Workplace Accident Leaves Logger Gravely Injured
A tree felling accident at a coal company operation results in a devastating leg injury and potential gangrene.
Oscar Anderson, aged 27, was brought to St. Joseph's hospital today, suffering from a crushed leg. Anderson works for the Gale Creek Coal company and last Saturday, with some other men, he was cutting down a tree. The tree fell sooner than they expected and Anderson was hit on the back of the leg. The blow was of sufficient force to knock him 16 feet in the air. He was kept at Wilkeson until today. Gangrene has already set in and it may be necessary to amputate the leg.
“The blow was of sufficient force to knock him 16 feet in the air.”
This story highlights the extreme physical danger inherent in early 20th-century resource extraction industries. Occupational safety remains a critical concern in regional labor markets, though industrial methods have evolved significantly since the days of hand-felling trees in coal camps.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.