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Brave Guthrie lifter wins Theodore N. Vail Gold Medal
Charles Erwin Rider a Guthrie Oklahoma telephone installer received the Theodore N. Vail Gold Medal at a ceremony in Oklahoma City. The award, with a $500 prize, honored his act of bravery on June 5 1923 when he crossed a raging Cimarron River to repair 34 downed lines during a gasoline fire on a derailed Santa Fe bridge. He risked death from burning fuel and exploding tank cars to restore critical toll circuits.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Oklahoma City
Charles Erwin Rider
Guthrie
Oklahoma
Vail
State of
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company
Rider
Southwestern System
Eugene D. Nims
Nims
M. E. Trapp
A. Cargill
W. M. Harrison
Oklahoma Daily Times
Hd Overholser
Chamber of Commerce of
Theodore N. Vail
Bell
Cimarron River
Santa Fe Yrailroad
Chicago
Gulf
American Telephone and Telegraph Company
Southestern Bell Telephone Company
Kansas City
Texas
Hmb
Telephone Company
Nider
Cimarron