Caught in the Cement Pipe Works: A Lonely Cry for Help
A worker’s clothing snagged in the machinery at the Columbia Valley Cement Pipe Works. Alone and unable to cut the power, he called out—and a neighbor ran to save him.
J. L. Brown had his left arm badly crushed and came near suffering more serious injuries Tuesday when his clothing in some way caught in the machinery at the Columbia Valley Cement Pipe Works and he was dragged into the machine. He was alone in the plant at the time of the accident and his clothing caught in such a way that he could not turn off the power.
Mr. and Mrs. Stephensen were preparing to come to town and Mrs. Stephensen was returning to the plant for something she had forgotten when she heard Johnnie’s call for help. She rushed in and turned off the power but had to get help to remove him from the machine. He was taken immediately to the hospital in Pasco, where the fracture of the arm was reduced and the doctors determined there were no other injuries, which at the time was feared.
“He was alone in the plant at the time of the accident and his clothing caught in such a way that he could not turn off the power.”
Industrial accidents were a routine hazard in the valley’s small plants, where workers often operated alone and safety cutoffs were not automatic. The story rhymes with modern concerns about lone-worker safety and the hidden risks in rural manufacturing.
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