A Teamster Struck Down by the Heat at the Pole Yard
Si Perkins, hauling for the Northern Mercantile Co., is overcome on the job, rallies on Sunday, then relapses into serious condition.
"Si" Perkins, a teamster working for the Northern Mercantile Co. at their pole yard, was overcome by the heat on Saturday afternoon last. He was taken to his home at the Conradi boarding house and Dr. Rowdwin summoned. He was much improved on Sunday, but suffered a relapse on Monday and is reported to be in a serious condition.
“He was much improved on Sunday, but suffered a relapse on Monday and is reported to be in a serious condition.”
Heat collapse among outdoor and yard workers was a genuine hazard in an era with no shade requirements, no water-break rules, and no workers' compensation to fall back on. The phrase 'overcome by the heat' recurs through these pages as a routine, largely unremarked cost of labor. The modern parallel — workers enduring heat waves without mandated protections — keeps the item uncomfortably current.
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