Auntie Jen's Family Trees: Happy Find Friday

I know you are probably thinking, how can someone being hospitalized be a happy find? Well, let me tell you. I have been trying to track down this story since about 2014. And today, I am happy to report, I finally found a newspaper article mentioning this event.

My mom told me about an incident that happened when she was a teenager. Her dad, my grandpa Les Wheeler, was into CBs. He would repair them, use them, sell them, etc. One day, he and two other friends, J.D. Weiskoph and Edward Iffendohl(sp?) were attempting to put up a huge antenna on top of Grandpa's garage when they were electrocuted. According to Mom, Grandma was on her way home from work and heard about it on her car radio. So she rushed right to the hospital. Here are two articles I just found.

The Springfield News-Leader

22 Aug 1969

St. Joseph Gazette

22 Aug 1969

Grandpa was burned all down his throat and the soles of his shoes were melted to his feet from being electrocuted. J.D. Weiskoph lost a few toes. Unfortunately, from what I'm told, Edward Iffendohl lost his life. I have yet to find proof of this, but mom remembers someone dying from this incident.
I posted about this in the Facebook group You grew up in the High Ridge, Murphy, House Springs, Cedar Hill area if.. to see if anyone remembers this incident and to get details if they do. Here are a couple of accounts:

Lou Mayes: I was a friend of JD and he told me about it. His feet got burnt is all that happen to him. I also think it was the aluminum ladder that fell against the power line. The location was at the intersection of Carol Park and Old Gravois at Les Wheeler's home. That is all the info I have about the accident. JD Has passed away last year. (2019)

John Mcguire: Re: “...’Men Are Injured’....” ...Believe, if remembered right (..think I was 4?-5yrs old at the time..) , hearing the Adults at ‘Dot & Oscar’s [..Isabel ] Tavern’ discussing what happened..

Doug Woolford: I new them Les JR and I were best friends and I remember that all to well it scared the hell out of us burned a hole in MR Wheeler foot , I don’t remember about the other two!!!

Eileen Ries Faries: I was on that ambulance run. That was a long time ago I will think on it I do remember the lines laying across a patient and burning skin smell.

You still may be wonderful why I call this a Happy Find. Well, like I said, I'd been trying to track down this story in the newspapers for the longest time. My mom couldn't remember the exact date, but remembered it was before they moved to Lemay but it was after she was able to drive. So that would put the range in between around 1966-1970. Not a bad range, but here in the problem. The local newspaper for the area was the Jefferson County Record. And while the Jefferson County Library has this newspaper on Microfilm, it is NOT indexed. So I was going to have to page through 4 years of article to try to find the incident. I started a few years ago, but only barely got through one year. So I hadn't tried again. Now that I have a date, I can actually try to locate the article(s) in the local paper.
Unfortunately with this Stay-At-Home order in place because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the libraries are closed, so I will have to wait a little while to make a trip there to locate the article. When I find it, I may not get anymore than what is written here, but I will at least try. I might be able to talk to someone in the historical society about what other sources I can access.
I love finding sources to match up with stories I am told about my family. I also love getting other accounts from friends of the family from around that time. If you haven't yet, I absolutely recommend joining a Facebook group for your ancestors' hometowns. You never know what you are going to find out.