Blunk, Allen

Picher Oklahoma, Jan. 30.--Three miners, one of whom was trying out for work as shoveler, were killed this morning when a slab fell in a drift in the Velie Lion Mine No. 4 shaft at Cardin Oklahoma burying them beneath the debris. Three others were trapped in the drift for two hours. Two miners and Grover Todd, undertaker, were injured while recovering the bodies, having been struck by another small slab that fell while rescue work was being carried on. The dead: A. Blunk, about 57 years old, Commerce Oklahoma. E. Church, 22, Commerce. Everett McClain, about 21, Locust Grove Oklahoma, It was the first day McClain had worked in the hard rock lead and zinc mine.

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The injured miners are: James Straight, Carterville Missouri, ground boss, who received an injured hip, and William Bowers, a roof trimmer, who sustained an injured shoulder. They are in American hospital, at Picher Oklahoma, Todd, who was assisting in rescue work, received a sprained arm. A large boulder narrowly missed striking him on the head.

The slab fell at 8:35 o'clock. The bodies were uncovered and the trapped miners freed at 10:30 am. The trapped miners, a machine man and his helper and another shoveler, escaped being covered up by running to a heading about fifty feet from the place the slab fell. Those killed had attempted to run to the mouth of the shaft, which is about 350 feet from the scene of the mishap.

About 300 cans of dirt fell. Officials at the mine said this morning that work had been carried on in the drift several months and that the ground appeared to be in a safe condition.

The bodies of three shovelers are at the morgue of the Todd undertaking company, of Picher.

Cardin Oklahoma, Jan. 30 Three miners were instantly killed at 9:30 o'clock this morning when a slab weighing several hundred tons fell on them in a drift...

According to Mitchelson Funeral Home Records, Commerce Oklahoma, Allen W. Blunk died Jan 30, 1926, of the accident at the age of 55. There are differences in the age.

The first damage suit as a result of the disaster last Saturday in the the Velie Lion Mine No. 2 shaft, one-half mile northwest of Cardin Oklahoma, in which three men were killed and three others injured, was filed yesterday in the Ottawa county Oklahoma district court at Miami. Mrs. Becca McClain, widow of Everett McClain, 25 years old, who met instant death, asks $25,000 in a suit against the Velie Mines corporation. McClain had been in the employ of the company only an hour when killed.

Three other miners, who, warned by the fall of dirt, ran the other way before the slab fell, were trapped in the drift and were not rescued for more than an hour. Their names were not learned.

The position of the bodies indicated Blunk, McClain and Church were running toward the mouth of the shaft when the slab fell. They apparently had been warned of the impending fall by smaller rocks dropping from the roof. Their bodies were badly mangled. Blunk and Church were employed as shovelers while McClain was "candidating," having gone down into the mine to see if there was a job open.

Todd was called to the scene with the Todd company's ambulance and entered the mine, accompanied by Stringer and Bowers, to recover the bodies. They were busy with this rescue work when the shower of small boulders fell from the roof. Stringer was badly bruised about the head and body. He was taken to the American hospital in the ambulance. Bowers suffered a badly sprained shoulder. He was given medical treatment at the office of Dr. W. A. Sibley of Cardin Oklahoma. Todd received a sprained left arm and was otherwise bruised about the body, but was able to continue with rescue work.

Blunk is survived by his wife, Mrs. Laura Blunk, and seven children, five of whom reside at home. The children are: Mrs. Delsie Chaney and Mrs. Ethel Nichols, of Commerce Oklahoma, and Tressie Blunk, Dorothy Blunk, Aliene Blunk, Pauline Blunk and William Blunk at home. Church was unmarried. His parents live at Fort Gibson Oklahoma. McClain also was unmarried. His parents reside at Locust Grove Oklahoma.

Blunk's body is at the parlors of the Hal Mitchelson undertaking company at Commerce. The bodies of Church and McClain are at the Todd parlors in Picher. Funeral arrangements have not been completed.

The mine in which the tragedy occurred is owned by the Velie-Lion Mining corporation, with headquarters at Tulsa Oklahoma.