Olive Erickson (ca. 1893-1897)

ERICKSON

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 6/13/2011 at 12:17:24

From Story County Watchman April 2, 1897

Slater News: One of the saddest accidents that we have ever been called upon to chronicle occurred at the home of Jacob Erickson, living one mile east of Slater, last Friday evening at about 5 o'clock which resulted in the death of their four year old daughter, Olive.

Little Olive in company with a larger sister had sometime in the afternoon gone upstairs in the Turbine windmill to play and in some way got too near the large rod extending from the mill tower down through the building and is connected to a grinder below, in an instant her clothing was caught and as the mill was running her life was crushed out. On each side of the rod being grain bins, the one on the west being so close that her body could not easily pass between and it was this that caused her death. Her older sister saw the accident but could not do nothing so she ran to her mother who was immediately on the scene but it was too late as her little lifeless body was wedged in between the rod and the grain bin....