5,000 Attend Deal Family Funeral, Jan. 3, 1921

Newton, Jan. 3—The bodies of Perry Deal, aged 59, Mrs. Perry Deal, aged 41, Elbert Deal, 34, son of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Deal, and Luna Belle Deal, daughter of Hibert Deal, aged 11 years, who were killed in Charlotte Sunday morning by a train, were brought to this city Sunday morning and taken to the homeof Perry Deal, where a short funeral service was held in the afternoon. Thousands of friends and relatives of the victims were at the depot when the train arrived. The interment took place at Mount Olive Lutheran church at 3 o’clock, conducted by Rev. George E. Long, pastor, assisted by Rev. O.W. Kreinherider, of Conover, and Rev. George E. Mennen. The crowd at the burial was said to have been the largest ever seen at a service of this kind in the county. It was estimated at 5,000. Mr. And Mrs. Perry Deal are survived by six children, the eldest nine years of age, who is the only surviving member of the automobile party. She is in a serious condition in a Charlotte hospital. The Deals were en route to Newton from Charlotte when their automobile was struck by a freight train on the yard in Charlotte, killing three members of the party outright and seriously injuring the others, one of whom died before reaching the hospital. They had been to Charlotte to attend the funeral of Mrs. Hartsell Deal, daughter-in-law of Mr. and Mrs. Perry Deal., This deplorable tragedy has cast a gloom over the entire town. They were among our most highly respected citizens. (From the front page of the Hickory Daily Record, Monday evening, Jan. 3, 1921)