9:42 p.m.: Farmer killed in tractor accident

By Joe Lanane

July 31, 2008 10:21 pm

— ELWOOD — A 55-year-old Summitville man died Thursday morning in a farming accident in northern Madison County.
Melvin L. Matchett was pinned between a tractor and barn while working with his father, Paul, on the family farm at 4431 W. 1725 North, about eight miles northeast of Elwood.
The incident was reported to the Madison County Sheriff’s Department at 10:18 a.m.
Matchett and his father were putting siding on a barn when the accident occurred, according to Marium Treadways, Matchett’s cousin.
Madison County Coroner Ned Dunnichay said Matchett was in the front end bucket loader of the tractor while performing the work.
Madison County Sheriff Ron Richardson confirmed that report, adding that he believed Matchett was standing on top of a wooden platform on the tractor before when he became trapped between the two objects.
Matchett was confirmed dead on the scene at 11 a.m., Dunnichay said. He said an official cause of death will be determined during an autopsy Friday at Ball Memorial Hospital.
Treadways described her cousin as being more like a brother, and that losing him was a “deep loss” for her and her husband, Jim. Since Matchett’s retirement a few years ago, she said, it was customary for him to lend a helping hand at his parents’ farm.
“He and his dad spent every day fixing up things around the farm; that was just kind of their routine,” Treadways said. “He was learning the ins and outs of farming, and trying to learn as much as he could while his father still had the health to teach him.”
She said the free time since retirement also afforded him the opportunity to take trips with the family, often tubing at Lake Tippecanoe in northern Indiana.
Since his only sibling, Alan, died from heart problems a few years ago, Treadways said the bond between she and Matchett only grew stronger as they continued to take care of each other over the years.
“We’re going to miss him a lot - (Jim and I) were very close to him because we’re all about the same age,” Treadways said. “He was just helpful to us, and I think we were helpful toward him.”
The family is expected to meet with representatives from the Noffze Funeral Home in Alexandria to make arrangements.