February 28, 1962

News from White River Twp VFD

       About 8 p.m. Saturday, February 25, a call came to the department telling us about a man who had a heart attack on Olive Branch road, just east of the railroad.  It was Fred Floerke, 70 years old, who was found lying in the back yard by his wife after missing him a short time.  A neighbor, Gilbert Bullock, called the department.  As travel was at a stand-still, our chief, Russ Young, dispatched Firemen Paul W. Herzog and Roy Ott with the small grass fire-fighting rig which had tire chains on it.  As these firemen were rushing to the scene with the resuscitator, they stalled in a four-foot snowdrift.  After borrowing a tractor from D. B. Zurschmeide, they were on their way again.  On down the road, they ran into a tree across the road.  Two more neighbors were called to help.  J. B. Messer and Roy Swartz cut the tree out of the way and used their tractor to help clear a path.  After arriving at the scene, oxygen was administered, but Mr. Floerke, had already passed away.  State police, Johnson county sheriff, the ambulance and doctors were also called but could not reach the scene because of the snow.  Firemen Edward Hinkle and Gerald W. Dyar cleared the road with a bulldozer so a heavy-duty truck belonging to the Indiana National Guard, with directors from the Burkhart Funeral Home aboard, could remove the body.  About three and one-half hours had elapsed in this call.

         A few minutes after 8 p.m., another call came in.  This was an O.B. case.  After numerous calls to locate the residence due to the original call being given to the Greenwood police, which was relayed to us as just RR4, Box 127 D, due to the caller being excited.  The chief called Dr. Helen Barnes who went to the aid of Mrs. Ralph Rush.  After arriving, Dr. Barnes put the patient in an Indiana National Guard truck which was called to the residence by the state police, they transported here to the St. Francis hospital, Beech Grove.  It took them two and one-half hours for the trip to the hospital.  As of this writing, Mrs. Rush was returned home and has not yet delivered the baby.  Sorry.  Our thanks to Robert Burns of the Indiana Bell Telephone company for information in obtaining emergency numbers we needed to help our many callers of the evening.  Chief Young estimated we received 80 to 90 calls.

         Firemen Robert Kelso, using Mark McCarty’s bulldozer, and Edward Hinkle, using the Nordsick brothers’ equipment, made many roads passable.  They worked from Saturday noon until Sunday afternoon clearing snow from roads in Smith’s Valley, Mount Pleasant, Bluff Creek, State Road 135 and U.S. 31, so the people at the Whiteland sectionals could return to their homes.  Seven of the firemen were caught out of the area by the snow and were not able to return until Sunday morning.  (Reprinted with permission from the Indianapolis Star)
 
    

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