Motor Grader Is Hit By A Soo Line Freighter
A 37 year old employe of the Manitowoc county highway department was killed Friday afternoon when the motor grader he was driving collided with a Soo line snow plow at a railway crossing eight miles west of Manitowoc on highway 151.
The victim was Leonard J. Brunner, 37, of route 1, Cato.
The county grader, headed east from Valders enroute to Manitowoc, was hit broadside by the train, which was traveling northeast. The grader was scooped up by the huge railway plow, carried some 70 feet north of the crossing and deposited on its top at the right of the tracks. Mr. Brunner was crushed beneath the wreckage. The accident occurred at 3:05 p.m.
The train, consisting only of the plow in front, a locomotive and a caboose came to a halt a short distance north of the wreckage. It's personnel, all of Fond du Lac, were C.J. Frank, conductor; Edward Scharfenberg, engineer; George W. Kennedy, roadmaster, and James Foley.
Kennedy, who was riding the plow, told Sheriff Walter Herman that he was the grader stop west of the crossing with the nose of its “V” scraper near the tracks. The train was about 300 feet south of the crossing, he said, but it did not appear to him that there was enough clearance to permit the train to pass.
Two Whistles Blown
Kennedy claimed that he pulled the whistle of the plow and the engineer gave a blast of the locomotive whistle. After that, he said, the grader started up directly in the path of the train.
The motor of the grader was still running when the big machine was dumped and overturned at the side of the tracks.
Rev. M.J. Fetko, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, of which Mr. Brunner was a member, administered the last rites of the church at the scene of the accident.
Two highway department trucks, a wrecker truck from Manitowoc and acetylene torches were required to extricate the body from the wreckage. The torches were employed to cut and remove the plow, thus lightening the grader. The big county trucks, equipped with snow plows, were stationed north of the wreckage to serve as an anchor for the wrecker, which was attached to the trucks. The grader was then righted through use of a winch on the wrecker.
County Traffic Officers Henry Pleuss and Paul Schroeder assisted the under-sheriff in the investigation. Dr. Theodore Teitgen, county coroner, who took statements from the train's crew, was to confer with Dist. Atty. Fred G. Dicke to determine whether an inquest should be held.
Eight Children Survive
Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, Rev. Fetko officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Brunner was born August 3, 1913 at Whitelaw, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Brunner. He was a lifelong resident of the town of Cato and was employed by the county highway department in 1945. He and the former Miss Dorothy Denk were married Nov. 3, 1937.
He was a member of the Holy Name society of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills.
He is survived by his wife and eight children, the eldest 13 years old. They include four daughters, and four sons, (private). Other survivors are his parents; three brothers, Harold of Columbus, O., Herbert with the merchant marine on the west coast, and Roy of Whitelaw; and three sisters, Mrs. Ernest Lomprey of Henderson, Nev., and Mrs. Anton Sittman and Mrs. Gertrude Schad, both of Whitelaw.
Friends may call at the Berge funeral home from 2 p.m. Sunday until Tuesday morning when the casket will be removed to the church for services. The rosary will be recited at 8 p.m. Monday.
Manitowoc Herald Times Saturday, December 9, 1950 pg. 1
A 37 year old employe of the Manitowoc county highway department was killed Friday afternoon when the motor grader he was driving collided with a Soo line snow plow at a railway crossing eight miles west of Manitowoc on highway 151.
The victim was Leonard J. Brunner, 37, of route 1, Cato.
The county grader, headed east from Valders enroute to Manitowoc, was hit broadside by the train, which was traveling northeast. The grader was scooped up by the huge railway plow, carried some 70 feet north of the crossing and deposited on its top at the right of the tracks. Mr. Brunner was crushed beneath the wreckage. The accident occurred at 3:05 p.m.
The train, consisting only of the plow in front, a locomotive and a caboose came to a halt a short distance north of the wreckage. It's personnel, all of Fond du Lac, were C.J. Frank, conductor; Edward Scharfenberg, engineer; George W. Kennedy, roadmaster, and James Foley.
Kennedy, who was riding the plow, told Sheriff Walter Herman that he was the grader stop west of the crossing with the nose of its “V” scraper near the tracks. The train was about 300 feet south of the crossing, he said, but it did not appear to him that there was enough clearance to permit the train to pass.
