Last week my husband was watching a program that featured this tidbit of information. I found it rather interesting. In September of 1896, there was a man named Crush who staged a train wreck near Waco, TX. He had witnessed a wreck earlier and even though it had taken place far from any towns, within an hour he noticed a crowd had gathered. So he took it upon himself to stage a wreck just for the "show" of it! He worked for the Katy railroad and so had access to a couple of old engines-one red and one green-which he placed facing each other on the tracks. Excitement was in the air as folks gathered to make a day of it, bringing along their kids and picnic lunches. Upon the crash there was a huge explosion and several people were killed by flying debris. This did not stop other onlookers from gathering bits of debris as souvenirs! The songwriter Scott Joplin heard about this event (if he wasn't there to see it) and even wrote a song about it! Crush was fired from the railroad, but as this was one of the biggest money makers the railroad had seen, he was later reinstated!
2 comments:
That is one interesting tidbit! I had never heard of it. Certainly speaks volumes about human nature, doesn't it! I think Crush must have been the grandfather of modern journalism.
I had never heard of it either! it's a part of TX history we were never taught!! it is sensationalism at it's best...and it was over 100 years ago!!
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