The bad news reached us yesterday morning of the death of Magnus Kronberg, who lived about eight miles north-west of Blair. During the storm the Kronberg boys were unloading some hay. Magnus was on the stack when he was struck by lightning and instantly killed. The other on the load was temporarily paralyzed and a portion of his clothing torn from his body. One horse was killed outright. No other serious damage resulted. The Kronberg family is highly respected and have the sympathy of their many friends in this their hour of trouble. We have not learned when or where the funeral services will be held, but presumably today.

#2 5 Aug., 1897 - The Pilot - Magnus Kronberg

The saddest we have heard, at present, happened to the Kronberg Bros. They were just finishing a stack, Marnus was on the stack and they were jolly, thinking that they were going to have their stack finished before it rained. But not so. A flash of lightning killed Magnus dead on the stack, and splintered the fork handle of his brother who was pitching onto the stack. The same flash also tore the pitcher's shirt pretty near off of him, but he was not killed outright although it paralyzed his legs. The team took fright and ran away throwing him off the wagon which probably went over him and caused some of his injuries. It must have been hard for the third brother, who was at a distance, to witness all this.

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

FindaGrave # 7969729