Thirty Years Later: Dueling tragedies bring Cassville families together
Privett
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Sanders
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September 25, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Thirty years ago, on the morning of August 24, 1989, the peaceful sounds of the warm summer morning were crowded out by the sound of an explosion. The source of the explosion was Grande Tire, located now as it was back then on Highway 37 South, near Security Bank.
The reason behind the explosion was quickly revealed to be a faulty horse trailer tire that had exploded while being refilled on the shop’s air compressor. The incident left one employee, Larry Privett, critically injured. This would spark a journey that Privett says was guided by the hand of God himself.
Privett recalled that while a lot of the incident is a haze to him, he still remembers some of the things leading up to the fateful moment.
“About the only thing I remember is that I was running a little late to work,” said Privett. “I remember seeing Doctor Miekley and his wife outside across the road from where I worked, outside feeding their baby calves.”
Dr. Eugene (Doc) Miekley was a veterinarian who owned a clinic near Grande Tire. Little did Dr. Miekley know that his most important treatment that day wouldn’t be a family dog or a sick horse, but rather a human being.
Privett added that his morning routine continued as normal after this observation. Soon after, a customer rolled in a tire that would change the course of Privett’s life forever.
“I got to work and started my regular routine stuff,” Privett continued. “I got the air compressor on and bled the water out of it, and I opened up the doors and made sure everything was in order around the shop. I started fixing tires that morning. I can remember the guy rolling the tire in. I can picture that just plain as day.”
He began maintenance on the tire, and soon after, began filling it at the air compressor. Now, thirty years later, Privett is able to speculate on what exactly happened to the tire to cause the incident.
“It was a faulty tire,” he said. “It beaded out and popped out. It did all the normal stuff. I took the cone off it and was airing it up and was looking at the air gauge to the left of me.”
In the blink of an eye, the situation turned on its head when the tire exploded from the bottom, sending fragments at Privett’s face. He reports that explosion knocked him unconscious, and that his memories from that point on until days after the event are a blank spot in his mind.
“I don’t remember the explosion,” explained Privett. “I don’t remember anything until about four days later.”
According to information divulged to Privett after the fact, he was caught by another employee at the shop and laid on the floor. Unsure of what to do, the employee ran out of the shop and called for help. It was at this point that Dr. Miekley broke from feeding his livestock and ran over to assist.
The doctor treated Privett, keeping him in stable condition until the ambulance arrived to take Privett to the hospital.
After arriving and being deemed stable by the hospital, a helicopter arrived to transport Privett to a hospital in Springfield, where he would receive treatment for his injuries. Privett explained that he believes that he was wheeled to the helipad by fellow employees Lloyd Ball and Jim Eskalin.
After several x-rays and treatments, it was revealed that Privett had suffered multiple injuries from the debris that collided with him in the explosion. He recollects having been told his injuries included: a major head injury; a busted skull; a broken eye socket; shattered sinuses; and, worst of all, severe damage to the cornea of one his eyes that had the potential to leave him permanently blinded.
While many of these injuries could be corrected, to perform the surgery on Privett’s eye, a donor with a healthy cornea was needed.
During this time another Cassville resident was also in the hospital, his condition far more critical than Privett’s.
Freddy Leon “Sandy” Sanders was a face that many living in Cassville at the time were familiar with. He was a part-owner in a local machine shop who had lived in Cassville for his whole life and drove a bus for Cassville R-IV School District on the side. His oldest daughter, Becky Hillburn, of Cassville, remembers him fondly.
“He was a supporter of Cassville sports. He was a great supporter of the school in general,” said Hillburn. “He was also a fisherman. He fished Roaring River every year. He was very dedicated.
“He was one of those guys that when you met him in his pickup truck driving, he would wave at you. He would always wave with one finger. He would always raise that index finger and wave to everybody.”
“It really connected our families. I call Larry my ‘other brother’,” explained Hillburn.
Several years before the incident, Sanders had his first heart attack while unloading parts during a delivery. His condition declined steadily afterwards, until 1989 when he was hospitalized in Springfield for heart-related complications.
Sanders spent eight days in the hospital before he passed on August 25, just one day after Privett was admitted to the hospital. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, and his four children, of whom Becky is the oldest.
