From the Valley Falls Historical Society's scrapbook of news clippings, minus the news source and date. Accompanying items suggest the Valley Falls New Era, 1904. Four runaways in one week rate the awesome column.
"Thursday morning, Mitchell's delivery team got scared by a loose horse and started to run from in front of the shop at the same time T.R. Paxton and daughter, Mary, were driving up the street in a buggy. The Mitchell team ran into the buggy, notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Paxton tried to get out of their way and almost succeeded; the team catching only the hind wheel of the buggy, but this threw both oocupants of the buggy out. The Mitchell team ran on up the street, but the Paxton horse was turned around and as soon as it broke loose from Tom, who still held the lines, ran in front of the Mitchell's, fell down but got up and with the broken buggy still dragging, raced down the sidewalk to Dr. Northrup's corner and struck the park railing, breaking a leg and turning almost a complete somersault. The leg being broken beyond recovery, the horse was killed.
"In the chase down the sidewalk, the buggy knocked a couple of posts out from the awning in front of the Schuler Furniture Store and completely demolished a fine specially ordered dresser that had just been unloaded. Mr. Paxton had two ribs fractured besides being badly bruised. His daughter had one finger badly sprained though how either of them escaped death in the mixup is a little short of miraculous to those who saw the accident."
Next,
"While driving to church Sunday morning, the pony they were driving got frightened just this side of the Piazzek Bridge, became unmanagable, overturned the buggy, and threw Mrs. Geo. Summerfelt and daughter, Ruth, to the ground with terrific force. The horse broke loose from the buggy with the shafts and ran on up town. At Sam Allen's residence he had his horse and buggy hitched in front getting ready to go driving when the runaway came along and ran between the horse and hitching post, stripping the bridle from Allen's horse and so frightening it that instead of one runaway there were two. The Allen horse with buggy attached ran up town till the buggy came in collision with a telephone pole, but the horse went on without doing a great deal of damage to the buggy.
"Mrs. Summerfelt and daughter were taken to the home of Frank Kibby, where after examination by Dr. Marks, it was found that Ruth had both arms broken and was badly lacerated about the face and Mrs. Summerfelt, though badly bruised, had sustained no serious injury. Awesome!"
The Valley Falls Historical Society will be open at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 25.
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