Wheeler, Ed

Two victims of a near major accident which occured aat the Southern mine of the Dines Mining company at 9:30 last Friday night are improving at the American hospital, Picher Oklahoma. Ed Wheeler, age 49 of Joplin Missouri, was the most critically injured, and Clyde Hammond, also of Joplin was hurt. Seven other men escaped. The accident, a slab fall, happened near the place where a huge slab fell last December, taking the lives of five men. Other men working at the mine at the time of the accident were John O'Brien of Picher, foreman; James Matthews of Picher, Charles McCoy, John McLaughlin and Everett Wheeler of Joplin and two men from Quapaw Oklahoma. Everett Wheeler is a son of the injured man. The men who had been warned a sort time before the slab fell by Ed Wheeler, track man and roof trimmer, that the slab was dangerous and might fall. He cautioned the miners to stay away from that section of the mine. A short time later the huge slab, approximately 20 feet wide, 50 feet long and about 15 inches thick fell, about 80 feet, striking the two men. McLaughlin and others took the injured men from the drift and called a Todd ambulance which took the men to American hospital.