The Fall to His Death

At age 18, Thomas Welch was hired by the Bridal Veil Lumbering Company.  On July 7, 1924, his first day at work Tom fell from the scaffolding above the mill from a height of 55 feet.  He hit his head on a beam at 30 feet, then fell into the adjacent pond.  70 coworkers saw him fall to his death.  After searching for 45 minutes, coworkers found Tom's body under 10 feet of water at the bottom of the pond.  There was no water in his lungs, indicating he was dead before falling into the water. Tom came back to life in answer to prayer at the scene.  He was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon.  He was not expected to live.