The Era of Auto Transportation
The 1920's brought with it many new changes especially in the auto industry. Women gained much more independence and the economy was at a post war boom. With cars came accidents and drivers who just should have stayed home.
Hupmobile in the 1920's
Sales were peaking in 1923, with 38,000 cars finding homes. Aluminum pistons were added in 1924, followed in 1925 by balloon tires. Hupmobile's first straight-eight appeared in 1925. Hupmobile competed in the mid-range price field until its demise in 1941
Buick had a car that was price in 1926 at $1,800 dollars. This is the Buick Model 50
Accidents
New additions in Blue near bottom
Ashland Child is Auto Victim
Ashland Ky March 24, Mary Virginia Craycraft 6 year old daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Clarence Craycraft of this city was killed by an automobile driven by Henry Schmauch shortly afternoon today. The driver stated the little girl darted out from the curb directly in front of his car. A fractured skull was the cause of death.
The Paintsville Herald
Thursday
April 1, 1926
Four accidents since Sunday; Boy of 9 is Dead
Glen VanHoose Crushed beneath Automobile which goes over bank.
Sunday Unlucky
Each week newspapers throughout Eastern Kentucky are being called upon to record some automobile accident in which lives are lost, limbs broken or otherwise maimed It seems that the highways in Eastern Ky., are having more than their share of these accidents of more or less of serious consequence. Especially is this true of the area along the Garrett Highway between Paintsville and the Salyersville and the Mayo Trail between Paintsville and Ashland. These highways have been the scene of many disastrous spills which have taken a toll on several lives.
Three accidents have happened since Sunday in which two Johnson County People have lost their lives and other lives seriously injured and horribly mangled at the Paintsville Hospital with slight chances for recovery.
It is a strange coincident, but never the less true, that the greater the number of accidents have taken place on Sunday. It seems that the Sabbath is an unlucky day for motorists in this section.
NINE YEAR OLD BOY CRUSHED
Glen Van Hoose, nine year old son of Mrs. Grace Vanhoose of the Toms Creek section was killed on the Mayo Trail late Sunday afternoon, at the mouth of Rush Fork. According to our information the unfortunate boy was riding on the running board of the car which was owned and being driven Brown VanHoose, also of Tom's Creel Section. Fearing for the boys safety the driver momentarily turned his eyes backwards t see if the boy was safe on the running board and in an instant lost control of the car, which plunged over the embankment to the creek below, pinning the boy beneath the car. The victim of the accident was quickly rushed to the Paintsville Hospital where an operation took place in the hope of saving his life, but in vain, as the little fellow succumbed to his injuries twenty minutes after the operation. He suffered a broken Collar bone, a broken Jaw and his skull was crushed. The boy's mother and three other children were also occupants of the car. The mother of the boy also received injuries which necessitated her entering the hospital, but her injuries are not serious.
Rev H B Conley of Paintsville was called to conduct the funeral service which took place Monday afternoon on Tom's creek/
The unfortunate lad was a son of the late Burns (Schorcher) VanHoose who died in Thealka a few years ago and has many relatives in the county.
Car Plunges Over Cliff
A serious automobile accident occurred at the mouth of Oil Branch on little Paint Creek Tueday when the car driven by Holly Lemaster plunged over a forty foot cliff. In the car a t the time was Hastin Lemaster, a brother of Holly, both sons of James Lemaster
Holly Lemaster had purchased the car about twenty minutes before the car ran over a cliff. He was an inexperienced driver and just before the reaching the point where the car left the road it is said he attempted to place his foot on the brake but instead stepped on the gas and the car shot like a dart over the precipice. In going over the cliff the car hit a projecting rock and the momentary halt of the car going at a terrific speed catapulted the driver through the top of the car his body landing on the top of a tree and from there falling to the hard creek bed below horribly broken and mangled. Hastin Lemaster went over the hill with the car but was not as badly injured as his brother Holly. The boys had not driven the car for more than two hundred yards before the accident happened.
