Pinned Beneath Burning
Car on Altamont Hill 

Stanley Williams, of Knox, county sealer of weights and measures, pinned beneath his automobile in a ditch on the Wasson turn of the Altamont road Wednesday night, saved his own life by throwing mud and dirt on the blazing gasoline spilled about him and poking mud into the gas tank.
Mr. Williams was on his way to his Albany home, 789 Park avenue, when the accident happened. 

At the supervisors dinner at the Elks club later Mr. Williams told of his experience. 

“The Wasson turn,” he explained, “is the steepest part of the Altamont hill. My chains seemed to skid and as the car went into the ditch I automatically put on the brakes and then released them again. The minute I released them again the car went up an almost perpendicular twelve foot bank. Then it turned over and the steering wheel caught me just below the ribs. I tried to wiggle out but I could move only my left leg. Then I saw flames. My hands were free and I scooped up mud and dirt and threw it over the blaze and into the engine space. I poked mud into the gasoline tank, the top of which had come off. 

“Other motor cars came along the road and stopped and in a few minutes there were ten men who managed to lift the car high enough to free me. The mud had extinguished the fire.” 

Beyond suffering a bruised ankle and having his coat ripped Mr. Williams was not injured. The car was righted and he was able to drive it to Albany. 

Mr. Williams is vice chairman of the Albany county Democratic committee. 

QUAKER STREET 

Several children in this village are ill with measles. 

VOORHEESVILLE 

A large Bible for use in the pulpit was presented to the Presbyterian church on Christmas eve by the Men’s Brotherhood of the church. 

VILLAGE NOTES 

Men are at work at Makely’s garage today putting together a Sargent snow plow from Bangor, Maine, and adjusting parts on a five-ton caterpillar tractor made by the Holt Manufacturing company of Peoria, Ill. This tractor weighs 9,400 pounds, and the plow 3,100 pounds. The total cost of one of these tractors, with plow attached, is $4,884. The Holt tractor has four speeds forward and four reverse, and is capable of attaining a speed of approximately 10 miles an hour. The tractor and plow at Altamont is one of the five forming the county’s snow removal equipment and will be available for use now should the present snow storm continue. The other plows have been placed at Coeymans, Bethlehem Center, Delmar and Loudonville. As we go to press the county tractor and plow has started out for a demonstration, manned by experienced men, and from the way it went down Maple avenue toward Main street, cleaning nearly the entire width of the pavement, it will prove a great aid to traffic when the deeper snows come. 

GIFFORDS 

Dogs got after the sheep of Kelly Scrafford of Settle’s Hill Saturday night, killing one and wounding several. Mr. Scrafford hasn’t been able to discover who owned the dogs. 

BARBER’S CORNERS 

Everyone was glad to see a little snow on the ground for Christmas. 

MARIAVILLE 

Mah Jong, the new Chinese game, has struck Mariaville hard.