Frank Grader Badly Burned (1889)

Francis H. Grader (1832-1905)is my 1st cousin, 3x removed on the Klinck side. Last week, while researching another Grader, I instead discovered one dozen articles about Frank! Today I'll begin a series sharing what I found. This piece is from the March 23, 1889 edition of the Boston Journal. In 1889, Frank was a druggist who owned his own store. The article notes that Frank was badly burnt with sulfuric acid from a soda generator, which apparently wasn't uncommon. The fountain consisted of a lead lined chamber where sulphuric acid and powdered marble were mixed to produce carbon dioxide. The generated gas was purified and then sent to a tank of cool water. The tank was manually sloshed around to help the gas dissolve and then piped to the dispensing tap. It wasn’t uncommon for soda fountains to explode as the process for making carbonated water was not particularly safe. The biggest threat was when the pressure vessel holding the carbonated water failed. When this happened, metal, glass and people were sent flying about the store.  (From ArtOfDrink.com, History of the Soda Fountain)