Herman Steinbach: Head-first into the furnace

Herman Steinbach some 84 years after his descent into the furnace.

This is one of those stories that illustrate the hazards small children must sometimes survive in order to grow into productive adults. Or that cleaning house can have near-fatal results. Depending.

This situation reported in The Chariton Leader of April 25, 1933, developed when Grace Steinbach, intent on spring cleaning in her Chariton home, removed the cover of a cold-air furnace return. Little Herman, her 18-month-old son, was playing nearby. Here's the report of what happened next, headlined "Neighborhood Upset by Little Herman's Slide into the Furnace" ---

"Herman Steinbach, 18-month-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Steinbach of Chariton, tumbled head first into an open cold air register at his home Saturday, slid approximately 15 feet down the pipe to the furnace in the basement, and was removed with only a scratch or two on one hand as a souvenir of the experience.

"The accident happened after Mrs. Steinbach had removed the cover from the register to clean it. She looked away long enough for little Herman to discover the hole and fall in.

"Her scream attracted Earl Milnes, a passing dairyman, who removed a portion of the pipe in the basement with the aid of neighbors who were attracted to the scene, and took Herman from his resting place at the junction of the pipe and the fire bowl, to again restore peace and quiet to the badly upset neighborhood."

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Little Herman did not grow up in Chariton, and so perhaps was spared the endless retelling of this story at family get-togethers.

Joe and Grace and their son had moved prior to 1940 to Visalia, California, where he opened a retail meat market --- a Steinbach family tradition --- and was operating it during that year. Sadly, the senior Mr. Steinbach died in a car crash at Visalia on May 3, 1966.

Herman, too, continued in the family business and during 1952, enlisted in the U.S. Army for two years. He's now 87 and a so far as I know still living in or near Visalia. The photo of Herman at the top here was taken from the Vilasia newspaper and shows Herman reading a memorial inscription in Washington, D.C., while participating in an honor flight for veterans to the nation's capital during October of 2017.