Smith, William Vernon

A premature blast at the Stebbins Mine...northwest of Picher in Kansas, claimed the lives of two Ottawa county Oklahoma miners early Saturday morning. William Vernon Smith, 48, a machine man living at 418 South Connell Avenue in Picher Oklahoma, and Robert Yoakum, 22, of Cardin Oklahoma, Smith's helper, were killed instantly when a charge of dynamite they had prepared exploded unexpectedly, mangling their bodies. Circumstances, under which the fatal accident occurred were not known as Smith and Yoakum were alone underground at the time after they had drilled out their round of 11 holes and had loaded them for shot firing. After counting blast reports from six of the 11 loaded holes, ground foreman Gilbert E. Clark waited several minutes for the men to appear at the change house, he then re-entered the mine and found the two men dead. Yoakum, it was said, had been blown more than 60 feet by the force of the detonation while Smith had been hurled about 50 feet from the pull drift where the men had been working. The pull drift had been driven about 120 feet north of the working face and its heading was located about 650 feet north of the mine shaft on the 392 foot level... Smith was a veteran of World War I. He is survived by three sons and a daughter. Funeral services for Smith will be conducted at 3 o'clock Monday afternoon at Poplar Bluff Missouri under direction of the Durnil funeral home of Picher Oklahoma.