I don't believe there are any DeGraves in my family tree's direct line, but we've got plenty of Hermans to go around. Perhaps the article was clipped because it had to do with Orville and a dear friend (or girlfriend).
There was no date on the article apart from a handwritten "1949" at the bottom. Christmas in 1949 was on Sunday and the accident occurred on a Sunday. Perhaps "Christmas night" actually meant Christmas Eve.
Either way, today we remember Goldrine DeGrave. A beautiful young woman that was taken away from her loved ones at far too young and age.
"Goldrine DeGrave, above, 16-year-old Fairland girl, was killed in an automobile accident near Luxemburg Sunday morning. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William DeGrave.
Tire Blowout Fatal
A tire blowout at 6 o'clock Sunday morning apparently caused the death of Goldrine DeGrave, 16-year-old Fairland girl. The driver of the car, Orville Hermans, 17, of Tonet, is in a serious condition in St. Vincent hospital in Green Bay.
Skid marks showed how the car left the road and crashed into a machine shed on County Trunk A about 2 1/2 miles north of Luxemburg in Kewaunee county. Fred Cravillion is owner of the shed.
There were no witnesses to the accident. The Cravillions were just getting out of bed and heard the crash, as did Mr. and Mrs. Henry Frisque across the road. Mrs. Cravillion said that the girl was still conscious when she got there a few minutes later, but died by the time a doctor arrived.
The Hermans youth had spent Christmas night at the DeGrave home. He and the girl left early so that he could take the girl to his own home in Tonet, where she planned to spend Sunday, before reporting for work at the Badger creamery in Luxemburg.
The body was taken to the McMahon Funeral home in Luxemburg, and was removed to the DeGrave residence today. The rosary will be recited at 8 o'clock tonight and Tuesday night. Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning in St. Louis Catholic church, Dyckesville, with the Rev. Ludolph Jacobs officiating. Burial will be in the church cemetery.
Goldrine DeGrave was born in the town of Red River, Kewaunee county, June 13, 1932. Besides her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William DeGrave, she is survived by four brothers, Myron, Marvin, Melvin, and Milton, all at home; her paternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank DeGrave, town of Red River, and maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Eli DuBoise, Fairland."