A Dangerous Fall for a Telephone Manager
A local utility manager is injured after a utility pole collapses during maintenance work.
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.
J. M. Serr, manager of the Richland exchange of the Kennewick Valley Telephone Co., met with a serious accident Saturday near Kennewick when an old telephone pole from which he was removing the wire toppled back to the ground, bringing Mr. Serr with it. His wrist was dislocated and his back so seriously wrenched that he was not allowed to come home until Monday. He is doing nicely at this writing and is able to get about a little with the aid of crutches.
“An old telephone pole from which he was removing the wire, toppled back to the ground, bringing Mr. Serr with it.”
The dangerous reality of building the foundational infrastructure of the Pacific Northwest is often glossed over in city histories. This account highlights the physical toll exacted on the workers who physically installed the lines that connected these early communities.
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