August 5, 1900: Anna Spatz Survives Being Hit by a Car

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

August 5, 1900: Fifty-nine-year-old Anna Spatz had a close call as she was crossing at the intersection of Reading and Philadelphia Avenues. Hit by a car, knocked down and about to be run over by the vehicle, she grasped the bumper and pulled her legs away from the front wheels. She was dragged several feet before the car was able to stop.

When she was pulled out from under the vehicle, she was still clutching her purse and market basket. She sustained deep cuts and bruises and rested “a while” at a friend’s house before continuing on her way to her home at the corner of Sixth and Walnut Streets. Ana is the mother of Col. Carl A. Spatz.

More News from Boyertown

• A Pictorial Tour Through the History of Boyertown: Main Street Businesses page 22 Main Street--page 22
• TRADITIONS While traditions are considered unchanging, life changes constantly and new traditions must be created; what lasts is the desire to give thanks for life, mutable as it is.