The Tragic Death of a Fremont Postmaster
A workplace accident at the Fremont depot claims the life of Thomas C. Ralston, a man recently instrumental in exposing a local criminal conspiracy.
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.
While Thomas C. Ralston, postmaster at Fremont, was unloading logs from a train near the Fremont depot yesterday morning at 8:30 o'clock, he was killed by a log which struck him upon the chest, inflicting internal injuries. Ralston, in company with several other men, was removing heavy logs from a flat car to the ground, when one slipped and struck him in the chest. The blow sent him reeling backward over the bank and into the river which runs near the track at this point. The men rescued Ralston from the water and carried him home, where he died within five minutes. Deputy Coroner Greene, in the absence of Coroner Horton, decided that an inquest was unnecessary. Thomas C. Ralston was born in Indiana in 1856. He moved to this state with his family several years ago. When a postoffice was established at Fremont he was appointed postmaster, and has since held the position. He leaves a wife and four children. Only a few days ago his sister-in-law was buried. Ralston came prominently before the public last spring by giving valuable information which aided in unraveling the Radloff mystery. Radloff registered the letter containing the insurance policies at the Fremont Postoffice the night that he burned his house with Lewrn's body in it.
“The blow sent him reeling backward over the bank and into the river which runs near the track.”
Fremont remains a distinct neighborhood, though the rail lines that once dominated its riverfront have largely been repurposed. The story reflects a time when a local postmaster served as a primary witness to the civic life—and crime—of a growing, dangerous industrial town.
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