George T. Loveless, 51, sheet-metal worker, died saving Paul D. Shanks, 16, laborer, from being killed by a falling pole, Jerseyville, Illinois, October 8, 1952. Paul, Loveless, and three other workmen were raising a cylindrical dust collector weighing 1,800 pounds into position on the roof of a factory building with a block and tackle suspended from the top of a 29-foot gin pole constructed of heavy pipe. A guy rope supporting the pole broke, and the pole fell, striking the top of the dust collector. The pole was wrenched free of its wooden base by the impact and swung in a horizontal arc 5.5 feet above the roof. Paul momentarily dropped to his knees and arose six feet from the advancing pole as Loveless and the others got clear of its path. Loveless, who had reached a safe position near a raised section of the roof, saw Paul and without hesitation ran four feet to him. He struck Paul a hard blow on the forehead with his open hand, and Paul stumbled sideward from the force of the blow, clearing the pole by three feet. The pole struck Loveless on the forehead, and he sustained a fractured skull and fell unconscious to the roof, bleeding profusely. He died soon afterward while being taken to a hospital. 3833-42733
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