Soon after, a nurse visited with Sanders’ widow, explaining that there was another Cassville man in the hospital that her husband could help. The nurse explained that in order to perform an operation, they would need an eye from a donor with a healthy cornea, and her husband fit the bill.
Ruth agreed to the operation. Hillburn explained that this is something that, if her father were there, he would have agreed with.
“He was really friendly, likeable, and he helped anyone that he could help,” Hillburn explained. “That’s why when they came to mom and asked her if he would be a donor, she told them that he would. He was always trying to help somebody, that’s why, even though he was gone, she thought that he would be willing to help someone any way that he could.”
The operation was a success, and Privett was cleared to leave the hospital a few days later.
At the time, Privett was unaware of the identity of his donor. This information wouldn’t come to him until a few months later, when he ran into Ruth Sanders at the local grocery store.
“It was about three or four months. I saw Ruth at the old Wal-Mart and she told me that he donated his eye to me,” explained Privett. “At that time, I didn’t even know exactly when that happened. It was a real shock. I didn’t know what to say when she told me. It was something you don’t expect to hear. It was definitely a miracle.”
To this day, Privett says that he is grateful for the opportunity afforded to him by Sanders.
“I wouldn’t know what to say if he was here today,” he said. “I kept trying to find the right words for his wife, but I just didn’t know what to say except miracles do happen.”
Privett, still needing time to heal, was out of work for 11 months. After the first six months that he was out of work, he was let go from Grande Tire, a development that he believes was for the best.
“I couldn’t go back to fixing tires,” he explained. “I started at the City of Cassville. I’ve been with the city for a little over 29 years. It’s been really good to me. It’s a great job.”
To this day, Privett still works for the City as part of the public works department. He also works part time for the Butterfield Water department.
Though his injuries have long since healed, he still lives with lessened vision in the affected eye.
Both Hillburn and Privett say that the incident inspired them both to have full-confidence in the organ donor program.
“It’s really important to be a donor, because you could really improve the quality of someone’s life,” explained Hillburn. “When you’re done with your organs, there’s no sense just burying them.”
Both also feel that due to the timing of the events that brought their families together, that it was the hand of God himself that guided the fallout.
“It really was God’s timing. It will make you believe in miracles,” said Privett.
Vinnie Roberts
Thirty years ago, on the morning of August 24, 1989, the peaceful sounds of the warm summer morning were crowded out by the sound of an explosion. The source of the explosion was Grande Tire, located now as it was back then on Highway 37 South, near Security Bank.
The reason behind the explosion was quickly revealed to be a faulty horse trailer tire that had exploded while being refilled on the shop’s air compressor. The incident left one employee, Larry Privett, critically injured. This would spark a journey that Privett says was guided by the hand of God himself.
Privett recalled that while a lot of the incident is a haze to him, he still remembers some of the things leading up to the fateful moment.
“About the only thing I remember is that I was running a little late to work,” said Privett. “I remember seeing Doctor Miekley and his wife outside across the road from where I worked, outside feeding their baby calves.”
Dr. Eugene (Doc) Miekley was a veterinarian who owned a clinic near Grande Tire. Little did Dr. Miekley know that his most important treatment that day wouldn’t be a family dog or a sick horse, but rather a human being.
Privett added that his morning routine continued as normal after this observation. Soon after, a customer rolled in a tire that would change the course of Privett’s life forever.
“I got to work and started my regular routine stuff,” Privett continued. “I got the air compressor on and bled the water out of it, and I opened up the doors and made sure everything was in order around the shop. I started fixing tires that morning. I can remember the guy rolling the tire in. I can picture that just plain as day.”
He began maintenance on the tire, and soon after, began filling it at the air compressor. Now, thirty years later, Privett is able to speculate on what exactly happened to the tire to cause the incident.
“It was a faulty tire,” he said. “It beaded out and popped out. It did all the normal stuff. I took the cone off it and was airing it up and was looking at the air gauge to the left of me.”
In the blink of an eye, the situation turned on its head when the tire exploded from the bottom, sending fragments at Privett’s face. He reports that explosion knocked him unconscious, and that his memories from that point on until days after the event are a blank spot in his mind.
“I don’t remember the explosion,” explained Privett. “I don’t remember anything until about four days later.”
