Killed on the tracks

August 24, 2021 Mike Goad

Dust, Drought, Depression, and War No. 8

Doctor Joseph Graham Mayo from Life Magazine November 23, 1036, Vol1, Issue 1

According to the “Life On The American Newsfront” section of Life magazine’s November 23, 1936, issue, Doctor Joseph Mayo was driving on the Burlington Railroad tracks, making a “short cut,” when he was hit by a train and killed after he had “bumped a mile over ties.”¹

I can’t imagine taking a shortcut by bumping along over railroad ties.

As a kid living in a railroad town, I shortcutted across tracks many a time as well as walked the tracks on the ties. There were seven or eight sets of tracks to cross and, even though there was a regular crossing and an overpass between home and downtown, I would sometimes cross between them. A five or six-foot chainlink fence now runs on the south side of the tracks.²

So I’m somewhat familiar with railroad tracks and I can’t imagine anyone intentionally bumping along over ties in a car for any distance at all, let alone a mile or more.

Maybe it was different in Wisconsin in 1936.

I don’t think so.

The November 23rd, 1936, issue of Life was the first issue of a new magazine under an old name. Debuting during the height of the Great Depression, the reboot issue of the photo-heavy Life American news magazine¹ was quite different from the general interest and light entertainment magazine that had ended earlier that year. Publisher Henry Luce had bought the magazine for $92,000 simply because he wanted the name for his company, Time, Inc. Life‘s subscription list, features, and goodwill were sold to Judge, a satirical weekly publication.

Its “Life On The American Newsfront” section certainly didn’t have much depth, saying that Doctor Joseph Graham Mayo, son of famed surgeon Charles Mayo, took a shortcut by driving along the Burlington Railroad, bumping a mile over the ties before an express train came through at 65 mph, smashing his car and killing Mayo and Floosie, his hunting dog. It also says that Mayo and Floosie were buried together.

The New York Times of November 10 describes it differently:

November 10, 1936, Page 22³

DR. JOSEPH G. MAYO IS KILLED BY A TRAIN
_________________

Son of Famous Surgeon Dies in Auto on Way to
Wisconsin Home From Hunting Trip.

ALMA, Wis., Nov. 9 (AP).—Dr. Joseph G. Mayo, 34, son of Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Mayo of Rochester was killed early today when his automobile was struck by the North Coast Limited Northern Pacific passenger train, at a crossing about two miles south of Cochrane, Wis.

H. F. Stohr, County Coroner, said that Dr. Mayo had apparently driven onto the railroad tracks from a side road believing he was turning onto a main highway. The highway runs parallel to the railroad tracks near the point where the accident occurred. He pronounced the death accidental and said no inquest would be held. The body was taken to Rochester.

Dr. Mayo, who had been on a hunting trip along the Mississippi River, was alone except for his dog, which also was killed.

The train was speeding at between sixty and sixty-five miles an hour when it struck the car. The wreckage was dragged nearly a mile before the engineer was able to stop the train.

According to the Coroner, the engineer said he saw Dr. Mayo’s car just an instant before the crash, and that because of the momentum of the train, en route to Chicago, and the downhill grade he could not stop quicker.

Dr. Joseph Mayo was born in Rochester in August, 1902. Surviving are the widow and two sons, David and Will, about 7 and 4, respectively.

Dr. Mayo attended Princeton University from 1920 to 1922 and obtained his Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Iowa in 1926 and 1927, respectively. He was made an associate in medicine at the clinic in 1934. Dr. Mayo married Miss Ruth Rakowski in Joplin, Mo., July 11, 1927. In addition to the widow and two sons, other survivors are a brother, Dr. Charles W. Mayo of Rochester; five sisters, Miss Dorothy Mayo of Rochester, Mrs. Fred W. Rankin of Lexington, Ky.; Mrs. George P. Trenholm of Rochester, Mrs. John B. Hartzell of Detroit, Mich., and Miss Marilyn Mayo, Rochester.

Similar articles appeared in other papers around the country, such as the Boston Globe and the Rochester, Minnesota, Post-Bulletin. It even made the front page of The Piqua Daily Call in Piqua, Ohio.

The railroad where Mayo died parallels the Mississippi. So does the Great River Road in that area, though I’m sure it wasn’t called that then.

Back then, it was state highway 35.

It still is… and it runs parallel to the railroad tracks… just as it did back then.⁴

It was a little harder to research facts back then, but Life was able to get the pictures.

They should have been able to get the right facts.

Even if it was their “first” issue.

(At least one other piece in the “Life On The American Newsfront” section in that issue of Life also had factual issues.)

“In Alma, Wisconsin.” Life. Time Inc., November 23, 1936. Accessed August 22, 2021https://books.google.com/….
North Platte, Nebraska, is and always has been a railroad town. It “was first platted as a railroad town by (Union Pacific) chief engineer Grenville Dodge. He chose the location because of the availability of good water nearby, and its distance from Grand Island, Nebraska. The town, first known as ‘Hell on Wheels,’ received its first train in 1866. Dodge then constructed major shop facilities and winter quarters for its crews. In 1867 it began conducting main line operations through the town. The early yard was a flat-switched yard with 20 tracks.” Today, Bailey Yard is the world’s largest railroad classification yard. An average of 139 trains and over 14,000 railroad cars pass through Bailey Yard every day, and the yard sorts approximately 3,000 cars daily using the yard’s two humps. (Wikipedia)
“Dr. Joseph G. Mayo Is Killed by a Train; Son of Famous Surgeon Dies in Auto on Way to Wisconsin Home from Hunting Trip.” The New York Times, November 10, 1936. Accessed August 23, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/1936/11/10/archives….
“Official Highway Map of Wisconsin 1930.” content.wisconsinhistory.org. Accessed August 23, 2021. https://content.wisconsinhistory.org….