Anderson, John Curtis

Picher Oklahoma, Jan. 3. John Curtis Anderson of Picher Oklahoma, was killed and Lee Burkhart of Baxter Springs Kansas was taken to a hospital when a slab fell in Smith Mine No. 3 shaft of the Beck Mining Company west of Baxter Springs about 9 tonight. Anderson's body was taken to the Durnil funeral home, Picher, and Burkhart, who suffered an injured side and arm, was taken to Picher hospital, Picher. Details of the accident was not immediately available. Anderson is believed to have relatives in Dewey Oklahoma.

Picher Oklahoma, Jan. 4 - The body of John Curtis Anderson, about 34, killed by a falling slab in Smith Mine No. 3 shaft of the Beck Mining Company, a mile west of Baxter Springs Kansas, around 7:30 pm Wednesday, will be shipped to Bartlesville Oklahoma for burial, the Durnil funeral home, of Picher announced. According to a fellow worker who witnessed the accident, Anderson, a shoveler, was fatally injured as he and Lee Burkhart, Baxter Springs Kansas machine man, were pulling the slab from the mine's roof. The falling boulder, the weight of which could not be learned, struck Anderson on the head, knocking him clear of its path. Although Burkhart was pinned beneath the slab, his left arm and side injuries were reported not serious today. Burkhart was still hospitalized this afternoon. Anderson, who came here recently to work in the mines, lived alone at the Chalmers Rooms in Picher. Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Anderson of Dewey Oklahoma.

The first of a series of fatal accidents in the Tri-State district occurred Wednesday evening, January 3, when John Curtis Anderson about 34 years of age was killed by a falling slab in Smith Mine No. 3 shaft of the Beck Mining Company, a mile west of Baxter Springs Kansas about 7:30 that evening. According to reports of a fellow worker who witnessed the accident, Anderson, a shoveler, was fatally injured as he and Lee Burkhart, a machine man, were pulling the slab from the mine's roof. The falling rock struck Anderson on the head knocking him clear of its path. Altho Burkhart was caught and pinned down underneath the slab, he escaped with injuries to his left arm and side. He was rushed to the hospital in a Durnil ambulance from Picher. Anderson, who roomed at the Chalmers' rooms on South Connell avenue, Picher, had recently came to Picher to work in the mines and lived alone. His body was shipped to Bartlesville Oklahoma for burial. He had several relatives living east of town and his father and mother lived at points in Oklahoma. Burkhart was a resident of Baxter Springs.