According to information divulged to Privett after the fact, he was caught by another employee at the shop and laid on the floor. Unsure of what to do, the employee ran out of the shop and called for help. It was at this point that Dr. Miekley broke from feeding his livestock and ran over to assist.
The doctor treated Privett, keeping him in stable condition until the ambulance arrived to take Privett to the hospital.
After arriving and being deemed stable by the hospital, a helicopter arrived to transport Privett to a hospital in Springfield, where he would receive treatment for his injuries. Privett explained that he believes that he was wheeled to the helipad by fellow employees Lloyd Ball and Jim Eskalin.
After several x-rays and treatments, it was revealed that Privett had suffered multiple injuries from the debris that collided with him in the explosion. He recollects having been told his injuries included: a major head injury; a busted skull; a broken eye socket; shattered sinuses; and, worst of all, severe damage to the cornea of one his eyes that had the potential to leave him permanently blinded.
While many of these injuries could be corrected, to perform the surgery on Privett’s eye, a donor with a healthy cornea was needed.
During this time another Cassville resident was also in the hospital, his condition far more critical than Privett’s.
Freddy Leon “Sandy” Sanders was a face that many living in Cassville at the time were familiar with. He was a part-owner in a local machine shop who had lived in Cassville for his whole life and drove a bus for Cassville R-IV School District on the side. His oldest daughter, Becky Hillburn, of Cassville, remembers him fondly.
“He was a supporter of Cassville sports. He was a great supporter of the school in general,” said Hillburn. “He was also a fisherman. He fished Roaring River every year. He was very dedicated.
“He was one of those guys that when you met him in his pickup truck driving, he would wave at you. He would always wave with one finger. He would always raise that index finger and wave to everybody.”
“It really connected our families. I call Larry my ‘other brother’,” explained Hillburn.
Several years before the incident, Sanders had his first heart attack while unloading parts during a delivery. His condition declined steadily afterwards, until 1989 when he was hospitalized in Springfield for heart-related complications.
Sanders spent eight days in the hospital before he passed on August 25, just one day after Privett was admitted to the hospital. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, and his four children, of whom Becky is the oldest.
Soon after, a nurse visited with Sanders’ widow, explaining that there was another Cassville man in the hospital that her husband could help. The nurse explained that in order to perform an operation, they would need an eye from a donor with a healthy cornea, and her husband fit the bill.
Ruth agreed to the operation. Hillburn explained that this is something that, if her father were there, he would have agreed with.
“He was really friendly, likeable, and he helped anyone that he could help,” Hillburn explained. “That’s why when they came to mom and asked her if he would be a donor, she told them that he would. He was always trying to help somebody, that’s why, even though he was gone, she thought that he would be willing to help someone any way that he could.”
The operation was a success, and Privett was cleared to leave the hospital a few days later.
At the time, Privett was unaware of the identity of his donor. This information wouldn’t come to him until a few months later, when he ran into Ruth Sanders at the local grocery store.
“It was about three or four months. I saw Ruth at the old Wal-Mart and she told me that he donated his eye to me,” explained Privett. “At that time, I didn’t even know exactly when that happened. It was a real shock. I didn’t know what to say when she told me. It was something you don’t expect to hear. It was definitely a miracle.”
To this day, Privett says that he is grateful for the opportunity afforded to him by Sanders.
“I wouldn’t know what to say if he was here today,” he said. “I kept trying to find the right words for his wife, but I just didn’t know what to say except miracles do happen.”
Privett, still needing time to heal, was out of work for 11 months. After the first six months that he was out of work, he was let go from Grande Tire, a development that he believes was for the best.
“I couldn’t go back to fixing tires,” he explained. “I started at the City of Cassville. I’ve been with the city for a little over 29 years. It’s been really good to me. It’s a great job.”
To this day, Privett still works for the City as part of the public works department. He also works part time for the Butterfield Water department.
Though his injuries have long since healed, he still lives with lessened vision in the affected eye.
Both Hillburn and Privett say that the incident inspired them both to have full-confidence in the organ donor program.
“It’s really important to be a donor, because you could really improve the quality of someone’s life,” explained Hillburn. “When you’re done with your organs, there’s no sense just burying them.”
Both also feel that due to the timing of the events that brought their families together, that it was the hand of God himself that guided the fallout.
“It really was God’s timing. It will make you believe in miracles,” said Privett.
