100 years ago: O’Fallon stunned by fatal accident at Taylor Mine
100 years ago, Oct. 1, 1925
The community was shocked last Friday evening when it was learned that Henry A. Bertram, 55 years old, well-known and highly-respected citizen had met with a tragic death in the Taylor mine, when he was crushed by a cage at the bottom of the shaft.
The accident occurred at 3:40 o’clock, p. m., and he died a few minutes later.
A physician, who was summoned, pronounced the man dead and he was removed to the Schwarz parlors (undertaker) in this city, where an inquest was held by Coroner Fulgham the same evening. A jury returned a verdict of “accidental death”.
Bertram, according to evidence introduced at the coroner’s inquest, was engaged in pushing an empty pit car from the cage at the bottom of the shaft when the cage was hoisted. He was caught in the shaft between the cage and top of the mine entry. His neck was broken, his skull fractured and the chest crushed.
Magnus Harper, assistant mine manager, witnessed the accident and ran to the bell and signalled the engineer to stop. The cage ascended about 20 feet when it came to a stop. Harper and several other witnesses who testified at the inquest stated that Bertram gave the engineer the signal that men wished to go to the top. This signal is three bells.
He said Bertram gave the signal very rapidly and without waiting for a return signal from the engineer, started to push the empty box from the cage. The box was partly off the cage when the engineer started to hoist. The car fell from the cage and Bertram, who was leaning forward in the act of pushing the box, plunged down and was caught between the edge of the cage and the roof of the mine.
Adolph Loeffler, the engineer, declared he had received a signal of one bell from the bottom of the shaft. That is the signal to hoist. He said that if Bertram gave the three signals he did it so rapidly that it sounded like one ring.
Bertram, who had been employed as a bottom cager for many years, was one of the faithful and most trusted employees of the coal company. He had the reputation of being a conscientious worker and broke a number of records at the mine as a cager, in which he was assisted by engineers Loeffler and A. B. Gordon.
The entrance to Taylor Coal Mine was just northwest of the O’Fallon Family Sports Park.
75 years ago, Sept. 28, 1950
More than 800 O’Fallon school children, including those in public and parochial schools, participated in the Kiwanis Club’s annual Kids’ Day celebration and parade.
The O’Fallon School Band and Boy Scout Troop No. 35 marched in the parade along with the pupils. The parade ended at the high school gymnasium where the children’s party was held. P. T. A. room mothers and Kiwanis Club members accompanied the children. Each pupil received a bottle of Coke at the end of the parade and turned the empties in for ice cream after the program.
Arthur Currall, chairman of the youth activities committee of the Kiwanis Club, presided at the gymnasium program. William Schmidt, president of the club, read Mayor Henry Hesse’s proclamation praising the Kids’ Day idea. Irwin A. Yare, publisher of The Progress, spoke briefly.
On the program were moving pictures, including an Abbott and Costello film and a Mickey Mouse. Kids’ Day is a national Kiwanis club activity started in 1949. It is used to point out the need for recreational activities for children and the opportunities for adult leadership of children.
50 years ago, Oct. 2, 1975
A sewage backup at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Phillip Kahlert (Ravenwood Ct.) during the Labor Day weekend cost the city of O’Fallon $119 in cleaning bills. The backup, caused by a city worker failing to check a nearby lift station, filled the Kahlert’s basement with sewage and caused considerable damage.
Mayor Gary Mackey said the city decided to pay for the damages because the backup was the city’s fault and not caused by rains which the city has no control over.
“It was the machine’s fault and the machine belongs to us, so it’s our fault,” Mackey said.
The bills included a $30 charge for cleaning the Kahlert’s basement and an $89 bill for cleaning cushions, mattress and two couches in the Kahlert basement. The bills, from Supreme Janitorial Service Inc. and Reliable Rug and Upholstery Cleaners, both of Belleville, were paid by the city of O’Fallon directly to the companies. No money was handed over to the Kahlerts.
Mrs. Kahlert said the mayor and city engineer Dave Davis came to her home when the incident occurred and inspected the damage. It was then determined that the city should pay for the cleaning. One bill (for the floor cleaning) was sent directly to City Hall while the second bill for the cleaning of the cushions was brought to city hall by Mrs. Kahlert.
When asked to explain the difference between paying for this type of damage opposed to the request for payments that were made last January when flooding occurred in many homes in O’Fallon following heavy rains, Mackey said there was quite a difference.
“The lift station backup was caused by mechanical failure. The city has to take responsibility for that. But the rains were an act of God and we cannot guarantee the rains will not cause the flooding of basements. We have no control over that,” Mackey said.
When residents from the city demanded reimbursement for the damages done to their basements during the January flooding, the council refused to make such reimbursement. During the period, however, The Progress reported that the city did pay through its insurance company a claim for damages during a flooding incident in March, 1973. The council denied knowing about the payment and the insurance company involved said the city may not have been notified that the payment for reimbursement was made.
Mackey said the lift station that went unchecked and caused the Kahlert backup will have a warning light installed on it when it is not operating properly. The city is also considering installing a warning system that would notify city workers that a lift station is not operating properly.