Obit: Henkel, Clarence (1901 - 1916)

Contact:  Stan

Surnames: HENKEL

----Sources: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 02/24/1916

Henkel, Clarence (28 NOV 1901 - 19 FEB 1916)

Last Saturday morning the citizens of this community were very much shocked to hear of the sad fate that befell Clarence, the fifteen year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Gust Henkel of this city (Colby, Clark Co., Wis.), when it was learned that in trying to board a freight train at Marshfield the night before, he was run over, very seriously hurt, and had died a short time after. Last Friday afternoon Clarence with four other boys, John Lex, Gilbert Ballheim, Earl Cramer, Ben Charlton and Harry Keats boarded the local freight for down the line. Keats was going to Marshfield, and the other boys were going to Spencer with George Henkel, who was on his way to Minneapolis. On arriving at Spencer, they decided to go to Marshfield, and after arriving there they stayed around until after 10 p.m., at which time they thought of returning to Colby. Ballheim, Cramer and Charlton went first and caught onto a freight train, which was just pulling out. Lex and Clarence waited longer and had to run to catch the train. This brings them up to about the time of the accident. There were many stories of how it occurred, but a statement by John Lex, and one of the brakemen, who were the only eye witnesses, looks reasonable. Lex says they ran for the train; he was ahead. He caught the ladder of a box car, next to the caboose, and climed up three or four steps to make room for Clarence, who was coming behind him. Lex says when he got up he looked around but failed to see Clarence, so he immediately jumped off and looked back and saw him under the caboose, the rear truck were just passing over him.

It is understood that the brakeman, who was on the caboose, saw the bosy and from his statement, Clarence did not make an attempt to catch the ladder of the box car, but when the caboose was passing him, he slipped and fell under, between the forward and rear trucks.

Lex states that he was so frightened that his first thought was to run. He went up where the other obys were and told them, and they all started for home on foot.

Clarence was taken to the hospital….(the rest of my copy was cut off)