The ambulance of the Painstville Furniture Company brought the injured ........(paper damaged and missing)
July 8 1926 Thursday
The Paintsville Herald
Killed in Virginia Visit
Mrs. Sarah Allen age 76 years, mother of Mrs. Wm. Walters who resides at the mouth of Paint Creek, was killed in an automobile accident at Long Island, Va., last week. Mrs. Allen makes her home here with her daughter. A few weeks ago she went to Long Island to visit her daughter Mrs. Dolly Clay and while riding in the car was killed when a wreck occurred.
Mrs. Walters attended the funeral and burial which were held in Long Island last week.
The Paintsville Herald
June 10, 1926 Thursday
WILL RICE KILLED BY AUTOMOBILE
Man Riding Truck Lost His Balance And Was Crushed To Death Beneath Wheels
Losing his balance while attempting to get off a moving truck Will Rice was run over and instantly killed at Cats Creek, near Vessie Post Office, this county, late yesterday according to work received here.
The truck it was reported, belonged to James Wood and was driven by Robert Ward. It was said that rice was riding in the seat of the truck with Ward, who was hauling a load of claves,
According to the story told by ward, Rice asked him to stop the machine so he could look about the calves and attempted to alight from the machine before it came to a dead stop. He slipped, Ward said, and fell, the wheels passing over his body.
The dead man was the son of Rev French Rice, for many years and itinerant preacher in this section of the Sandy Valley. He was well and favorably known and leaves a wife and nine children.
Funeral services were held and internment was made in the family cemetery near Vessie post office.
The Paintsville Herald
August 5, 1926 Thursday
Held on the Charge of Manslaughter
Dec 23, 1926
J E Hayes who was the driver of the ill fated automobile which was stuck by a C & O passenger train was arrested last week and held on a manslaughter charge in connection with the accident in which one man was so badly injured that he died at the Paintsville Hospital the next day and the other occupant, Eugene Compton was badly bruised. Pete Zenone, the accident victim. made a dying statement placing the blame for the accident which cost him his life on young Hayes, officials said. He is charged with operating a jitney without a license. Zenone's body was shipped to his old home in Tennessee for burial. Gene Compton, the other injured man is improving, while Hayes, was only slightly injured
The Paintsville Herald
John Burke Killed in Ashland
John Burke, 22, son of Mrs. Marcia Burke, was killed Saturday night in Ashland by Forest Darby. Both were driving late at night when their cars collided. In the fight that followed Darby cut Burke's throat with a knife.
Mrs.. Burke is well known in Paintsville where she was employed as a nurse in the home of the late Jno. C C Mayo and later in the home of Mrs. T J Mayo.
Burke was buried Monday and Darby is in n the Boyd County jail charged with murder.
Nov. 11, 1926 The Paintsville Herald
Party in Auto Accident on Paint Creek
Shay Spradlin of Win, this county, Mrs. Josephine Blevins of Fort Gay, W. Va., and Mrs. Minnie Skeens were in an automobile accident at Paint Creek that came very near proving disastrous for the occupants of the car. The party were crossing the hill between Hargus and Pigeon when the axle broke sending the car over the steep hill for a distance of 150 - 200 feet. Mrs. Blevins received some bad bruises on the head rendering her unconscious. Mrs. Skeens received a sprained ankle and wrist.
The injured was brought to the Golden Rule Hospital where they received medical attention. They were to return home this week.
The Paintsville Herald Nov 11, 1926
Bus vs Car Car Wins
Lincoln Muncy and a companion named Davis were slightly injured Saturday afternoon in a collision with a bus of the Big Sandy Line on the Kinner hill, and both machines were badly damaged. Passengers aboard the bus escaped injury. The heavy bus, with a motor driven back, a crushed fender and other damages, and was more badly damaged than the light Ford, it is said. A cut which barely pierced the skin of Davis might have proved fatal had it been an inch deeper. Muncy's injuries consisted mainly of bruises.
