Week Nine - Disaster

Week Nine - Disaster

I am behind on my blogging BECAUSE - I can't think of one disaster that occurred in my
family.  I've been researching a long time and there is nothing that comes to mind in my immediate  family that would say disaster.

I do have distant relatives in what I would call disaster situations - a Civil War soldier who came
home and found his brother was having an affair with his wife.  A resulting dual left them both dead.

A relative bitten by a rabid dog, who suffered a horrible death, too early in history have an antidote. available.
Obituary
Washington Register 
The sad news of the sudden death of our young friend, John Ott, whose home is five miles south of town, which was received last Wednesday evening, took our people by compete surprise.  Mr. Ott some two years ago bitten by a dog that he feared was mad, and although he tried a madstone without effect, the thought that he would die of hydrophobia continually preyed upon his mind. Recently a small lump appeared on his hand where he was bitten and he promptly applied to Dr. Runke for treatment.  The Doctor assured him it was nothing serious, and gave him an application which scattered the swelling.  At time Mr. Ott's mind was flight and as a precautionary measure his neighbors were with him to watch his ymptoms and care for him should he need attention.  Wednesday noon J. W. Bell and W.H. Nemitz were watching him, and after eating a light dinner he went out to the outhouse unattended.   As he did not return as soon as the men thought he should.  Mr. Nemitz followed him, and there he found Mr. Ott sitting down and dead.  As no bad symptoms had been noticed before he went out, his death so suddenly was a surprise to all, and will probably remain a mystery.   


A young relative, scheduled  to began his military duty in World War Two, when road construction work caused them to be on the wrong side of the road, and they were hit by a truck, resulting in the loss of two family members  and serious injuries to others.
Death Claims Two
Following Accident
Car and Truck Collide on Hill Two 
Miles South of Greenleaf Monday Afternoon.
Two members of the Schwerdtfeger family were killed and other members of the family injured as a result of an accident Monday afternoon when their call collided with a grave truck two miles south of Greenleaf.
Glen W. Schwerdtfeger, 22 years old and one of the selectees scheduled to leave for camp on Tuesday, was killed instantly when the back end of the car received the full impact of the collision. 
With him in the back seat were two of his cousins a boy, five and a little girl, three, both of whom were leaning against the front seat.  The boy was injured critically.
Glen Swerdtfeger (sic)  was a son of Mr. and Mrs. A. C. Schwerdtfeger of Linn.
Walter Schwerdtfeger 30, an uncle of Blen, died about two o'clock the following morning as a result of a broken back, skull fractures and other injuries.  He was driving the car.
With him in the front seat were hie wife and their baby.  Mrs. Schwerdtfeger suffered cuts and bruises but the baby was apparently unharmed.
The Swerdtfeger car, a 1937 Ford coach was literally town to pieces, according to persons who went to the scene of the accident.
The Schwerdtfeger car is thought to have been traveling on the wrong side of the road due to the fact that a road maintainer had just passed that way leaving one side of the road uneven and as the car came over the top of the hill the driver tried to pull clear of the oncoming truck but was unable to do so. The truck was driven by Ben Gillespie of this city who made every possible effort to avoid the car, almost wrecking the truck to do so, but was unable to avoid the collision.   

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