Two Whistles Blown
Kennedy claimed that he pulled the whistle of the plow and the engineer gave a blast of the locomotive whistle. After that, he said, the grader started up directly in the path of the train.
The motor of the grader was still running when the big machine was dumped and overturned at the side of the tracks.
Rev. M.J. Fetko, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, of which Mr. Brunner was a member, administered the last rites of the church at the scene of the accident.
Two highway department trucks, a wrecker truck from Manitowoc and acetylene torches were required to extricate the body from the wreckage. The torches were employed to cut and remove the plow, thus lightening the grader. The big county trucks, equipped with snow plows, were stationed north of the wreckage to serve as an anchor for the wrecker, which was attached to the trucks. The grader was then righted through use of a winch on the wrecker.
County Traffic Officers Henry Pleuss and Paul Schroeder assisted the under-sheriff in the investigation. Dr. Theodore Teitgen, county coroner, who took statements from the train's crew, was to confer with Dist. Atty. Fred G. Dicke to determine whether an inquest should be held.
Eight Children Survive
Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, Rev. Fetko officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Brunner was born August 3, 1913 at Whitelaw, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Brunner. He was a lifelong resident of the town of Cato and was employed by the county highway department in 1945. He and the former Miss Dorothy Denk were married Nov. 3, 1937.
He was a member of the Holy Name society of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills.
He is survived by his wife and eight children, the eldest 13 years old. They include four daughters, and four sons, (private). Other survivors are his parents; three brothers, Harold of Columbus, O., Herbert with the merchant marine on the west coast, and Roy of Whitelaw; and three sisters, Mrs. Ernest Lomprey of Henderson, Nev., and Mrs. Anton Sittman and Mrs. Gertrude Schad, both of Whitelaw.
Friends may call at the Berge funeral home from 2 p.m. Sunday until Tuesday morning when the casket will be removed to the church for services. The rosary will be recited at 8 p.m. Monday.
Manitowoc Herald Times Saturday, December 9, 1950 pg. 1
Motor Grader Is Hit By A Soo Line Freighter
A 37 year old employe of the Manitowoc county highway department was killed Friday afternoon when the motor grader he was driving collided with a Soo line snow plow at a railway crossing eight miles west of Manitowoc on highway 151.
The victim was Leonard J. Brunner, 37, of route 1, Cato.
The county grader, headed east from Valders enroute to Manitowoc, was hit broadside by the train, which was traveling northeast. The grader was scooped up by the huge railway plow, carried some 70 feet north of the crossing and deposited on its top at the right of the tracks. Mr. Brunner was crushed beneath the wreckage. The accident occurred at 3:05 p.m.
The train, consisting only of the plow in front, a locomotive and a caboose came to a halt a short distance north of the wreckage. It's personnel, all of Fond du Lac, were C.J. Frank, conductor; Edward Scharfenberg, engineer; George W. Kennedy, roadmaster, and James Foley.
Kennedy, who was riding the plow, told Sheriff Walter Herman that he was the grader stop west of the crossing with the nose of its “V” scraper near the tracks. The train was about 300 feet south of the crossing, he said, but it did not appear to him that there was enough clearance to permit the train to pass.
Two Whistles Blown
Kennedy claimed that he pulled the whistle of the plow and the engineer gave a blast of the locomotive whistle. After that, he said, the grader started up directly in the path of the train.
The motor of the grader was still running when the big machine was dumped and overturned at the side of the tracks.
Rev. M.J. Fetko, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, of which Mr. Brunner was a member, administered the last rites of the church at the scene of the accident.
Two highway department trucks, a wrecker truck from Manitowoc and acetylene torches were required to extricate the body from the wreckage. The torches were employed to cut and remove the plow, thus lightening the grader. The big county trucks, equipped with snow plows, were stationed north of the wreckage to serve as an anchor for the wrecker, which was attached to the trucks. The grader was then righted through use of a winch on the wrecker.
County Traffic Officers Henry Pleuss and Paul Schroeder assisted the under-sheriff in the investigation. Dr. Theodore Teitgen, county coroner, who took statements from the train's crew, was to confer with Dist. Atty. Fred G. Dicke to determine whether an inquest should be held.