Oct 7 1926 The Paintsville Herald
MOTOR DROPS 60 FEET One Killed
Pikeville- July 10- Mrs John Bassham, wife of the superintendent of the Sudduth
Fuel Company at Huddy, Ky., twenty five miles from here was injured fatally when
the automobile she was riding in with her husband left the road a short distance
from huddy and dropped 60 feet into Pond Creek. Mrs Bassham died at the
Pikeville Hospital. Mr Bassham suffered a broken leg and several ribs is in the
hospital.
The accident occurred at the Junction of the Pikeville-Williamson Highway and
the Pond Creek Road. The junction is marked by a sharp curve. The Bassham motor
was the third that had left the road there since Thursday. Mr and Mrs Bassham
were returning from Pikeville at the time.
Mrs Bassham was picked up in the creek, her body mangled. Besides her husband,
she leaves three small children. Davy Bassham, James and Hazel Bassham/
The Paintsville Herald
July 14, 1927
Jimmie
Kimbleton Fatally injured
Car takes plunge
Several automobile mishaps occurred last Saturday and Sunday of
a more or less serious nature.
Jimmie Kimbleton of Staffordsville was so seriously injured that
he died in the Paintsville Hospital Monday afternoon.
The accident that proved fatal to Mr. Kimbleton took place at
the mouth of Teeas Branch, one mile west of Paintsville. The occupants of the
car which belonged to Kimbleton were Walter Jackson, Mr Kimbleton, Ollie Conley
and Marion Hondle. Hondle was driving the car. They were coming down a slight
incline just beyond the mouth of Teass Branch when the steering rod failed and
in place od going over the fill across the branch the car missed the fill
entirely and plunged over a twenty foot embankment to the branch bed below. None
of the other occupants were seriously injured, but Mr. Kimbleton sustained
serious internal injuries. One rib was broken and ran entirely through the
lung,. the injured man was taken to the Paintsville Hospital where it was found
that his injuries were fatal.
Mr Kimbleton was well known in Paintsville where he had many
friends. He was a member of the Paintsville Masonic Lodge and the burial took
place at Staffordsville Wednesday in charge of the Masons. He was engaged in the
insurance business and was a successful business man having been successful in
the oil game. He carried a double indemnity insurance policy and his family will
receive $20,000 as a result of the accident.
Mr Kimbleton is survived by his wife and six children.
Another accident which came near to proving fatal at the mouth
of Sycamore on the Mayo trail Saturday, when a car driven by John Mahan left the
road, turned over several times and demolished the car. Mr Mahan carried one
passenger, Martin Meek of Catlettsburg, who was badlly injured but not
seriously. Mr Meek was brought to the Paintsville Hospital for attention and is
now improving at that institution and will soon get out. Other accidents
occurred of less importance on the Garrett Highway Saturday and Sunday,
particulars of which we are unable to get.
The Paintsville Herald
August 18, 1927
Ashland Child Killed by Auto
Little Miss Betty Hager, the four year old daughter of Mr and
Mrs John F Hager Jr of Ashland, was struck and killed instantly near her home in
Ashland last Friday afternoon. The accident happened when the little one left
her home on Grayson Road to visit the Children of a neighbor just across
Thirteenth Street a short distance from the Hager home. The car which killed the
little girl was owned by W A Stevens. The Stephens car contained Mr and Mrs
Stevens, Miss Inez Dice and George McAllister. McAlister was driving when at the
accident occurred. Both Stevens and McAllister were arrested and placed in the
city jail.
The little girl was a favorite with a large acquaintance in
Ashland where the family is very prominent and her tragic end has caused
universal sorrow throughout the city. The Hager family is well known in Johnson
County also.
