Bio: Evans, Wilfred (Dynamite Injury - 1928)

Contact: Dolores Mohr Kenyon

Email: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Evans, Andraschko, Bradbury

----Source: Neillsville Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI.) December 20, 1928

Evans, Wilfred (Dynamite Injury 18 November 1928)

Tuesday afternoon about 4:30, Wilfred Evans, little son of Mr. and Mrs. Cleve Evans, who live on the North Side, had one hand and an eye badly injured by the explosion of a dynamite cap.  Wilfred, who is about 8 years old, got hold of the cap at school and was trying to set it off with a match, his left hand being down too close to the cap; the explosion practically taking off the thumb, the first and second fingers and also injuring the third finger.  A splinter of metal apparently cut one of his eyes so that there was considerable hemorrhage in the eye.  The little lad was at home alone when the accident occurred and he ran as fast as he could to the home of his aunt, Mrs. Albert Andraschko, his grandmother also being there.  Dr. Bradbury was summoned and took the boy to his office, where the mangled thumb and fingers were amputated and the other finger and eye dressed.

On Thursday the boy was taken to the hospital at Eau Claire for X-ray examination of the eye.

The little patient is getting along as well as can be expected.

It is understood that quite a number of lads around town had gotten hold of dynamite caps from the same source as did young Wilfred, and the explosives had been carried about and to school by the youngsters.  It is evident that some youngster had found a quantity of dynamite caps at home and had filled his pockets with them and distributed them to all his playmates. Reports indicate that many more boys had the caps in their pockets and it is to be marveled at that others than Wilfred did not have similar accidents.