Back in the day a lot of information that would not be considered newsworthy today was in the news. The papers wrote about local events in the lives of people in the community – including travels, celebrations, visits from relatives and injuries and accidents. These articles are so great because they give little peeks into the lives of our ancestors and also help to double check dates and memories.
Kenny Vosti made the news early in his life for two injuries. He remembered and described both of these events, but was not sure exactly when they happened. A couple of small articles in the Modesto Herald Tribune describe both accidents and give dates that help pin down exactly when they took place.
Kenny’s first accident happened on Friday, April 27th, 1932. On Tuesday, March 1st, The Modesto Herald-News reported the following:
The family was living at the Vosti Ranch on Toomes Road in Salida, but the accident happened at their grandparents house in town. Ken remembered that he broke the leg jumping off Grandma Curtis’ porch, He thought he was four or five when this happened, but based on the date of the article in the paper, he was only three.
Ken said:
“I got a cast on my leg and I had to stay in a wheelchair which wasn’t very much fun. Mom would wheel me out on the screened front porch so I could look around and see what was going on. One day my brother Don opened the porch door, and my brothe rgordon wheeled me over to the stairs to take me for a ride, and rolled me down! This wasn’t too good since there were about seven stairs. I eneded up in a heap at the bottom of the stairs and Mom had to take me back to Modesto for more x-rays. Fortunately my leg wasn’t broken again.” (Tell Us a Story Grandpa)
Ken’s second accident happened later that year. Although he thought it was maybe when he was five or six, the newspaper article puts this injury in May of 1932. This is just a couple of months after he broke his leg! Ken said:
“We were playing a game called ‘Chicken and Roosters.’ One of us got to be the Rooster and the other two brothers had to be the Chickens. We got into a fight about who got to be the Rooster. My brother Gordon picked up a piece of glass and threw it at me. It hit me above the eye. Mom had to drive us into Modesto to get my eye stitched up.” (Tell Me A story Grandpa)
There were a few other injuries that apparently weren’t as newsworthy. Ken’s brother, Don, cut his wrist on a metal stool in the barn and had stitches. Gordon was attacked by the Rooster in the chicken coop and had his ankle slashed. Don had a really bad infection in his ears and had to have emergency surgery.
Ken also remembered:
“Mom sometimes drove pretty fast in her car. In fact, she and Dad argued about how fast she drove. When we rode with her in the Chevy Roadster Don sat in the middle, I sat on the right, and Gordon sat in my lap. A couple of times when Mom went around corners very fast, the car door flew open and Gordon fell out of the car and rolled onto the side of the road. He was OK, but one time he got a really big bump on his head.” (Tell Me A Story Grandpa)
I haven’t found any of these in the newspaper so far, but I’m still looking!
Sources:
Boy Fractures Leg in Fall in Salida; Modesto News Herald; Modesto, CA; 02 Mar 1932
Tell Me A Story Grandpa by Ken, Gordon, Don Vosti and LeeAnne McDermott
Stitches Removed; The Modesto Bee; Modesto, CA; 09 May 1932