The Paintsville Herald
August 25, 1927
One Injured, One Dead in Pike Auto Accident
Will Ratliff of Pikeville is in the Methodist Hospital of that
city suffering from injuries sustained shortly before midnight last Saturday,
when his automobile, a Ford Coupe left the road in the "Narrows" just above
Pikeville and crashed on the railroad one hundred feet below. Lucian Tom
Carrier, a roomer at the Ratliff home who was in the automobile at the time is
dead.
The crash of the machine was heard by a woman across the river
nearly a quarter a mile away.
The Paintsville Herald
September 1, 1927
Passenger Killed
Lucian Carrier was killed and William
Ratliff was seriously injured when the car they were driving plunged over a 100
ft. embankment and landed a complete wreck on the railroad tracks. Carrier who
skull was fractured lived about 3 hours. Ratliff's left arm was broken in two
places and all the ribs on the left side except one broken.
The Paintsville Herald
Sept 8, 1927 Thursday
Fess
Whitaker Instantly killed when Machine Plunges over Embankment
2 Others May Die
Whitesburg - Sept. 18- Fess Whitaker, "Jailed Jailer of Letcher" was instantly
killed about two miles from Whitesburg about 4 o'clock when the automobile in
which he was a passenger crashed over an embankment,
Mr and Mrs Monroe Sexton were in the car with Whitaker, Mrs.
Sexton, driving. They were critically injured and are expected to die.
The Sexton machine was bumped by another car while attempting to
pass it. according to reports of the accident, forcing it over the embankment.
Identity of the other driver was not learned.
Whitaker, who has had a stormy career featured by his races for
public offices in his home county, was about 45 years old. He came into state
and National prominence about six years ago when he was placed in Jail for a
violation of the law when he was Letcher Co. jailer.
He made himself even more prominent throughout the country by
cinducting a campaign for county judge while in jail. He was elected by a large
majority. A few years ago he opposed Jno. W, Langley for Congress but was
defeated.
At the time of his death Whitaker was jailer of Letcher County,
the most important office he has held. Whitaker was very popular in his home
county and in other sections of the mountain district and whenever he ran for an
office he was given an immense vote.
The Paintsville Herald
Sept. 22, 1927
Man Killed When Hit By Auto Sunday
Aged and Respected Citizen of County Succumbs to Injuries Received Sunday Afternoon
A.J. Tackett, age about 70 years was struck by a automobile on the Garrett Highway, near the mouth of Barnetts Creek last Sunday afternoon and received injuries from which he died at the Golden Rule Hospital Monday morning. The driver of the car which struck Mr. Tackett was Jesse Hare, Jr., who was driving a heavy Cadillac car.
There are a number of versions as to how Mr. Tackett met death. One report is to the effect that the car which struck him was going at the rate of 80 miles an hour. Another says that young Hare applied the brakes and came to a dead stop and when he again started the car the aged man stepped directly in the path of the automobile. Another car had just passed Mr. Tackett and the more likely story of the affair is that Mr. Tackett who is aged and totally became confused by the passing of the two cars and stepped in front of the car which hit him. It is reported that Mr. Tackett's hearing is bad and that for the past several weeks he had been acting queerly as if mentally deranged. His wife said that it was his habit to go to a spring each day to bath his face and hands and it is thought that he had been to the spring for this purpose when he was struck by the car.
The fender of the car hit Mr. Tackett throwing him to the hard roadbed with such force as to fracture the skull. His leg was also broken. Mr. Hare picked the injured man up, placed him in his car and rushed him to the Golden Rule Hospital where an examination revealed that his skull was crushed. An operation in an effort to save his life but his head was crushed in such a manner that he was beyond medical aid and he passed away at 3 a.m. Monday.
Funeral services were conducted Wednesday and burial followed at the family cemetery in Hargis.
*Paintsville Herald, Paintsville, KY--Thurs. April 25, 1929 Transcribed by Linda Tackett Blanken