Gas resident Karen Trester’s life was nearly cut short before it even had a chance to begin.
At just six months old, Trester survived a railroad crossing accident in Iola that killed three members of her family and left her and her mother critically injured.
More than 80 years later, Trester shared the story of that day with the Iola Rotary Club.
On June 13, 1939, the pickup truck Trester was riding in with her family was struck by a Santa Fe passenger train at the railroad crossing near the south entrance to the fairgrounds in Iola.
“I was only six months old, so everything I tell you is just hearsay on my part,” Trester said.
The family had been traveling to a family reunion at Riverside Park. Several relatives were riding in the truck, including Trester’s mother, Sylvia Boyd; her grandfather, Quincy “Q.D.” McClure, 58; her uncle, Don D. McClure, 30, who was driving; and her 2-year-old brother, Phillip Boyd. The unguarded crossing was elevated on a ridge east of the park, requiring vehicles to go up and over the tracks with limited visibility.
ACCORDING TO family accounts, the truck was struck as it crossed the tracks.
Trester’s grandfather, uncle, and brother were killed instantly. Trester and her mother were thrown from the vehicle and rushed to St. John’s Hospital in critical condition.
An article in the June 14, 1939, edition of The Iola Register noted that Trester and her mother “are seriously hurt and slight hope is held out for their recovery.”
Separated from the wreckage, Trester was found by the wife of an Iola physician.
“She found me at the base of a telephone pole several feet down the track,” Trester said. “She picked me up and took care of me. I really owe my life to her.”
Trester was treated and was later told that all her ribs had been broken.
“The doctor said he thought when he unwound the bandages, that I’d just fall apart,” she recalled. “But I healed good.”
The accident was front-page news and prompted a rare “extra” edition, printed that same afternoon. The Register also printed a follow-up article the next day.
WITHIN THE family, the tragedy was rarely discussed.
“Nobody would really talk about it because it was very horrible,” Trester said.
