The 77th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy invites us to "Tell about a disaster that one or more of your ancestors lived through."While I'm sure that there were many natural disasters, such as tornadoes and epidemics, that had an impact on my ancestors' lives, I don't have anything in the way of pictures or stories to share. As I sat down today to work on my scanning project - working my way through the 1,000+ negatives from my Grandpa Quick - I realized I had the story of a more personal "disaster" right at hand. I chose to call it,
"The Unfortunate Meeting at the Top of the Mountain"
On the evening of Saturday July 17, 1937, my grandfather, Jack H Quick and his soon to be second wife, the current Mrs. Braddock, were involved in a head on collision on a mountain road near Woodland Park, Colorado. I was never given much in the way of the history of this event, as my Grandpa Quick never referred to a time before he was married to "Ollie Belle", as she is named in the newspaper article below.
While I always knew that my Grandma Quick was not my mother's mother, I was well into adulthood before I knew that she had also be married previously. At the time of this accident - July, 1937 - both divorces had been granted but were not yet final. Jack and Belle would be married on October 25, 1937. Belle had the scars on her knee from this accident all the rest of her life.
The pictures of the wrecked cars are the first pictures in what would be a lifetime of pictures albums that my Grandpa Quick kept.
The newspaper article is a big score but to also have photos of the wrecked car is the icing on the cake. My husband would get a kick out of the tow truck as he sells towing equipment.
ReplyDeleteHey Lori ~ I have an even better picture of the tow truck! I have often wondered how the other family in the accident fared. I have a picture of their car as well labeled, "Opponent's Car"...
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, newspaper article and photos. Looks like they were lucky to escape with their lives.
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