Goettsch

The Text Content on Page 1 of Lebanon Daily News , September 16, 1955 is:

Zion Man Is Killed In Freak Tractor Mishap Charles L Grim 40 Employe Of Mi Hards Firm And PartTime Farmer Caught Under Tractor Wheel A freak tractor mishap yesterday afternoon claimed the life of a parttime Mt Zion area farmer Victim of the tragic accident was Charles L Grim 40 of Lebanon R 2 a well known county resident and employe of the Millard Lime and Stone Company for the last 17 years Deputy Coroner Dr H W Reed of Fredericksburg said Grim met almost instant death when he was caught under a tractor wheel which spun on the upper part of his body for an undetermined period of time Dr Reed said the victims left arm was almost severed and he suffered severe head and chest injuries The time of the mishap was placed at p the time that Grims watch stopped running The accident occurred in the driveway outside Grims home as he was preparing to do some plowing He was discovered by his daughter Shirley 15 who investigated after hearing the roar of the tractor motor for several minutes She summoned her halfbrother Harold Dewees 25 who was ill in bed at the time Dewees backed the vehicle off his stepfathers body and summoned help Accident Reconstructed Dr Reed reconstructed the man ner in which the accident happened as follows After driving out of the barn Grim apparently was attempting to halt the vehicle to secure the plow However a connecting rod that applied the brakes to both wheels was not in place and the brake on only one wheel locked in place The other big wheel on the right side continued to turn This he theorized caused the tractor to swerve in a pivoting manner and collide with a wire fence that halted the tractors for ward progress As it did so Grim was apparently thrown over the right wheel landing in front of it The physician said the injuries suffered by the dead man showed the wheel churned in the gravel driveway against the right side of his face across the neck and chest and down across the Earlier Medical Call Ironically Dr Reed had visited the Grim home earlier in the after noon to treat Harold Dewees for a sore throat He said he talked to the accident victim at the time Grim was employed on the night shift by the Millard firm A native of Oley Township Berks County the accident victim was the son of the late Mr and Mrs Charles Grim He resided in the Mt Zion area for the last eight years and previously resided in Palmyra where he moved from Reading He was a member of the Mt Zion Fire Company and a fire po Religiously he was a member of St Reformed Church Ham lin In addition to his wife the for mer Carrie Gundrum of Jackson Township he is survived by one daughter Shirley at home a step daughter wife of Ray Bar kes of Mt Zion and two stepsons Harold and Kenneth Dewees at home are two sis ters Mrs Carl DeTurk of Stony Creek Mills and Mrs Wayne Man miller also of Berks County A son Warren preceded him in death by 10 years