HERMAN KOLTERMAN

In view of a crowd of visitors going and coming from the river rip rap work, Sunday afternoon at 5 o’clock Herman Kolterman, 20 years of age, was electrocuted at the top of a 100-foot steel tower standing on the river bank near the North Western railroad bridge across the Missouri River.

The steel tower, with a similar one on the Iowa side of the river, supports the cables which carry the 16,000 volt currents of the Iowa-Nebraska Public Service company from Missouri Valley to supply the city of Blair. Mr. Kolterman climbed to the top with his head slightly above the cable, and standing on a cross-bar, turned his back to the tower. While waving one hand to his friends below, the body was seen to stiffen and then pitch forward, striking head first on the ground crushing it terribly. Two burned streaks were found across the palm of his left hand.

Mr. Kolterman was in the employ of his brother, Carl Kolterman, in this city, and leaves six brothers and his mother, who resides at Colome, So. Dak., and who arrived Tuesday night.

The funeral service will be held at two o’clock today at the German church and burial will occur in the Blair cemetery.

The heartfelt sympathy of the entire community goes out to the relatives, and especially the mother, to whom the sudden death is a most severe shock.

Blair Democrat 20 Feb 1913

BLAIR BOY ELECTROCUTED

One of the saddest accidents that has happened in Blair for a number of years occurred Sunday evening about five o’clock when Herman Kolterman, who had been employed by his brother at the Racket Store, climbed to the top of the tower supporting the electric light wires at the west approach of the Missouri river bridge, and was electrocuted, his body pitching head foremost to the ground ninety feet below, crushing his skull in an unrecognizable mass, breaking his ribs and shoulder blades.

Young Kolterman, in company with a couple of young ladies and boy friends, had gone to the river to see the riprapping that is being done on the other side, and on returning thought it would be a good idea to climb the tower to get a better view of the surrounding country.

This tower is about ninety feet high, constructed of steel, and supports the heavy electric light and power wires running from Missouri Valley to Blair, there being a tower of this size on each side of the river about fifty feet from the banks. At the time of the accident the wires were carrying at least 16,000 volts and are considered so dangerous that employees of the company were never allowed to do any repairing in the vicinity of the wires unless the current was cut off.

One of the boys with young Kolterman had also started to follow him up the tower, but getting dizzy when about half-way up commenced climbing down, and before he reached the ground he was startled to see the body of his friend shoot past him and strike the ground below.

Upon reaching the top of the tower Kolterman turned to wave his hand to his friends below and at that instant those on the ground heard a loud report and saw a flash of fire coming from his body. He was seen to stiffen and then pitch headforemost. When the body struck the ground it bounded several feet in the air and landed again a short distance away, leaving a fair sized dent in the earth where the head first struck.

The body was taken in charge by Coroner Pierce, who deemed an inquest unnecessary, and the funeral was held Wednesday afternoon from the German Lutheran church in this city.

Besides a mother who resides at Calome, So, Dakota, there are six brothers to mourn Herman’s untimely and tragic end. He was a very bright young man and had just finished a course at Dana College, He was about twenty years of age and the remains were laid to rest beside those of his father who formerly operated the Little Mill in this city and who died here a number of years ago.

Enterprise 28 Feb 1913

A VIOLENT DEATH

Herman Kolterman, 20 years of age, met a violent death down at the river last Sunday evening. The electric company has erected steel towers on each band of the river, nearly 100 feet high, to support the cables across the stream which transmit the electric current from the main plant at Missouri Valley to light the city and these cables carry 16,500 volts of electric current when the plant at the valley is in operation. Young Kolterman went to the river as did hundreds of others, on Sunday to see the much-talked of ripra work, and while there, young and vigorous full of energy, the notion stuck him to go up to the top of the tower on this side of the river. He climbed to the top and stood on the cross-tree, between the two cables, with his back to the tower and waved his hand at people passing along the roadway below. Whether he touched the cables with his hand when he waved will probably never be known and experience electricians say that standing between these cables, so heavily charged, the moisture in his body would attract the current and be certain death. At any rate, he fell off the tower and was horribly crushed. It is said his hand was burned as if he had taken hold of the cable.

He was a brother to Carl and had been employed by Carl in the racket store for some time. His mother, who is the widow of Charley Kolterman, deceased, who owned and operated the “little mill” here in Blair for several years, and he leaves six brothers. Mrs. Kolterman and her boys went to Tripp county, South Dakota, a few years ago and homesteaded and she, is still there with some of her boys, near Colome.

The funeral was held at the German church on Wednesday and the remains were interred in the Blair cemetery.

Note: Since the actual death date was not given, the news article date was used.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~