In the old days, every day at work was a version of Halloween

October 31, 2020 10:00 am
The vaguely creepy and unsettling second floor hallway of the Aberdeen General Hospital at the northwest corner of Heron and Broadway, circa 1905. Built as a private home, it was purchased in 1900 by Dr. Paul Smits, who transformed it into a hospital. After Smits’ death in 1916, it became the King Hotel, which it remained until the building was razed to make way for the J.C. Penney’s store in 1939. (Aberdeen Museum Collection)
The vaguely creepy and unsettling second floor hallway of the Aberdeen General Hospital at the northwest corner of Heron and Broadway, circa 1905. Built as a private home, it was purchased in 1900 by Dr. Paul Smits, who transformed it into a hospital. After Smits’ death in 1916, it became the King Hotel, which it remained until the building was razed to make way for the J.C. Penney’s store in 1939. (Aberdeen Museum Collection)

Seeing as it is Halloween and a full moon, this is the perfect time to tell some true stories of accidents that resulted in amputation. For men working in the mills and woods, fingers, toes, hands, feet, arms and legs being crushed, smashed, mangled, or suffering other somesuch gruesome injury, made amputation an almost daily event in the early years of the Harbor. Even the general public wasn’t immune as heavy streetcars could easily slice the human body into pieces. Here then are some tales from the Harbor, not for the faint hearted.

FOREMAN LOSES FINGER — Hoquiam – Louis P. Nelson, foreman of the National Lumber & Box Company’s box department, suffered the loss of the little finger on his left hand yesterday by coming into contact with a revolving saw. Nelson was showing a man how to operate the saw when his glove caught in the teeth drawing his hand into it. The member was amputated close to the hand. It was impossible to find the ring worn on the finger at the time of the accident. — Aberdeen Herald, May 19,1910

ELMA — John Murphy, a laborer on the Union Pacific grade across the river, suffered the terrible mangling of his left hand and wrist by the explosion of a dynamite cap, on Tuesday. He was brought to the Blair hospital and the arm amputated. A companion was injured in the hand. — Aberdeen Herald, January 31, 1910

SLIPS UNDER TRAIN AND LOSES HIS LEG AT KNEE — John Allen of Vancouver, Wash., fell under the O.W. Owl train, last night, while trying to board the train at the foot of Broadway. His right leg was terribly crushed below the knee, and at St. Joseph’s Hospital, whither the man was rushed, the limb was amputated below the knee joint. Allen carried a trainman’s card, but is not known to local train crews. — Aberdeen Herald, June 1, 1915

SHIP CAPTAIN INJURED —- Capt. Nelson of the schooner Maweema, which arrived in port Friday, was caught in the anchor chain Friday just outside the bar and one of his hands badly mangled. As soon as the vessel was towed inside and the captain could be put ashore at Hoquiam, he was rushed to the Aberdeen General Hospital.

The Maweema had dropped anchor off the bay waiting for a tug to pick her up and tow her inside. Friday morning the anchor was ordered up, but in some way the tackle stuck and Capt. Nelson grasped the chain to pull it free. As he did so the donkey engine was started and his hand crushed under the chain. Three fingers were so badly mangled they had to be amputated. — Aberdeen Herald, August 12, 1912

FALLS UNDER MOVING CAR; WILL LOSE FOOT — Hoquiam – While attempting to catch the North Hoquiam streetcar on Eighth Street, between I Street and the bridge, when it left at 12:30 o’clock Saturday night for the car barns, H. Hendrickson, an employee of Polson’s Camp No. 8, slipped from the car step and the rear truck run over his left foot. Hendrickson’s head struck the car fender, and he was dragged along the pavement some distance before the car was stopped by Motorman Fred Grigsby.

Hendrickson, who was discharged Saturday from the hospital, was encumbered by a bandage about his right ankle and foot. He was going to Aberdeen and did not know the car was going only to the barns at Electric Park. Conductor Loman was shutting the side doors when the car passed Hendrickson and did not see him. Hendrickson hobbled after the car and managed to get hold, but could not retain his hold.

The ambulance was called, and the injured man was accompanied to the hospital by night patrolman Tolliver. Surgical examination showed it was necessary to amputate the left foot. No internal injuries were discovered, although there were several body bruises. Hendrickson is about 22 years old and has no relatives here. His parents live in Norway. He was injured last week at Polson’s Camp. — Aberdeen Herald, June 23, 1914

FATAL MILL ACCIDENT — Rudolph Maack, aged 27 years, died Saturday night at an Aberdeen hospital, following the amputation of his right leg. Maack was operating a band saw and while removing a sliver from the carriage was carried into the teeth of the saw. The noise of the mill prevented his cries for aid to be heard, when the saw struck his right leg near the hip, severing the bone.

He was rushed to an Aberdeen hospital and the leg amputated, but he was unable to stand the shock, and expired about 10 o’clock. Maack had been on Grays Harbor about a year, working in the mills as a sawyer. His father and brother arrived here Sunday from Kirkland, Wash., and the body was shipped last night to Bothell for burial, by Pinnick & Kenny. — Aberdeen Herald, June 9, 1914

Roy Vataja is the son of Finnish immigrants and has survived 56 years without requiring anything to be amputated. Happy Halloween!