Article June 19, 2000 Issue

THE CHAIN BROKE LOOSE ... AND I PRAYED

David Drew Hohle

During my last year of college, I took a job at an iron foundry, where I worked the second shift. Within a few weeks I became part of a small crew responsible for pulling newly poured iron castings from their sand molds. Using overhead cranes and chains, we pulled perhaps ten large castings every night, the heaviest weighing about twenty-five tons.

Because the castings were usually less than twenty-four hours old, they were still red hot as we worked with them. We had to cool the chains with water frequently to protect them. Our work left piles of smoldering sand everywhere, so we had to be careful where we stepped. On several occasions my pant cuffs actually caught fire.

One night as we were lifting a casting weighing several tons, one chain broke loose and the weight fell. The sudden release of tension caused the heavy chain to snap like a whip. It crashed violently into my partner and slammed him to the floor. As I came toward him, he tried to stand up, but fell back down. Within a few seconds he was surrounded by other workers, and I realized that I had nothing to add, humanly, to the help he was receiving. So I picked up his safety glasses and turned away.

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