METHER, Frederick Allen 1936-1950

METHER, BECKHAM, ALLEN, FASNAUGH

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 5/28/2011 at 12:38:33

1 of 3 Items

[Waterloo Courier, Wednesday, September 13, 1950]

Car Hits Soap-Box Cart

A coroner's inquest was planned Wednesday into the highway death of Frederick Allen Mether, 14, who was killed about 7 p.m. Tuesday when his pushcart was struck by an automobile on highway 218 about one-third mile southeast of Ridgeway Road.

Driver of the car was Harry Douglas Johannsen, 18, of La Porte City, Iowa, who was on his way to Waterloo.

Mether was being pushed in the cart by his brother, Lloyd, 12, who told his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Beckham, that he had seen the car coming and called to his brother to get out. Lloyd then ran from the road.

Lloyd said they were going down the highway to a neighbor's house, and that half of the cart was on the pavement, and that half of the cart was on the pavement, and the other half was on the shoulder.

Johannsen told police that a truck was coming towards him and he pulled over to the right to give it ample room to pass him.

He said he saw what thought was an empty refrigerator box along the side of the road, and chose to hit that to avert a collision with the truck.

The cart was a homemade "car" the boys had constructed and had a large cardboard carton on the rear, making it impossible to see the boy in the cart.

The impact of the collision shattered the cart and threw the boy's body 54 feet into the ditch along the road. He suffered a broken neck, fractured skull and two broken legs.

Johannsen told police that unaware that he had hit anything other than a box, he stopped about a block down the road to remove some debris that was dragging under his car.

At that time, he said he noticed a homemade steering wheel hanging on the front of his car and then investigated further and discovered the tragedy. He then drove his car back to the Beckham residence.

Frederick Alien Mether was born July 3, 1936 in Waterloo, the son of Lloyd and Helen Mether, and was an eighth grade student at Orange Township Consolidated School.

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Item 2

[Waterloo Courier, Thursday, September 14, 1950]

FREDERICK A. METHER

Funeral services for Frederick Allen Mether will be Friday at 3 p.m. at the First Wesleyan Methodist Church, South Street and Hammond Avenue. Reverend Paul R. Davis officiating.

Mether 14, was killed Tuesday night when struck by a car on La Porte Road.

The body will be at O'Keefe and Towne Funeral Home until 1:45 p.m. Burial will be in Fairview Cemetery.

Surviving in addition to the immediate family is the maternal great-grandmother, Mrs. H. W. Fasnaugh, 618 Independence Avenue.

The family is at the home of the maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. A. A. Allen, 1327 Vine Street, and requests that those who wish to send flowers donate to the Wesleyan Methodist Sunday school fund instead.

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Item 3

[Waterloo Courier, Thursday, September 21, 1950]

A coroner's jury late Wednesday declared the death of Frederick Allen Mether, 14, of highway 218 southeast, was accidentally caused by poor road and visibility conditions and relieved Harry D. Johannsen, 18, of La Porte City, la., of all blame in the fatal accident.