Log Loader Killed on the Port Townsend Southern
A tragic workplace accident in Bucoda leaves a man dead as he attempts to unload heavy timber.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
William Stewart, of Bucoda, was accidentally killed today while unloading a carload of logs on the Port Townsend Southern track. A movement of the logs caused the lever he was handling to strike him under the chin with such force that his neck was broken and he died in a few minutes. Stewart had been shipping logs for some time for a camp near Tenino, and this morning he came for the first time to personally direct the unloading of his logs.
“A movement of the logs caused the lever he was handling to strike him under the chin with such force that his neck was broken.”
Logging remained one of Washington's most dangerous occupations for decades. While safety standards have evolved, the physical nature of moving massive timber remains an inherent risk in the industry that built the state's economy.
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