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EXPRESS ARCHIVES
In this old photo from left are Mrs. Lester Beck, Sr., Jack Beck, 14, Lester Beck, Jr., 17, Richard, 10, and Linda, 7, at the spot where the family tractor came to rest in the farm pond. The family lived in the Sugar Run area. The tractor was being operated on a sidehill by Lester, Jr., who had been adjusting the sickle bar for mowing hay, when it began to roll away, narrowly missing him, as it began its descent down the hill. The tractor headed for the pond, where Richard and Linda and another brother, Dean, 10, had been swimming and playing. The tractor went through their garden, over a four-foot bank and leaped the road to land before landing on its radiator at the edge of the pond. Warned by the shouts of the siblings, all were able to get safely away. The pond was drained with the tractor found broken in two, with the back of the motor and a variety of parts having been broken off from the force of the landing. According to Lester Beck, Jr., who now lives in Howard, "it's a miracle no one was hurt that day."