Adams County, Indiana Historical Society Scrapbook - Image 8
Transcribed by Karin King

(Handwritten date: Friday, November 30, 1945)

...JOSEPH SCHROCK
Details of Tragedy Wednesday Afternoon Given by Husband, Sheriff

Funeral services were held this for Mrs. Helen Schrock (cut) the family car
southeast of Decatur. Services were held at the Schrock home, with Rev. David J.
Graber and Rev. Enoch P. Habegger officiating. Burial was in the Mazelin cemetery
two miles north and a half mile west of Berne.
The casket was not opened as Mrs. Schrock was virtually cre-(cut off)
According to the sheriff, Schrock and his wife had driven their car into the woods
on the William Meyers farm southeast of Decatur where they have several hives of
bees located. They parked the car in the woods and Schrock (cut) ...remained in
the car to start the smoker, a device used to pacify the bees while working around
them. Schrock said he...Schrock found his wife in the back seat...dense
smoke...just a few flames at that time but when he opened the door of the car to
rescue his wife, permitting air to enter the machine, Mrs. Schrock was ...and other
supplies stacked in the back of the car. By the time he reached the other side of
the car his wife had already collapsed. He tried to pull her out, reaching for her
leg, but his gloves started to burn and the heat was so intense that he could not
rescue her. The back of the car was at that time a roaring furnace, Schrock said.
He then broke the glass in a window in a desperate attempt to pull her out but was
unable to reach her. Realizing the awfulness of the tragedy and that his wife was
beyond human aid, he made his way over to the Uhrick farm and the news of the
tragedy spread from there. They notified the Dan Striker family, neighbors of the
Schrocks, who notified relatives.
SCHROCK BURNED
Schrock was burned on his hands and his left cheek while trying to rescue his wife,
but the (cut)
GAS CAN IN CAR
...gasoline to disinfect the bee hives, mixing the gasoline with the oil, according
to the sheriff. The gasoline can had the spout uncovered, permitting the fumes to
escape. The back end of the car was loaded with all kinds of bee supplies,
including lumber to put under the bee stands, wax, burlap bags, and other material.
(Cut)
Why Mrs. Habegger [sic] did not attempt to escape through the other door will never
be known, the sheriff said, but it is probable that in the excitement and with the
dense smoke perhaps blinding and almost suffocating her, she was unable to reach the
door even if she tried. According to ...the machine with blazing gas. There is
evidence that the blaze had gone inside the can because there was pressure from the
inside which made the seams of the can bulge out, the sheriff said.
The Schrock car was practically (cut off)
Mrs. Schrock was born in this community Nov. 10, 1903, a daughter .... preceded a
few years ago. Surviving...a sister, the step-mother...