Elgin, Union County, Oregon
Fatally Hurt in Explosion of Blasting Caps
Delbert Darr was fatally injured and his brother, George, received a score of painful bruises and cuts about his head and shoulders between 7 and 8 o’clock Tuesday morning when a quantity of dynamite caps which they were preparing to take with them to work, exploded. Immediately after the accident Dr. Thompson of Elgin was notified who called an ambulance from La Grande, and went to the scene of the accident, the John Darr place. Delbert died in the Grande Ronde hospital about 20 minutes after reaching La Grande.
The men, in preparation for work on the road at a point about a half mile above their home, took a few of the caps from a building on the ranch, placed them in the kit of tools, and started out of the yard.
In a conversation with the editor of the Recorder, George, who is now recovering satisfactorily from his injuries, in the hospital at La Grande, said that his brother, Delbert, was carrying the kit, and either dropped it or laid it down, causing the explosion. Delbert received the full force of the blast in the face and chest, tearing off his face and arms, and mangling the upper portion of his body beyond recognition. George stated that had he not been standing behind Delbert, he too would have received injuries equally serious.
Funeral services for Delbert will be held Friday afternoon at 2 o’clock in the auditorium of the city hall in Elgin. The body will be laid to rest in the Elgin cemetery. The services at the cemetery will be in charge of the Rock Wall Grange, of which Delbert was a member.
Delbert, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Darr, was born March 25, 1904, and was a few months over 25 years of age. He was born and raised in this community, where his parents have lived since the early days of Union county.
The Elgin Recorder
July 1929