G. W. Weyrauch, Supt at Milford, was killed in a car-train incident in early April of 1929. See page 62.
Dorothy Smith, age 25, daughter of one time Principal (1920-1924) Mrs Fred A Smith of Milford, was killed in Chicago in March circa 1932.
Boyd ArraSmith'35, 23, son of AA ArraSmith, was killed east of Ames on Thirteenth Street on 29 August 1941, in a motorcycle incident. He graduated Milford with the class of 1935 and was the younger brother of Max ArraSmith `32. There are two slightly different versions of the incident. Boyd was headed west on 13th Street into Ames on the gravel. East of the River, on the south side of the road, at the top of the grade down to the river, there was a drive way that went into a hog disease station. A Semi was turning left into this drive when Boyd was attempting to pass this vehicle. One report said he went under the truck and the other said he swerved his machine and in doing so lost control of it and went into the ditch and Boyd received fatal injuries. The incident happened on Thursday, 28 August in the daylight of the morning and he survived, unconscious, until 1:30 p.m. Friday 29 August 1941. A sidelight to this unfortunate incident was that a week later a truckload of five motorcycles from the Milford Area was taken to Des Moines and sold.
George Kimble died 30 Dec 1941 from the results of a traffic accident earlier in the fall. He was raised on a farm 3 miles NW of Nevada and father of Virgil. Page 73
Mrs William Hansen, age 39, of Milford Twp was killed in a two car incident north of Colo on Hiway 65 on Sunday, 22 Feb 1942. The vehicle was driven by her husband and had just pulled onto the hiway when it was struck by a southbound car. Injured in the incident were son Charles, age 9, and daughter Sally, age 16, both with skull fractures and her husband. She was a sister of Sorensen's.
Joe Burley'36, age 24, driver, was killed in a two fatality single car incident south of Ankeny on Highway 69 about 3 AM Monday, 20 September 1943. Details are sketchy as to the cause of the incident except to say the coupe went about 40 feet along the left side of the road before hitting a concrete culvert. No mention if he was headed north or south. Joe had graduated Milford in 1936 and was operating the Burley farm about six miles northwest of Nevada.
Wayne Buttry, age 25, was also killed in the same incident. He was Burley's passenger and died about two and a half days later at Broadlawn Hospital in Des Moines from multiple head and leg injuries. In a true bit of irony, Buttry had been inducted into the Army on Friday 17 Sept 1943 at Camp Dodge and was on the usual induction furlough. He graduated Zearing High School and moved with his folks to a farm northeast of Ames in Milford Twp in c. 1940.
Earl McCord, age 57, who was the steward at the Story County Home since 1 July 1935, was killed in a traffic incident seven miles south of Iowa Falls on 14 April 1947. Also killed in the incident was the 83 year old driver of the other car. Mrs McCord was not seriously injured but suffered face lacerations and many bruises.
Wilma Moore `27 and her husband, Tom Erickson, were both killed south of Huxley on Highway 69 in the ?late forties- early fifties?
Merril Johnson'44 was killed in a traffic accident 6 Feb 1956 two miles east of Ames on the Lincoln Highway when his 1955 Ford ran under the rear of a semi. He lived two miles south of the North Grant School and was the father of three youngsters. In one of the ironies of life, he was the cousin of Stanley Tjernagel, 20, of Roland, who was killed in similar type accident about 8 miles north of Ames on Highway 69 on 27 July 1955 when the vehicle, driven by Tjernagel, ran under the rear of a semi stopped for a construction project. Killed with Tjernagel, were Hollis Fosse, 22, of Roland, and Darlene Sydness, 22, of Huxley. Darlene Sydness was the sister of Janet who married the basketball star Gary Thompson of Roland. Gary had reportedly been with this group of young people that day but, at the last minute, got into a different vehicle.
L.P. “Pete” Sorensen, 67, and his son-in-law, Raymond G. Ayers, 45, were killed about 5:30 28 Feb 1957 when their car slid into a semi west of the tile factory west of Nevada on Hiway 30. Burial was at the Nevada Cemetery.
Raymond “Shorty” Tendall'43, was killed in railroad crossing incident in Nevada at the Second Street crossing on 13 Feb 1958 while headed home for lunch in a pickup. He was just 33 years of age and left a wife, a son and two daughters.
McVey Bros were killed in 1969. See page 76.
Alma Grindem, age 72, retired from the Matron Position at the Story Co Home, was killed in Joliet Ill in Sept of 1973. Her husband,Irving, who was driving, survived.
Ed Sorensen'37, of Runnells, died in an automobile accident near Altoona in May of (probably) 1978. He had been a veteran of WWII. He left a family of a wife, 2 daughters and 2 sons. He was the son of Peter Sorensen.
Verna Borton, age 88, was struck west of Mt Vernon, Iowa, on Hiway 30 on 1 April 2002 and died 17 April. She had gotten out of her car to clear the windshield in a snow shower and a car, out of control, hit her. Also injured was Verna's granddaughter, Mashall Rana, who had stopped to help.
Earl Johnson`43, 79, killed on US30 E of Boone on 24 Jan 2005.
As a footnote; the seat belt law became effective on 1 Jan 1987 after a 6 month “grace” period from 1 July 1986 - 31 December 1986.
As an informational footnote: It was in 1926 that Federal Gov quit using names for the highways ie; Jefferson, Wilson etc. On 1 Sept 1928 the Boy Scouts, in an elaborate nationwide coordination, coast to coast, set the 275 pound posts to mark the Lincoln Highway route. There were 254 posts distributed along the route through Marshall, Story, Boone, Greene, and Carroll Counties and they were all supposed to be placed at a specific time on the 1 Sept 1928.