DEATH OF HARRY BELL

BELL

Posted By: Nancee Seifert (email)
Date: 12/15/2009 at 19:15:20

Decatur County Journal
Leon, Iowa
Thursday, December 14, 1911

'Particulars of the Accident that Resulted in the Lad Losing his Life on
December 2'.

The following from recent issues of the Shenandoah Sentinel-Post gives
further particulars concerning the sad death of HARRY BELL, son of HARRY P.
BELL, of Leon, and a grandson of Mr. And Mrs. JOHN BELL, of this city, who
was struck by an automobile at Shenandoah on Saturday, December 2, and so
badly injured that he died a few hours later.

Although our city has long been throbbing with automobiles, it had been
singularly free from fatal accidents until Saturday evening when the immune
was broken by the death of HARRY BELL, the youngest son of Mr. And Mrs. H.P.
BELL. It was purely accidental -- a sudden combination of circumstances
making it seemingly unavoidable, and no one is to blame. But all this does
not lessen the horror of it -- the awful chill it sent through all hearts
and homes of the city.

A young life had been snatched by violence in a public place and on a
beautiful street, and while people were aroused to the danger lurking there,
profound sympathy was extended to the stricken parents. What anguish must
have been theirs'.

The smooth, new asphalt pavement makes an enticing playground for the boys
and girls. Saturday was a beautiful day and a number of them were out on
Center Street, with roller skates, lively and happy as school children can
be on a Saturday afternoon. The scene of the accident was 10 to 15 feet
south of the junction of Center and Sheridan, where Center slopes to the
north. Between 2 and 3 o'clock, P.H. Stenger, deliveryman for the East Side
grocery, started up Center, southward. HARRY and another boy were clinging
close tail of the wagon or following close behind it. At the same time L.F.
And A.C. Danner, father and son, were coming down Center in their automobile
going north. HARRY let loose from the wagon just in time to fall beneath
the auto. He did not see it and his skates threw him -- all this happening
in an instant. His right leg was broken, his jaw broken in three places,
his head cut and crushed. Blood flowed freely, leaving a pool on the
pavement in which were several of the boy's teeth. The Danners stopped and
picked the little fellow up and laid him on the parking. A doctor was
phoned for, but just then Dr. Lynn Putman came along with his auto and took
him to the office of Drs. Putman, Aldrich & Putman, where the injuries were
dressed, the jaw wired up and the patient sent home. The doctors found the
brain in tact and me might possibly have lived, but there were broken
arteries and he died from internal hemorrhage a little before 7 o'clock.

Mr. Stenger denies that he whipped the boys off his wagon -- did not know
they were holding to it, and he would not have hit HARRY anyway, for he knew
him and liked him. The little boy's parents are HARRY P. BELL and Mrs.
ADDIE BELL, (formerly ADDIE CAMPBELL) and their home is 314 West Valley. Mr
BELL is traveling for the Beach Stock Food Company but happened to be at
home all last week. Their older son, JOHN, works with Gauss & Simmons.

The funeral is set for 2 p.m. Tuesday at the home, conducted by Rev. Ferall,
HARRY being a member of the Christian Church Sunday school. He was a bright
little boy, loved by his schoolmates, and his age was nine years; would be
10 next June.

The Danners are almost broken hearted over the sad accident, but say they do
not feel that they are to blame as they were going slow and had no
intimation that the boy would tumble under their car. It was all done so
quickly that they had not time to prevent the accident.

The following account of the funeral appeared in the Sentinel-Post December
8:

Little HARRY BELL's grave was literally covered with flowers. Indeed these
tributes of respect and sympathy were never so abundant at a child's funeral
The sermon of Rev. Ferall, as indeed the whole service, was very touching.
HARRY's mother, Mrs. ADDIE BELL, was prostrated with grief, unconsolable.
This mother was wise beyond the usual, for she took out life policy in the
Prudential on her two boys and now she receives back from the company about
$200. To be sure, no amount of money could compensate her loss. HARRY was
fond of his father and Saturday morning begged him to remain at home one
more day, but that one day had not ended until the little boy was a mangled
corpse.

As for Mr. Danner, his grief amounted to torture. He could neither eat nor
sleep. To think, he said, "that I have been so careful ever since we bought
the car and then to be the first to take a human life." He was present when
the doctors dressed the wounds and told them to spare no pains and he has
done all he could to mitigate the accident. He has shown the noble part.
---------------------------------------------------
Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
December 15, 2009
iggy29@grm.net

My opinion of whoever wrote this is that he was a crass and tactless
idiot!!!!!!
I can't imagine what the parents must have felt at reading this...