9/30/2006:
A fourteen-year-old Fargo boy experienced a bit of a surprise on this day in 1913 when he attempted to help out the local electrician. Ibey Barnes was crossing the street in downtown Fargo when he noticed Charles Arvig of the Union Light, Heat and Power Company attempting to repair the corner streetlamp. The streetlamp had burned out and, after installing a new rod, the electrician was trying to raise the lamp back up by using wires and pulleys. As Barnes approached the scene, he noticed that the wires had become entangled in the pulleys. Unaware that there was a current in the wires, the boy reached out to catch the swinging lamp and was met with a 2,500-volt electric shock. The electric current held Barnes fast and Arvig, wearing rubber gloves, was forced to pull him from the wires. Although unconscious for the next fifteen minutes, the fortunate boy somehow escaped with only minor burns on his hand.
Written by: Jayme Job
Fargo Forum and Daily Republican. October 2, 1913 (Evening Ed.): p. 6.