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Harold Lancaster

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Birth	:	1932 South Carolina, USA
Death	:	18 Dec 1946 Newberry County, South Carolina, USA
Burial	:	Mount Joy Baptist Church Cemetery, Kelton, Union County, USA
Coordinate	:	34.8342310, -81.5804740
Description	:	A brother of Ralph Lancaster. Killed in the Silverstreet Bus-Train Accident in December, 1946. Harold is buried in Mt. Joy Cemetery beside two of his nephews and a niece who were also killed in this tradgedy. State, The (Columbia, SC) 2000-12-17 Section: FRONT Edition: FINAL Page: A1 1946 SCHOOL BUS HORROR REVISITED MIKE RAMSEY Staff Writer Richard Sanders gunned the engine of his bus to make it over the slick, steep embankment of the Southern railroad tracks on his route. The school bus was halfway across the tracks when a train crushed it at 8:10 a.m., Dec. 18, 1946. Sanders and 11 children died, as... Read More	A brother of Ralph Lancaster. Killed in the Silverstreet Bus-Train Accident in December, 1946. Harold is buried in Mt. Joy Cemetery beside two of his nephews and a niece who were also killed in this tradgedy. State, The (Columbia, SC) 2000-12-17 Section: FRONT Edition: FINAL Page: A1 1946 SCHOOL BUS HORROR REVISITED MIKE RAMSEY Staff Writer Richard Sanders gunned the engine of his bus to make it over the slick, steep embankment of the Southern railroad tracks on his route. The school bus was halfway across the tracks when a train crushed it at 8:10 a.m., Dec. 18, 1946. Sanders and 11 children died, as the accident claimed almost a tenth of Silverstreet's students. For 54 years, nothing has marked the site of the worst bus accident in state history except the scars on the survivors. But at 3 p.m. today, the Silverstreet Alumni Association will unveil a stone marker with the names of those who died at the site of the Newberry County tragedy. It was a long time coming for an event that crushed a town. "Of course, everybody was devastated," said Betty Willingham, who was in the ninth grade and has helped organize the memorial. "We didn't have any kind of memorial service for them as a group. There were no telephones and there was not a lot of money to do a lot with. We just rocked alone." Scattered throughout the area are survivors of the crash and family members of those who died. Willingham has tracked down family members of those killed and expects someone from each family will attend today's memorial. Even the superintendent of the school in 1946, John Grady Long, 96, is expected to attend. Seven families lost children, often with one sibling surviving and the other dying. "It was worse than you can imagine," said Grace Lancaster, 89, whose two sons, niece and young brother-in-law died in the wreck. Only her daughter, Lorena Summer, survived. Critically injured, she recovered and now cares for her mother. Summer said she doesn't remember the accident, only the awful pain afterward. It was her 15th birthday, cold and raining. She supposes she got in the bus like normal, sitting on the long bench seat with her head resting on the window, facing the children on the other side of the bus. "The old man got up speed to get up over the tracks," she said. And that's the end of her memory. What followed was grotesque horror. Bodies were strewn for 1,000 feet from the accident. Homework and clothing lay spread across the tracks. Two children were found in the cow-catcher on the front of the train. Amazingly, Alberta Moates, 9, was unharmed. She stood up, dazed, and started walking. "In my mind, I was going home," said Alberta, whose last name is now Bright. "I asked my baby brother, sitting on the track, to go with me, but he said his hip hurt." O'Dell Moates, 7, had a crushed hip. Stumbling through the nearby woods, Bright, 14-year-old Betty Jane Murray and a train crewman found a farmhouse owned by R.E. Hamm. "He cleaned me up and put me to bed," Bright said. Somehow, none of the four Moates children - Alberta, O'Dell, Otis, 12, and George, 13 - died. Six others also survived. 'Everyone knew which bus right away.' An hour and 40 minutes late, the train from Greenville to Columbia was traveling at 45 mph when it smashed into the bus. There was no signal at the crossing, and the road's muddy steep climb and trees lining the road made it impossible to see a train coming before getting onto the tracks, according to a Columbia Record article. Word of the accident brought cars from everywhere, clogging the thin muddy country road, and impeding the ambulances. Silverstreet school was canceled and word spread to nearby Newberry, where many of the mothers of the children worked. At first, no one knew which bus was hit. "So many of the women from that area worked in a sewing room in Newberry," Willingham said. "When word reached the sewing room, the owner told all the ladies from Silverstreet to go to the hospital. My mother was one of them working. When they brought the first child in, everyone knew which bus right away." Summer said her family received cards and condolences from around the country. But now the event is hardly remembered. The bus wreckage, which sat to the side of the tracks for years, is gone. Another cold, rainy day. Standing alongside the tracks Saturday, on a cold, murky day similar to the day of the accident, Summer tries to find the remains of the bus. "The week before that, we were coming down from the other direction, and we came over the rise and about the time we got over it, one of those railcars almost hit us," Summer said. The road, now called Werts Road, and the approaches to the track, now operated by Norfolk-Southern, long since have been improved. And fatal bus crashes are rare. Between 1951 and 1987, only four occupants of school buses were killed according to Department of Public Safety records. Although older records are not complete, the Silverstreet crash appears to be the most deadly bus accident in state history. Silverstreet school was merged into Newberry schools, and most of the families live elsewhere. Articles tacked on the walls of nearby Senn Freight Lines, and the memories of a few survivors and friends are all that's left. And now a stone marker. SCHOOL BUS TRAGEDY REMEMBERED Eleven students and a bus driver were killed Dec. 18, 1946, when a train struck a bus heading to Silverstreet school. A stone marker at the site, to be unveiled at 3 p.m. today, will commemorate those killed. They were: * Peggy Joyce Riser, 13 * Johnny Wyman Riser, 7 * Jerry Padgett, 13 * Bobby Long, 7 * Libby Long, 12 * Charleen Rebecca Garner, 6 * Jack Lancaster, 13 * Robert Lancaster, 16 * Harold Lancaster, 14 * Donald Brannon, age unknown * Fanny Murray, 16 * Richard Sanders, 48 Train-School Bus Collision: Silver Street, South Carolina (also near Old Town, S.C.) Time and Date: 8:10 a.m., December 18, 1946 Weather conditions: Cold and rain Event: School bus drives on to rail grade crossing in front on an approaching train. Injuries: 11school bus passengers and bus driver die, 10 school bus passengers injured. Accident report: Interstate Commerce Commission Investigation No. 3050 Description of the collision: School bus driver Richard Sanders was crossing the single track line when a Southern Railway passenger train traveling at about 45 mph struck the bus. While there were no signals at the crossing, an advance railroad-crossing sign was located 250 feet north of the crossing. And standard cross-buck railroad-crossing signs were located on the highway 13 feet both north and south of the center-line of the track. Evidently Sanders was not preparing to stop at the crossing due to the fact that he had to get up enough speed to get up and over the raised railroad track roadbed. Plus, with trees lining the road, it was impossible for Sanders to see the train coming before getting onto the tracks. Seven families lost children, often with one sibling surviving and the other dying. Two children were later found in the train engine's cowcatcher. A marker was placed at the site on December 18, 2000 commemorating the accident. Cause of accident: "It is found that this accident was caused by failure to operate a school bus approaching a railroad crossing at grade in accordance with requirements of law." -- ICC #3050

