Surnames: Drescher, Taylor, Brandt

----Source: Neillsville Press (Neillsville, Clark County, Wis.) Thursday, 11/09/1922

Drescher, Stanley (1918 - 5 Nov. 1922)

A sad and strange accident occurred Sunday evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Drescher in the town of Grant, by which their little son, Stanley, four years and eight months old lost his life by a gunshot. Just how the accident came about May never be known. Mr. and Mrs. Drescher were milking in the barn and the little boy was alone in the house. Another son, six or seven years of age was also at the barn for a time, before the accident happened. On going to the house the mother was met by the older boy, who came running out saying that Stanley had fallen off the cupboard and hurt his head. The mother ran in and found the little fellow lying dead near the cupboard, his face covered with blood. They soon discovered the gun lying near where the child lay.

Coroner Taylor was summoned Monday morning from Loyal but decided that no formal inquest was necessary. He stated that the gun, a single barrel shotgun had stood in a stairway, and the child must have gone there, taken it out and was playing with it when the shell exploded. Mr. Taylor states that the strange part of it is that the charge from the shell evidently came backward and out the breech instead of going out of the muzzle of the gun, as the paper part of the shell remained in the gun, while the metal rim of the shell was blown out backward. How a child of that age managed to explode the cartridge at all is hard to explain, and why the charge came backward also was beyond the coroner’s power to discover.

Stanley was a bright, strong, active little boy and his tragic death is a terrible blow to the mourning parents. They have the sincere sympathy of the entire community.

The funeral was held Wednesday afternoon, Rev. Brandt of Neillsville officiating.