The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1902-04-03
kenosha Life Saving Crew Mustered
Into Service for the twenty
Fourth Year.
CEREMONY OCCURS AT MIDNIGHT
But One Change Has Been Made in the
Crew for the New Season and an Old
Member of the Crew Retires.

! The Kenosha Life Saving crew was
mustered into service for another sea-
sons work this morning and there is
an air OF activity about the station on
Washing Oh Island which shows that
the boys are town to work in earnest.
The muster IN occurred at midnight,
when Captain Cameron, who has been
in charge of the station for so many
years, called the roll and mustered his
mates into the service.
| All the old members of the crew
were present at the muster in but An
drew Buer, who has been in the SER
vice for several years, failed to take a
place with the crew for another year,
and Carl Roppman, from Bai1ey's Har-
Dor, was mustered in as number three
to take the place of Buer.
The Kenosha crew is one of ,the best
known on the lakes, both for years of
service and for efficient work. The
first crew, organized in Kenosha
twenty-five years ago, was the first
crew between Milwaukee and Chi
cago. It was in charge Of Captain
B. G. Cameron, an old life saver, and
he is still at the head Of the crew.
John Mahoney was also member of
the crew when first organized and with
his chief he has followed the fortunes
of the crew ever since. Several Of the
men have seen eight, ten and twelve
years of service and there is not sim
gle green man on the crew with the
exception of Roppman.
During the year just past the gov
eminent has spent considerable money
on the Kenosha station adding new
equipment and it is the plan to build a
new station on Washington Island
during the present year. When the
government first determined to make
Kenosha harbor of refuge, it began
to send the latest appliances for life
saving to the local station until now it
is as well or better equipped than any
station outside of Milwaukee in the
State.
During the quarter of century in
opened it is estimated that more than
two hundred lives have been saved by
Kenosha crews and it is claimed that
Captain Cameron has been instru-
mental in the saving Of more than
hundred lives.
Two years ago the United States
government sent to Capt. Cameron
gold medal, on which was enumerated
list of eight events in which the Ke-
nosha. crew had taken part, and in
which the bravery of the memb of
the crew and the Captain had been
worthy of special mention in the rec
ords of the department. The log at
the station shows that the first big
haul of the Kenosha crew occurred in
1883, when the lumber barge Rock
away, running between Milwaukee
and Chicago, houndered off Kenosha.
The Captain and the crew launched
the surf boat and rowed two miles
fighting with ice foes and breakers
and finally managed to reach the sink
ing vessel and rescue the seven men
Later in the day the crew returned and
repaired the sails of the Rockaway ard
brought her into the Kenosha harbor.
On the oath of November the Kenosha
crew gained undying fame by saw
ing the crew of the steamer Scion Fl.
Johnson, which went down eight hum
dred feet from the shore near the vii
lage of Benton, Ill. The report of the
sinking ship had been brought to Ke-
nosha early IN the morning and Capt.
Cameron and the crew hurried to the
rescue. After dragging the surf boat
for more than seven miles the crew
found on arriving at the wreck that it
was impossible to reach the sinking
steamer and the Lyle gun was called
into service. Captain Cameron shot
the rope over the bow of the boat and
ten men we're hauled in through the
breakers, all being saved. On April
18th ffteens.men were taken off the
Hattie Earle, which had been wrecked
a few miles south of Kenosha. On
DEC. .. 1890, the crew managed to save
the lives of ten men from the steamer
Van Ralte which went ashore near
Kemper Hall.
Many times the crew has been called
out to rescue one or two people, but
these occasions are seldom set down il
the log, as the older members Of the
crew seem to regard these as simply
practice trips.
The coming together of the crew for
another year was like family re-
union and the boys slipped back to
their old rooms and began the work
just as if there had been no vacation.
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