Walt Mandrin
The coal was delivered in an old hard wheel truck, owned by the Fox Coal Company located on Poplar Avenue. It was a chain driven four cylinder McCauley, which in those days was manufactured in Dayton, Ohio, and was very difficult to drive.
The mechanism that operated the dump truck got its power from the transverse drive in the transmission, and then to a stuffing box located just behind the operators door. In order to dump the coal, the motor had to be running, and the driver would have to get out of the truck, and manually move the shift lever on the stuffing box. This then would engage the truck transmission, and lower or raise the dump truck bed on the truck. More than one operator lost a limb or a finger while trying to engage the transverse drive.
Jim was always fascinated by the truck, and even more, the proper placement of the truck to ensure that the coal would go down the long chute properly.
Walt Mandrin usually drove the truck, and after many years, had the procedure down pretty well. Walt was a large man, stood around 6 foot 4 inches, and weighed well over 280, His size made it easier for Walt to operate the dump truck and all of the other mechanism needed to dump the coal loads. However, his size rendered him less agile than most.
Jessie had gone to work at the old Colville Feed Store on 4th Street, and its close proximity to the Arcade made it possible for them to get together for lunch, and to see each other during the day.
One fateful November day, there was a bite in the air, and an early November frost had set the tone for the day. A gray cloud-bank, and been coming up from the South, and the very day itself foretold the coming of Winter, gray and foreboding.
Inside the Arcade, in the basement, Jim and Harold Smith, another member of the furnace "team," had opened the large doors on the coal storage room, in anticipation of Walt and his load of "black heat," as the crew referred to it, dropping off his tri-weekly load.
Jessie had taken a break at the feed store, and was making her way across 4th Street, to the Arcade Entrance, just as Walt was making his right turn from Main Street, on to 4th, on his way to the Church Street Entrance. In a split second, Jessie looked up at the truck cab, and recognized Walt, and in an attempt to avoid what could be a serious situation, attempted to quickly move away from the truck. But, it was too late.
