Dog Guards Fallen Boy From Death on Tracks

Searching for one thing can occasionally lead a person to encounter something unexpected and yet equally as fascinating. This has happened to me when researching families, and most recently occurred while looking for the Dave Hagenbuch who recorded the song “Who’s There Now.”

In order to find Dave’s identity, I sought out a David Hagenbuch who lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was born during the 1950s or 1960s. One of the first Davids I found was mentioned in a newspaper article from 1957. He didn’t end up being the David who recorded the song. However, this David still had an interesting story to share.

The following article was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer on April 8, 1957:

Dog Guards Fallen Boy
From Death on Tracks

A devoted German shepherd dog yesterday stood guard over his dazed, 3-year-old master who lay inches from the 750-volt power line on the Philadelphia and Western Street Railway Co. high-speed line tracks in Haverford Township until rescued by police.

Two Haverford Township patrolmen halted a Norristown-29th St. trolley as it sped to the site where blond, curly-haired David Hagenbuch lay, his dog, Prince, bristling by his side.

Taken to the Hospital

Patrolmen Alexander Anthony and Samuel Mostardi finally drove off the protecting Prince and took the boy to Bryn Mawr Hospital. Physicians there said he had face scratches and a bump on his head but no serious injury. He was sent home.

David, son of John and Ella Hagenbuch, of 203 Morlyn Ave., Bryn Mawr, wandered off while playing shortly after noon near his house. His mother was feeding a daughter, Kathy, 4. Two other daughters, Mae Dell, 6, and Bonnie, 8, were playing in the house.

Railway officials received telephone calls that a small boy was seen walking with a dog along the tracks. They telephoned Haverford Township police.

David Hagenbuch, age three, with his dog, Prince, 1957

Boy on Tracks

Anthony and Mostardi went to Haverford and Rugby Rds, about three blocks from David’s home, and saw the boy laying on the southbound tracks. The dog stood over the young charge, who lay less than a foot from the third rail.

When the policemen approached the dog, Prince bared his teeth and snarled at them.

At that moment a southbound trolley approached the place where the boy lay. Anthony ran back about 100 feet and flagged the train to stop.

When he rejoined Mostardi the policemen waved their clubs at Prince and frightened him far enough away to pick up the boy. He seemed bewildered and only semi-conscious. They put David into the police car and drove to the hospital.

Thanks to the detailed newspaper article, it was easy to locate this David Hagenbuch on our family tree. David V. Hagenbuch is the son of John Daniel Hagenbuch (b. 1918) and Ella Jane Van Horn (b. 1921). His family line is: Andreas (b. 1715) > Henry (b. 1737) > Jacob (b. 1765) > Daniel (b. 1803) > Jacob (b. 1830) > John Daniel (b. 1874) > Jacob (b. 1895) > John “Jack” Daniel (b. 1918) > David (b. 1954).

His great grandfather, John Daniel (b. 1874), was featured in previous piece. He worked as an assistant to the president of Bethlehem Steel and testified before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor in 1902. Presumably, David’s father, John Daniel (b. 1918) who went by “Jack,” was named after his grandfather.

USS Wasp after being torpedoed, 1942. Credit: Wikipedia.org

Jack was in contact with my father, Mark, in 1978. My father collected details about the family then, including that Jack had served as a first lieutenant in the United States Navy during World War II. He was aboard the USS Wasp, an aircraft carrier that was torpedoed and sunk during the Battle of Midway. He also served on the battleships the USS South Dakota and USS New Jersey.

In 1943, Jack Hagenbuch married Ella Jane Van Horn (b. 1921) who had graduated from Harvard (at the time, Radcliffe College for women). After the war, they lived in Philadelphia. Later they moved to Haverford Township, a suburb of Philadelphia. Jack worked as a mechanical engineer. Together the couple had six children: Bonnie, Maydelle, David, Kathryn, Maryanne, and Daniel.

Wedding announcement for Ella Jane (Van Horn) Hagenbuch, 1943

David followed in his father’s footsteps and also became a mechanical engineer. He spent most of his career working within the power generation industry. David and his wife, Lisa, live in Palatine, Illinois and have several grown children.

Genealogy is full of serendipitous moments—twists and turns that lead to unexpected finds. The story of how a young David Hagenbuch was watched over by his dog, Prince, is heartwarming story, and finding it has helped us to learn more about David’s family group.

A current picture of David V. Hagenbuch from his LinkedIn

While writing this piece, I contacted David to see what, if anything, he remembered about the incident on the railroad tracks. At present, I haven’t heard anything back. Still, it is my hope that we will connect eventually, and that he may have more information to share about his Hagenbuch line.