WOODROW PICKLESIMER

1930 - Crash on Watermelon Hill 


The news spread throughout Paintsville like the proverbial
wildfire on the evening of Saturday, November 8, 1930. There had
been an automobile wreck on Patrick Hill (now known as Watermelon
Hill) near the Johnson-Lawrence County line. There were dead and
injured.

When the six Paintsville High School students, ranging in age from
15 to 18, were found at the bottom of a deep ravine, three were
dead, one was dying and two were seriously injured.

Gilbert Van Hoose, Woodrow Salyer, Woodrow Picklesimer, Robert
Cecil Van Hoose, Richard Strother and Archie Williams had gone to
Huntington Saturday morning to attend a football game between
Ashland and Huntington. Richard Strother was driving Gilbert Van
Hoose's Ford coupe on the return trip and making what one
passenger described as "a moderate rate of speed" along the
highway from Louisa to Paintsville.

At about 8:15 P.M. as they were topping Patrick Hill, Strother
lost control of the vehicle as the two right wheels ran off the
road. For almost 100 feet the car swerved back and forth on the
edge of the road before taking its fatal plunge to the bottom of
the precipice. It rolled end over end before coming to rest.

16 year old Archie Williams and 15 year old Robert Cecil Van Hoose
had been thrown clear of the car. The dazed and injured Williams
could hear the cries and moans of his companions as he struggled
to climb back up to the road where he hoped to get help.

A passing motorist came to Williams' assistance and stopped other
vehicles for their help, as well. As Williams was being taken to
Louisa for medical attention, his friends, both dead and dying
were brought up the 70 foot embankment and placed on a flatbed
truck for the mournful trip to Paintsville Hospital. Not knowing
exactly how many boys were in the car, the rescuers left with the
injured Richard Strother and the deceased Gilbert Van Hoose,
Woodrow Salyer and Woodrow Picklesimer.

Robert Cecil Van Hoose, lying lifeless under the edge of a large
rock at the bottom of the hill, was not found until 2:00 A. M.
Sunday morning.

As a shocked community prepared funeral arrangements for the four
accident victims, the two survivors were being treated for their
injuries.

Archie Williams was the least badly injured. He had a slight
shoulder injury, a gash over his left eye and numerous scrapes and
bruises but was otherwise unhurt. However, Richard Strother, the
driver, was in much more serious condition. He suffered a broken
leg, fractured knee-cap, fractured skull and internal injuries.
Both boys survived the accident.

Paintsville schools were closed Monday and Tuesday. Funeral
services for the four youths were held at 2:00 P. M. Tuesday at
Mayo Memorial Church. Members of the PHS football team served as
pallbearers for their teammates Woodrow Salyer and Woodrow
Picklesimer and their two companions.

Thanksgiving 1930 was not a very happy occasion in Johnson County. 

Permission to post
Granted by Paintsville Herald

ARTICLE SUBMITTED BY: John Picklesimer