In Memoriam March 27th

1873 Levi Lathrop in Lawrence Co., IL age 52 the son of Russell & Cynthia (Powell) Lathrop he was born in Franklin Co., VT in 1820.  He moved to Decatur Co., IN in 1837 and married Louisa Draper there in 1842.  They had eleven children: Thomas, Ezra, Nancy, Catherine, Charlotte, Elizabeth, Marion, Emma, Joel, George and Grant.  He is buried in Prairieton / Lone Tree Cemetery in Lawrence Co., IL.

1944 John Lathrop age 26 the son of Edgar & Anna (Materna) Lathrop was born in 1917.  He served in the Pacific theater of World War II as a staff sergeant in the 927^th Boat Company Aviation Sp. of the U.S. Army.  He i9s buried in Amity Cemetery in Richland Co., IL.

1956 Lon Wheeler Victim of Train Crash Turns into path of long freight in downtown area -- It was time, and past, to plan for spring.  Take those chickens for instance.  Some of the older ones should be sold and replaced with younger stock.

Lonnie Wheeler, 73, of Wayne City, a retired factory worker and former overseer of the A.J. Poorman farms, told his wife he thought he’d just drive down to the poultry house and see about it.

He drove slowly along Robinson St. beside the southern Railway Co. tracks.  He approached the Main st. intersection and stopped for the highway.

Then he eased his 1950 Mercury sedan into a right hand turn, over the railroad tracks – and directly into the path of a 93 car through freight thundering along at 45 miles per hour.

He was killed instantly.  The time was 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.

“I saw the car making the turn, slowly,” James E. Madley, Princeton fireman, testified at the inquest yesterday.  “I thought he was going to stop.  I thought he saw the train.  But then he seemed to speed up a little as if he was trying to get away.

“The man looked up at me just before the collision.

“I hollered for emergency brakes.  The whistle was going full blast and had been for some time.  The bell was ringing and the light was on.  I don’t know why he couldn't see the train.”

The car was demolished.  Mr. Wheeler was dead soon after help reached him and before he could be removed from the front seat.  He uttered no word.

The train, its wheels tearing at the rails, stopped, Mr. Madley said within 31 or 32 car lengths.  This would be about a quarter of a mile.

At the inquest yesterday afternoon in the Richardson Funeral Chapel Ace Draper, a Wayne City trader, testified he was only a few feet from the crossing when the accident occurred.

He said he, too, saw the car stop at the intersection and turn into the path of the train.  He said the engine hit the automobile as the rear wheels were about the middle of the track.

Mr. Draper, however, insisted that he did not hear the train whistle as he walked toward the train immediately before the crash.

“I saw the signal lights flashing at the intersection,” he said, “but that didn’t mean anything.  Men had been working on the tracks and the signals had been flashing all day.  I went through the crossing myself four or five times with the light on and the bell ringing – and no one was there and no train was coming.”

Later Mr. Draper testified he believed the train must have been going 65 to 70 miles an hour.  He said the engine, a four-unit diesel, stopped near the home of Roy Rainwater eight blocks away.

But W.I. Higdon who lives near the scene testified he was standing in his front door when the accident occurred.  He said:

“I saw the car coming onto the track, moving slowly.  I thought he was going to get across.  I knew the train was approaching, I heard the whistle.  I couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t see the train.  I thought at first he was going to stop before he went onto the tracks.”

A.W. Ragan, white-haired Princeton engineer and veteran of 43 years of railroad service, testified the train was going 45 miles an hour.

He said he didn’t notice the car until it turned toward the tracks.  “When I saw he wasn’t going to stop I put the brakes on.  The whitle had been blowing for some time.”

“Could he have seen the train until he made the righthand turn at the intersection?” asked C.L. Wood, a juryman.

“He could see it after he turned west,” Mr. Ragan answered.

“That would be a little late,” Mr. Wood observed.

It was Mr. Wood who drew from Mr. Draper the 65 to 70 mile speed estimate.

