ARLINGTON FARMER KILLED BY BOLT OF LIGHTNING

Kenneth G. Christensen Driving Tractor When Struck

Kenneth Garfield Christensen, 24, was killed instantly about 5:45 Saturday afternoon when lightning struck the tractor he was driving at the home of his uncle, Curtis Cook, five miles northeast of Arlington.

Cook, who was standing in the barn, saw the bolt of lightning strike, but his view of the youth was obstructed by a tree. When he stepped out of the barn, he saw Christensen slumped over in the seat and ran to him immediately.

The lightning had shorted the wiring on the tractor, and the machine had stopped. The boy was carried to the house, and an attempt was made to revive him. A watch he was carrying had stopped at 5:45.

Lightning also had struck the telephone line, and the Cooks were unable to call a doctor. Thinking they might be able to revive him, Mr. and Mrs. Cook, accompanied by Clarence Lund, a neighbor, took Christensen to Arlington where Dr. Bloch pronounced him dead.

Christensen was born October 2, 1913 in Saunders county, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Christensen who now live in Sunol. He moved with his parents to Lodgepole in 1919 and received his education there.

In 1932 Christensen came to Fremont and soon took up bee keeping at Arlington on the Merritt Cook farm. He started working for Curtis Cook in 1935, and was employed by him at the time of the accident.

Surviving, in addition to his parents, are three brothers: Charles Christensen, Lodgepole; Sydney Christensen, Sunol; and Dwight Christensen, Lost Cabin, Wyoming.

The body was sent to Sunol where services were held Wednesday. Burial was at Sunol.

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

Find a Grave Memorial #115298010