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Harold Lancaster's memorial?
Harold Lancaster's memorial is located at: Mount Joy Baptist Church Cemetery, Kelton, Union County, USA.
When did Harold Lancaster death?
Harold Lancaster death on 18 Dec 1946 in Newberry County, South Carolina, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Harold Lancaster's memorial?
Latitude: 34.8342310
Longitude: -81.5804740

Family Members:

Parent

Ralph D Lancaster

(1908 - 1965)

Grace Elizabeth Garner Lancaster

(1911 - 2002)

Siblings

Sarah Lorena Lancaster Summer

(1931 - 2015)

Jackie Lancaster

(1934 - 1946)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Mount Joy Baptist Church Cemetery
Kelton, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8342310, -81.5804740

2. Bethany AME Church Cemetery
Jonesville, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8330850, -81.5851980

3. Porter Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8302994, -81.5856018

4. Foster Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Jonesville, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8266983, -81.5849991

5. Bethel Baptist Church Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8346180, -81.5670930

6. Ebenezer A.M.E. Church Cemetery
Jonesville, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8267300, -81.5671600

7. Going Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8457985, -81.5655975

8. Kelly Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8367004, -81.6044006

9. Hames-Gault Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8492012, -81.5963974

10. McKissick Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8492012, -81.5516968

11. Flat Rock Cemetery
Kelton, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8614006, -81.5947037

12. Haney Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8018990, -81.5783005

13. Smith Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8661003, -81.5892029

14. Bethlehem United Methodist Church Cemetery
Union, Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8050003, -81.6003036

15. Gallman Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8018990, -81.6006012

16. Askew Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8638992, -81.6066971

17. Mark Hill Baptist Church Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8329760, -81.6261160

18. Free Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7975006, -81.5681000

19. Johnson Family
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8494500, -81.6241670

20. Garner Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8574982, -81.5350037

21. Foster-Woolbright Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8403015, -81.5222015

22. Fawcett Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.7839012, -81.5832977

23. Spears Cemetery
Union County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8708000, -81.5381012

24. Skull Shoals Baptist Church Cemetery
Gaffney, Cherokee County, USA
Coordinate: 34.8789780, -81.5297340