Ralph Hubbard of this city, met with a fatal accident at Mellette last Friday night while at work as lineman, for Northwestern Public Service Company when he came in connection with a live wire and was thrown to the ground and almost instantly killed.

Just two weeks ago mention was made in the columns of this paper that Mr. Hubbard had been in the employ of this company the past three years and had received promotion in his line of work and was transferred to Redfield. He was on duty on this fatal night, attending to line trouble in the town of Melette and was working on a pole when the accident happened, about nine o’clock Friday night.

There was another workman with him, but on the ground nearby, when of a sudden there was a flash of fire and an outcry by Ralph and he immediately fell to the ground, a distance of about twelve feet. He landed on his feet and fell over foreward before his companion reached him. Messages were immediately sent to Aberdeen and Redfield and doctors rushed out and everything possible was done there in hopes of reviving him.

The doctors and fellow workers of the company who gathered there in a short time worked strenuously for a couple of hours, but they were unable to restore him to life and upon closer examination it was discovered that his neck had been broken. It was found that he had a slight burn on one elbow and another on the heel of one foot. He had on rubber gauntlet gloves as a precaution in handling live wires, but it is presumed that in some way his elbow touched a live wire and that he was either thrown or jumped and in landing on the ground the jar was so severe that his neck was broken which probably was the direct cause of his death.

Soon after the accident a phone message was received at the Hubbard home in this city and Mrs. Hubbard, accompanied by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Hubbard, hastened up to Melette. Others of the family also drove up there later and the body brought back to Clark early the following morning.

Ralph Ellsworth Hubbard was born at Clark on June 20, 1900, a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Hubbard. He was one of the industrious and splendid young men of the community and spent practically all his life here, with the exception of the time he spent as a sailor in the United States Navy a few years following the world war.

On June 10, 1922 he was united in marriage to Miss Bessie Lambert of Rosedale township and to this union two children were born, one daughter dying in infancy and preceded the father to the great beyond while Wanelda Lou, a little Miss of seven months survives to aid in comforting the bereaved young widow, who with the parents, four sisters, and a brother; Mrs. Beatrice Anderson of Chicago, Mrs. Hazel Webber of Minneapolis, Mrs. Helen Stewart and Miss Aveline and Loyal Hubbard of this city are left to mourn his sad departure during this early hour in life.

Deceased was a member of the Clark order of Odd Fellows and it was this fraternal organization that was in charge of the funeral held from the late home on east 4th street on Monday afternoon with services conducted by Rev. Nels Fanebust at the Methodist church and interment made in the family lot in Rose Hill cemetery. The funeral was one of the most largely attended held in Clark for a long time, the floral offerings were beautiful and of such volume that an extra car was required to convey them, and several hundred sorrowing relatives and friends composed the procession to the cemetery where the beautiful Odd Fellow funeral ritual was carried out and the last respects were paid to one who had been held in such high esteem by his feilowmen and who was called on to give up his young and useful life in such a shocking manner.

The pall bearers were from among his co-workers, men from the Northwestern Public Service Company employees and a number more of the company men were in attendance at the funeral.