A Deadly Slip in the Window Cleaning Trade
A single workman faces severe, possibly life-threatening injuries after a window frame pulled away from a house on 12th Street.
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 cleaning windows at a residence on Twelfth Street, near Stewart, yesterday morning, J. Peiky fell from the second story, striking a fence and receiving injuries of a very serious nature. Mr. Peiky had the upper window pulled part way down and was cleaning from the outside, his feet resting on the window sill and the top of the window frame furnishing a hold for one hand while he worked with the other. His weight was evidently too much strain, for the window tore from the casing and threw him back and away from the building. When Mr. Peiky felt himself falling he made a frantic effort to maintain his hold on the window, hoping that the cords would stay his fall until help came. As he is not a strong man, his fingers lost their grip and he fell straight down, the lower part of his chest striking on top of a board fence. He was taken to Grace Hospital in great pain. Four ribs on the left side were broken, and there is reason to believe that the left lobe of the lung has been pierced.
“The window tore from the casing and threw him back and away from the building.”
Accidents involving precarious labor were frequent in 1892, but this story provides a vivid look at the vulnerability of gig workers and tradesmen before the era of modern labor regulations and workplace safety standards.
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