Tragedy in a Colfax City Well
Two workers were buried when a city well caved in, leaving one man critically injured.
Fred Kasdorf and William Hughes were seriously injured this afternoon by the caving in of a city well which they were digging to help supply the pumping station in Colfax. Hughes was entirely buried, but rescuers uncovered his head in time to prevent suffocation. His hips were crushed and legs bruised; doctors fear he is hurt internally and cannot recover. Kasdorf's left foot and leg received painful bruises, but he escaped serious harm.
“Hughes was entirely buried, but the rescuers uncovered his head in time to prevent suffocation.”
Workplace accidents of this nature were common in the infrastructure-building era of the Pacific Northwest. While safety standards have evolved drastically, the story highlights the physical dangers faced by early municipal laborers.
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