Ernie Richardson, deputy coroner and Wayne City funeral director, testified he was at his desk near the railroad when he wasn’t sure about the whistle.  He said he heard the trains so often he paid no attention to the whistle.

He testified that, in addition to minor injuries, Mr. Wheeler suffered a broken neck, broken back and crushed chest, any one of which could have caused his death.

The jury, sworn in by Coroner Bob Johnson, brought in a verdict of accidental death and added:

“The jury recommends that the Southern Railroad install more prominent and better visible warning signs east on Robinson st.”

The jury reached its verdict within a few minutes and the entire inquest was completed within a little more than an hour.

Members of the jury in addition to Mr. Wood were Curtis Lee Englebright, Roy Austin, Connie Allen, Chal Thomason and Don Wells.

Both the engineer and fireman testified they did not return to the accident scene after the crash but stayed with the locomotive.  The train conductor was at the scene.

Mr. Ragan told the Record that this was the first crossing death he had been involved in since he became an engineer in 1942.

Neither he nor any of the other trainmen were involved in other railroad – car collisions that have occurred in this area during recent months, Mr. Ragan said.

Funeral services for Lonnie Wheeler of Wayne City, formerly of Mill Shoals, were conducted at 2 p.m. today at the Richardson Chapel in Wayne City.

The Rev. Cameron Harmon, pastor of the Methodist Church in Wayne City, was to officiate with burial in the Thomason Cemetery there.

Mr. Wheeler was killed at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday in a railroad-car collision in the heart of Wayne City’s business district.

He was born Jan. 28, 1883, in White county, the son of William Nathan Wheeler and the former Rebecca Frances Taylor.  He was married at Enfield in 1904 to Anna Erkman, who survives.

Also surviving is a foster daughter, Trixie Ann Erkman; one brother-in-law, Henry Erkman of Wayne City and a sister-in-law Sophia Jordan of Evansville.

Mr. Wheeler was employed for nearly ten years by Airtex Products Inc. before his retirement.  Previously for many years he was farm overseer for A.J. Poorman, Fairfield banker.

He and Mrs. Wheeler for 35 years were residents of Mill Shoals where both were active in Methodist Church affairs.  He and his family moved to Wayne City about nine months ago.  They were members of the Methodist Church at Wayne City.

1980 Funeral rites for Levi B. Lathrop were held in Louisville, Ky., at 10 a.m. Saturday.

A 59-year-old resident of Louisville, Mr. Lathrop died in that city Thursday.

He is survived by his widow, Alice J. Hawes Lathrop; two sons and a daughter, all at home in Kentucky; his father, Bert Lathrop of Calhoun; a brother, Charles O. Lathrop of Calhoun; a sister June E. Lancaster of Sumner; and three grandsons.

He was preceded in death by his mother, a sister, and a daughter.

1990 Pearl Erkmann, 60, McLeansboro, died 6:28 p.m. March 27, 1990, at St. Luke’s West Hospital in St. Louis.

Mrs. Erkmann was a nurse’s aide at Hamilton Memorial Hospital for approximately 18 years.

She was born Feb. 13, 1930, in Hamilton County, a daughter of James and Alleen (Henderson) Riely.  June 1, 1952, she married Ray Erkmann, who survives.

Services will be 1 p.m. Friday at Gholson Funeral Home in McLeansboro with the Rev. Denzil Clark officiating.  Burial will follow in International Order of Oddfellows Cemetery in McLeansboro.

Friends may call 5 to 8 p.m. today at the funeral home.

In addition to his wife [sic], Mrs. Erkmann is survived by two sons, Dennis Erkmann and wife, Cynthia of Bloomington and James Erkmann and wife, Teresa of Eldorado; one daughter, Mrs. Benny (Paula) Smith of St. Louis; and one sister Mrs. Nadine Newlin of Carmi.

Mrs. Erkmann was a member of the former Concord Methodist Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents.