so badly overcome that it was feared he could not recover. He was taken to the hospital. The search for the body of young Goldschmidt continued, and it was thought his body may have fallen through into the mine. News Article
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| JUL 1893 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Ground, Pottsville, Pennsylvania — While hauling stone, William Muller, of Minersville, had a narrow escape from being buried alive at Black Heath. He was driving a double team, and the ground opened beneath his horses' feet and swallowed up the animals. Muller was thrown from his wagon and fell toward the breach. By a superhuman effort he managed to drag himself away from the verge of the hole. The breach led into the bed of Jones' workings which were abandoned years ago. It was about sixty feet deep. One of the horses was killed in the fall and the other was taken out in an almost suffocated condition. News Article
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| MAR 1891 |
Sand-Pit Asphyxiations, Seattle, Washington — Five boys playing in a sand-pit were suffocated by the caving in of the sand. The boys ranged in age from eleven to fourteen. It was fully an hour before their bodies could be recovered, and all attempts at resuscitation failed. News Article
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| 1880s |
| APR 1884 |
Abandoned Mine Fall of Person Rescue, Leadville, Colorado — Richard Swan, a mining speculator of Leadville, Colorado, was rescued from a horrible fate, being found in the bottom of a deserted mine shaft, into which he had fallen six days before, and which had been his living tomb. His rescue was by the merest accident. James Barry and Charles A. Dean, two miners, while on their way to work heard the groans of someone in distress. Ropes and mining timbers were procured and Barry was let down the shaft. On reaching the bottom and striking a match he found a man lying face downward just in the entrance of a drift leading from the shaft. The man was unconscious, and his face unmistakably depicted the agonies of death by starvation. The unfortunate man was raised to the surface and carried to the city, where, after restoratives had been applied, he recovered consciousness. From the fall he suffered a sprained ankle and a bruised arm, but was not otherwise hurt. News Article
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| MAR 1882 |
Hillside Excavation Cave-in & Asphyxiations, St. Joseph, Missouri — A large number of boys in the neighborhood had been engaged in secretly digging a tunnel into a hill. They took turns in working at it in small groups. The tunnel, which was five feet high and eight wide, had been pushed into the hillside about ten feet. Some of the boys went away and left at work on the tunnel to Mike Garish, aged 17; Allen Falls, 9; Sani Montgomery, 8; Jack Montgomery, 14, and Nicholas Kell, 13. When some of the companions of these five returned, they found the mouth of the tunnel closed by a heavy mass of earth. Their cries to their companions brought no answer, and hastily they began to dig into the hill. Two feet from the entrance the protruding hand of young Falls was encountered. Then the alarm was spread, and in half an hour a hundred had gathered on the spot. The lifeless bodies were recovered one by one. News Article
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| 1870s |
| AUG 1878 |
Abandoned South Utah Mine Fall of Person, Cedar Hill, Nevada — There was a good deal of excitement in town when it was announced that a man had been discovered in the bottom of a winze in an old tunnel on Cedar Hill, where he had been for more than 3 days. The discovery was made by two men who were out on the Geiger Grade for a walk. Arriving at an old tunnel called the South Utah they concluded to enter and take a look at the formation of the rock through which it had been cut. They had proceeded for some distance along the tunnel when they were startled at hearing in advance what appeared to be faint human moans. Calling out to know if anybody was below, there came a feeble cry of "Help, help." They then asked his name, and the answer came back, "Patrick Maguire." After help arrived, he was lifted to the surface and with little delay the poor fellow was taken to the County Hospital. Upon examination Dr. Kirby found that Maguire's left thigh was broken in three places, and the right in two places. The man was terribly injured, but Kirby thought he would be able to save his legs and his life. His many cuts and bruises were severe but not dangerous. News Article
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