Trolley vs Beer Wagon Accident
Williamstown, PA
July 18, 1905
On Tuesday, July 18, 1905, Edward Piltz of Wiconisco, a driver for the Lykens Brewing Company, was approaching the Fountain Springs Hotel, in Williamstown, to deliver beer. Another team was immediately in front of the hotel, so he pulled up to a watering trough west of the hotel to let the horses drink. The horses hadn't yet finished drinking when he noticed the trolley car at the top of the hill coming west. The wagon extended out over the tracks, so he turned the horses to the right to avoid the collision. But, as the horses cleared the tracks, the trolley car struck the wagon in the center with great force, completely wrecking it and scattering the contents in every direction. Mr. Piltz had with him on the seat, the little son of John Schmuck, of Lykens, whom he was taking to spend the day at the home of his grandmother, Mrs. Henry Bopp, near Tower City. The two of them were thrown high into the air and struck the ground with such force as to render them unconscious. Piltz received a severe sprain of the right hand, cuts about the head, and bruises of the left side. Young Schmuck was cut about the head and had his left hand injured. The wagon was a new one, having recently been purchased from Milwaukee, and built to the special order of the Lykens Brewing Company. The horses, three abreast, moved gently to a telephone pole close by, all traces of the straps having been snapped off by the collision. |
