Looking back: Men die by asphyxiation during work accident, and thieves steal meat from restaurant
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IDAHO FALLS — EastIdahoNews.com is looking back at what life was like during the week of July 3 to July 9 in east Idaho history.
1900-1925
BLACKFOOT — Two men died “in silent agony,” the Blackfoot Idaho Republican reported in its July 7, 1905, newspaper.
J.S. Neher and Fred Le Flohic, the miller and assistant in charge of the work for the Blackfoot Mill and Elevator Company, were “overcome with gas while fumigating with bi-sulphide of carbon.”
“(They) died within reach of the door that stood between them and pure air,” the article reads.
Manager A.G. Robert said the men volunteered to do the job themselves and planned to be finished by Monday morning.
“Monday morning, Mr. Robert opened the front door of the mill and was stricken with horror at the sight of the two men lying together on the floor at his feet, their hands and faces turning dark and their features drawn,” the Blackfoot Idaho Republican wrote.
The paper said friends and officers were summoned, the building opened and ventilated and the “signs of their operations carefully noted to unveil the mystery of their fate.”
“It seems they had sprayed the first floor and were working on the second when they quit work and attempted to get out,” the article states. “Neher was lying on his back and Le Flohic on his side, the position indicating that Le Flohic might have been carrying Neher and that he gave out just as he reached the door.”
Neher “was the weaker one of the two” and “had not been well for some days.” The article said it’s likely he was “overcome first and that Fred undertook to carry him out.”
“The delay and exertion of this task stood between him and his own life, and his name will be recorded among those who yielded up their own lives in the effort to save a friend,” the local paper explained.
Neher was from Ohio and his wife was living in California at the time of his death. Le Flohic was from Idaho and his parents lived in Blackfoot when he died.
1926-1950
IDAHO FALLS — An Idaho Falls man made the news after he escorted a prince and princess, The Rigby Star reported on July 8, 1926.
Frank Warner, a “well-known young man,” had the “honor of driving the big car in the Yellowstone Park.” The passengers inside the car were the crown prince of Sweden and his wife, Princess Louise.
“The royal party were guests of the Yellowstone Park management,” the paper stated. “Young Warner is the veteran auto stage driver in the park.”
1951-1975
SODA SPRINGS — Soda Springs had five fires over the Fourth of July weekend in 1966, the Caribou County Sun reported.
The city of Soda Springs Fire Department responded to three of the calls — all brush fires — that were caused by illegal fireworks. Two more fires were reported outside the city limits, which the local fire department couldn’t answer, Chief Don Salser told the paper.
“It’s time the practice of Idaho people going over to Wyoming and purchasing fireworks was stopped,” Salser said. “It’s against the law and there is no reason why it should be permitted.”
The fire calls answered by the city department cost Soda Springs $100, “plus wear and tear on equipment, and inconvenient to the local fire volunteer department.”
1976-2000
LAVA HOT SPRINGS — Two men and a woman were arrested after a local restaurant reported the theft of about $100 worth of meat, the Idaho State Journal wrote on July 5, 1977.
The incident happened at the Chuckwagon Restaurant in Lava Hot Springs around 8 p.m. Monday evening while the restaurant was open.
“Entry was believed through the back door,” the Journal explained. “Three suspects were seen leaving the area.”
Daniel Dassing, 19, David Hardy, 18, and Bonnie Masline, 18, were arrested on charges of second-degree burglary.
“Bannock County sheriff’s officers apprehended the trio, all of whom gave Pocatello addresses,” the local paper stated. “Each suspect was jailed on $150 bond, pending arraignment.”