Notes:
Easton Express, Friday, September 10, 1920, page 1
Three Men Killed in Quarry At Edelman’s
Employees Engulfed in Rush of Water Caused by Slide Into Hole
of Hard Vein Working
Three men were killed by a slide into the quarry of the Northampton
Hard Vein Slate Company at Edelman’s this county at 10:30
o’clock this morning, and a fourth man who was working
with them at the time escaped.
The dead are:
James Gruver, 20 years old
James Male, 45 years old
Frank Young, aged 40
The men were at work on a ledge some distance from the bottom
of the quarry when a large portion of the bank on the opposite
side of them suddenly gave way and slipped into the hole which
was partly filled with water.
So great was the quantity of earth and rubbish that gave way
that the water force from the hoe engulfed the men at work
on the ledge. Gruver, Male and Young were drowned. Their bodies
had not been recovered at 1 o’clock this afternoon.
John Kolb, the fourth man in the work party, manage by some
means or other to escape the rush of water and was later taken
from his perilous position. He was not injured.
It is reported that portion of the bank that slide into the
hole had not been worked for years and that there was never
any fear that danger lurked there. This morning, however a
crack was noticed in the bank but it gave the men no concern
and they went to work as usual. Suddenly, wand without the
slightest warning, the bank gave away and thousands of tons
of earth and slate fell into the hole.
Earth slides are not uncommon in slate quarries but one like
that which snuffed out the lives of the men in the Hard Vein
working is said to be very rare, if in fact it has to parallel
in the slate region of Northampton county.
Young leaves a family of five children, Male, an Italian,
was the father of seven boys and girls and Gruver was unmarried.
All morning long additional quantities of earth and slate
continued to slide into the quarry hole.
It is believed that the frequent hard rains during the summer
loosed the earth at the top of the quarry and last night’s
downpour further weakened the bank and finally caused it to
slip in the hole
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