Eight Children Survive
Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, Rev. Fetko officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Brunner was born August 3, 1913 at Whitelaw, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Brunner. He was a lifelong resident of the town of Cato and was employed by the county highway department in 1945. He and the former Miss Dorothy Denk were married Nov. 3, 1937.
He was a member of the Holy Name society of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills.
He is survived by his wife and eight children, the eldest 13 years old. They include four daughters, and four sons, (private). Other survivors are his parents; three brothers, Harold of Columbus, O., Herbert with the merchant marine on the west coast, and Roy of Whitelaw; and three sisters, Mrs. Ernest Lomprey of Henderson, Nev., and Mrs. Anton Sittman and Mrs. Gertrude Schad, both of Whitelaw.
Friends may call at the Berge funeral home from 2 p.m. Sunday until Tuesday morning when the casket will be removed to the church for services. The rosary will be recited at 8 p.m. Monday.
Manitowoc Herald Times Saturday, December 9, 1950 pg. 1
A 37 year old employe of the Manitowoc county highway department was killed Friday afternoon when the motor grader he was driving collided with a Soo line snow plow at a railway crossing eight miles west of Manitowoc on highway 151.
The victim was Leonard J. Brunner, 37, of route 1, Cato.
The county grader, headed east from Valders enroute to Manitowoc, was hit broadside by the train, which was traveling northeast. The grader was scooped up by the huge railway plow, carried some 70 feet north of the crossing and deposited on its top at the right of the tracks. Mr. Brunner was crushed beneath the wreckage. The accident occurred at 3:05 p.m.
The train, consisting only of the plow in front, a locomotive and a caboose came to a halt a short distance north of the wreckage. It's personnel, all of Fond du Lac, were C.J. Frank, conductor; Edward Scharfenberg, engineer; George W. Kennedy, roadmaster, and James Foley.
Kennedy, who was riding the plow, told Sheriff Walter Herman that he was the grader stop west of the crossing with the nose of its “V” scraper near the tracks. The train was about 300 feet south of the crossing, he said, but it did not appear to him that there was enough clearance to permit the train to pass.
Two Whistles Blown
Kennedy claimed that he pulled the whistle of the plow and the engineer gave a blast of the locomotive whistle. After that, he said, the grader started up directly in the path of the train.
The motor of the grader was still running when the big machine was dumped and overturned at the side of the tracks.
Rev. M.J. Fetko, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, of which Mr. Brunner was a member, administered the last rites of the church at the scene of the accident.
Two highway department trucks, a wrecker truck from Manitowoc and acetylene torches were required to extricate the body from the wreckage. The torches were employed to cut and remove the plow, thus lightening the grader. The big county trucks, equipped with snow plows, were stationed north of the wreckage to serve as an anchor for the wrecker, which was attached to the trucks. The grader was then righted through use of a winch on the wrecker.
County Traffic Officers Henry Pleuss and Paul Schroeder assisted the under-sheriff in the investigation. Dr. Theodore Teitgen, county coroner, who took statements from the train's crew, was to confer with Dist. Atty. Fred G. Dicke to determine whether an inquest should be held.
Eight Children Survive
Funeral services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12 at St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills, Rev. Fetko officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Mr. Brunner was born August 3, 1913 at Whitelaw, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Brunner. He was a lifelong resident of the town of Cato and was employed by the county highway department in 1945. He and the former Miss Dorothy Denk were married Nov. 3, 1937.
He was a member of the Holy Name society of St. Mary's Catholic church, Clarks Mills.
He is survived by his wife and eight children, the eldest 13 years old. They include four daughters, and four sons, (private). Other survivors are his parents; three brothers, Harold of Columbus, O., Herbert with the merchant marine on the west coast, and Roy of Whitelaw; and three sisters, Mrs. Ernest Lomprey of Henderson, Nev., and Mrs. Anton Sittman and Mrs. Gertrude Schad, both of Whitelaw.
Friends may call at the Berge funeral home from 2 p.m. Sunday until Tuesday morning when the casket will be removed to the church for services. The rosary will be recited at 8 p.m. Monday.
Manitowoc Herald Times Saturday, December 9, 1950 pg. 1
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