February 7, 1927: Stanley Schaeffer Found Dead in Sand Bin at Boyertown Casket Company

By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.

February 7, 1927: Stanley Schaeffer was killed this morning when he was drawn into a sand bin at the Boyertown Burial Casket Company and his body became enmeshed in 25 tons of sand that was being used to make concrete for the six-story addition to the plant under construction.

His co-workers were unaware of the accident and continued their jobs until one of them opened up the chute underneath the bin to draw out some sand and discovered Schaeffer’s body. It took theme 30 minutes to dig away the sand and recover it.

Because of the cold weather, the surface of the sand pile had frozen, and Schaeffer was sent to the top to break the crust. After he had broken through, he was apparently sucked into the depths of the bin.

Schaeffer was hired two weeks ago to work on the construction of the addition. The unfortunate young man had just celebrated his 19th birthday on January 12.

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