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This Week In History, 6-9-11

Updated on Wednesday*:

The following reports are taken from The Calhoun Chronicle archives:

1911, 100 years ago

Jeff Kelly, Ira Hardman and R.E. Hays caught a catfish that tipped the scales at 42 lbs.

Misses Lena Wigner and Miney Elliott have opened a dressmaking establishment and are turning out lots of work, with customer satisfaction.

Scotch McDonald of Sycamore was in town and took home a wagon load of furniture.

The family of Hagan Barr will spend the summer at their residence in this town. We are glad to have them back with us.

A.W. Hallenbake returned on Saturday from a trip all over the county, repairing watches, clocks, etc. He said that the average man in this county has a heart as large as your hat.

A serious cutting affray is reported from the West Fork, near Orma. A young man by the name of McCune wanted to marry a damsel by the name of Lane, but her brother had objections and a controversy arose. The report is that McCune fired two shots with a revolver at Lane, whence Lane drew a knife and proceeded to carve McCune up. McCune fired two more shots, none of the four taking effect. McCune is reported to be in a very serious condition.

1961, 50 years ago

The possibility of a state forest being established in Calhoun was discussed Monday at a meeting of Grantsville Lions Club.

Dick Van Linde, chief of planning and development for the State Conservation Commission, told of plans and answered a number of questions.

Under consideration for such a project is a section along the Little Kanawha River in the Bee Creek section, between Grantsville and Big Bend. The com-mission has taken an option on one tract of a little over 1,000 acres owned by Hughart Stump.

The proposed forest would encompass from five to ten thousand acres of land.

1986, 25 years ago

A civil suit involving what may be the largest settlement of a personal injury claim in the history of Calhoun was concluded. On the eve of going to trial against Union Carbide Co., three pipeline workers who had been injured in a fire on Mt. Zion ridge in August, 1982, accepted a settlement of $110,000. A co-defendant, Shafer Pipeline Co., contributed an additional $60,000. The plaintiffs also received about $55,000 in Workers Compensation benefits.

Plaintiffs in the case were Larry Bruce Goodrich, Donald Lee Shafer and Howard Brown.

The gist of the action dates back to Aug. 4, 1982, when employees of Shafer Pipeline were repairing a high pressure liquid ethane pipeline owned by Union Carbide.

At about 2:30 p.m., although the line was pressurized and in operation, three Union Carbide inspectors departed the work-site, taking the only explosimeter with them, allegedly aware the Shafer repair crew still had another hour of work to complete. The Shafer workers were in a ditch line close to the leak site. At about 3:30 p.m., there was a flash fire. Flames filled the ditch and shot 30 to 40 feet in the air. The fire continued to burn through the night, described as being similar to “a giant candle.”

Brown escaped with second degree burns on his hands and forearms. Goodrich and Shafer sustained second degree burns to about 25% of their total body surface. Goodrich was unable to work for six months, Shafer two months, and Brown had minor injuries.

This Week's Editorial:

By Helen Morris:

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