The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-10-22
Workmen on the Interior Of
Crawford's Opera House
Go Down With the Scaff0ldlng
to the Parquette.
M.PARRBADLY HURT
Falls Across an Opera Chair and
Internally Injured.
Eddie Van Week, a Boy Also
Bruised.

With a crash, which was heard for
block, the scaffolding upon which work
men were working on the interior of
Crawford's opera house fell at 10 o'clock
this morning and Eddie Van Week and
]. NJ. PArr lay bleeding on the floor.
They had fallen from the upper gallery
10 the parquette, a distance of more than
thirty feet.
The boy was able to extricate himself
from the debris and got out without as
sistance The man had fallen across one
of the parquette seats. and crushed it as
if it had been paper. lie lay helpless
and groaning on the floor.
The contractor 7. Van Week, was
also on the scAfFolding. When the tim
bers began 10 give way he caught the
gas pipe from which the chandelier
hung in the center Of the room aud held
on while the scafolding went down lie
managed to climb up the pipe hand
over hand until he succeeded III reaching
J a rope which hung near, and on this
descended TO the floor.
A half dozen men, attracted by the
noise, rushed into the building, but it
was some time before any one realized
what had happened, for q thick dust
filled the room. When they did fad
what had occurred. two or three men
went in search OF physician. DR..
Grubbs came. Eddie Van Week was
sitting in one of the back seats holding
his hand which had been hurt, but he
said that he was not badly ujnred, and
DR.. G=ubbs gave his attention TO the
older man who was still lying on the floor
not far from the stage.
BY this time DR.. Bailey and DR.. Buck
master had arrived. Dr. Bailey exam
ined the boy and DR.. Buckmaster as
sisted DR.. Grubbs with Mr.. Parr. The
man was lifted up and found to be per-
fectly conscious. His left arm dan gled
at his side ami upon examination it was
found that the shoulder was dislocated.
There was deep cut over the left eye
from which the blood flowed freely.
Whisky was brought which somewhat
revived the man. Besides his broken
shoulder he is supposed to be injured iu-
ternaiiy, fer when he atte mpted to walk
he found himself unable to do Sc with
out assistance.
Eddie Van Week is not seriously in
jured but it will be a long time before
he is able to walk. The muscles of his
left leg below the knee are scraped from
the bone and it required sixteen stitche
TO hold them in place. Besides this his
left hand is badly sprained. He is also
bruised about other portions of his body
Tx was able TO walk from the building
without assistance, but had to be taken
to his home at the corner of Third and
jackson in the patrol wagon.
The patrol wagon was summoned and
Mr.. Parr was placed on a s,retcher and
taken to his home on Hawthorne street
in Auburndale. He seemed to be suffer
ing greatly. DR.. Grubbs said that he
thought the man would recover
The fall of the scaffolding was the re-
suit of carelessness. The men were pa
periug the ceiling and had completed
1 half their work and started to move the
scaffolding to the other side. In moving
it over, one of the uprights which held
the timbers in place was pushed aside
and then the support placed on the rail-
ing of the upper gallery slipped off and
down came the whole structure.
The scatfolding itself was very film
Fsy affair. and WIS bolted together but not
securely. 1t is not surprising that it
fell, but it is surprising that all who went
down with it were not instantly killed
1t is little short of marvellous that a man
should fall more than thirty feet across
an opera chair and escape with his life
The home of Mr.. J. II. Parr is in
Lincoln, Nebraska, and he has only been
in Topeka a short time. He lives with
his son-in-iaw, Al Young. He says th at
the accident was the result of faulty
scaffolding and that when they started to
move the heavy doors which they were
using to stand upon, the transfer of the
weight caused the scaFold to veer to one
side and then the support slip ped of the
gallery and it went down.