Cascade County, MT Article from the front page of the Great Falls Tribune, February 19, 1934 -------------------- EDWARD R. POWELL,Great FALLS POSTMAN, AND WIFE LOSE LIVES ----------------- Auto crashes through guard railing of Craig Bridge and is immersed in water upside down; rescue of bodies is effected within 20 minutes, but passengers and dog dead. -------------- Edward R. Powell, veteran letter carrier of Great Falls, and Mrs. Powell lost their lives in the Missouri river at 9:15 Sunday morning when their car crashed through the guard rail of the old Craig bridge and dived into the water. Their dog drowned with them. Tthe bodies were brought to Great Falls Sunday afternoon by the T.F. O'Connor ambulance. No inquest will be held, according to Dr. B.V. McCabe of Helena, Acting Lewis and Clark county coroner, who with Sheriff Arthur Parsons investigated the accident. The Powells were going fishing, it is indicated by the paraphernalia in the car. It is the opinion of R.E. McFloy, Great Northern station agent at Craig, the first to reach the scene of the tragedy, that Mr. Powell lost control of the car when a wheel hit a hole in the bridge planking, the vehicle swinging to the right and through the rail. They were going toward Craig with the apparent intention of fishing on the railroad side of the river.The accident happened some 70 feet from the eastern abutment of the bridge. The splash as the car, a 1932 Plymouth sedan, struck the water was heard in the town of Craig about 200 yards away. Then the car upturned and bobbing in the stream was seen. Then there was a cry which resembled that of a child, but which Mr. McFloy believes came from the dog. The dog apparently had been in the back seat of the car, which was not entirely submerged, although the front of the car, containing Mr. and Mrs. Powell, was under water. Mr. Powell's neck was broken. Another version was that the cry came from a child playing near the river at the edge of the town and that this child was the only eyewitness of the tragedy. It is presumed that the car, a sedan, hit the water head first, turned over on its top, made a complete roll and then settled with its wheels in the air. The doors and windows were closed. This fact delayed the rescuers. The water at that place was about four and a half feet deep. As the automobile lay it was impossible to get the doors open. A futile attempt was made to chop a hole through the bottom of the vehicle. The steel construction prevented this. Then Craig residents threw ropes off the bridge, fastened them to the car and men working from the bridge and in the water got the car turned on its side. Mr. and Mrs. Powell were dead. Her body was removed first. The bodies were laid on the bank awaiting the arrival of officers from Helena and the ambulance from Great Falls. The bodies were recovered about 20 minutes after the accident. The car was taken from the water late in the afternoon by a Cascade wrecker. Mr. Powell's watch and money are in the custody of Mrs. A. Craig, postmaster at Craig. In his pockets were a fishing license, a book of flies and $50. Edward R. Powell was 62 years old, born in Minnesota. He had been a letter carrier here since 1907, according to Percy Gilchrist, superintendent of mails. Since 1912 Mr. Powell had been on the route on the south side of Central avenue and for years had been a familiar figure in the downtown district. He was one of the oldest employees in point of service in the local postoffice. The Powell home is at 415 Fifth avenue south. The wife, Mary C. Powell, was born in California. She was 56 years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Powell were married eight years ago. They leave no relatives here. Funeral arrangements have not been completed. Perhaps the first report of the accident to reach Great Falls came to the office of Sheriff Ed Shields. Jurisdiction being in Lewis and Clark county, Cascade county officers did not investigate officially. ----------- Transcription by JL Powell . Photocopy of original article provided by M. Dougherty. USGenWeb Project NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may not be reproduced in any format forprofit, nor for commercial presentation by any other organization. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than as stated above, must obtain express written permission from the author, or the submitter and from the listed USGenWeb Project archivist.