The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1910-05-19
EIGHT DROWNED
IN MILL POND
School Children Lose Lives as
Result OF fTohe,
SIX GIRLS AaO TWO BOYS
Panic Stricken Girls Grasped the Boys
and Chung to Them Desperately,
Dragging Two of Them Down-Four
Others Saved Themselves.

Six girls and two boys. members OF
the graduating and junior classes az
the Huntington Mills high school,
fifteen miles from Wilkes Barre. Pa.
, lost their lives by dr3waiug IN Il
mill pond near the school Four other
boys managed TO reach shore and save
themselves. The drowned were all be
tween sixteen and eighteen years of
age.
The pupils came to the school from
some distance and carried luncheon.
After they had eaten at noon a party
of the older ones. six girls and six
boys, proposed going for a row on the
old mill pond. They embarked in two
boats. Fifteen minutes later eight OF
them were dead
The victims are: Maud Sutliff. Ruth
Bonham. of Town Line; Caroline
Koons, of Harveyville; Iris Davenport,
Kathleen Good of Waterton; Rachel
Thompson. of Townhill: Robert Minny
and Ray Dodson. OF Huntington Mills
The four survivors. George Dodsor.
Uriah Weitzel. Jay Rooms and Harold
to the water in couples. At the side of
the dam they got two small rowboats
and three boys and three girls crowd
ed into each There was much frolick-
ing and laughter as the boats pushed
off side by side The girls teased each
other and the boys about their com
| panions There was much splashing OF
with ~
the party used their hands and threw
| water on .he others
| In one boat where the boys and
! girls were having a jolly time a boy
| got UP TO change his seat Who II was
the survivors dc not remember. They
| have al idea that perhaps two OF
three OF the boys stood up al the same
time The boat rocked somewhat, the
| girls shrieked and the boy rocked the
| boat little more. II dipped some wa
| tel and the girls thoroughly alarmed
| sprang up The next instant the boat
| overturned and all six were in the
| water. with q chorus of screams for
| help
The other boat only n few yards
away, reached the six struggling in
| the water with half dozen strokes OF
the oars Those in the boat were ap.
| parently as excited as those in the
water. Those in the boat reached out
TO get their playmates, those in the
water seized the sides Of the boat and
tried to scramble in. Their weight on
| the gunwales pulled the boat beneath
! the water or they upset it while trying
to climb in. Whatever happened. hap.
pened quickly, for the second boat was
barely among those struggling In the
water before it's six inmates were also
overheard.
The four survivors say that then
there was an overwhelming confusion.
| Some girls grabbed them they seized
some of the girls. All the boys could
! swim, and all apparently made an eff.
| fort to save some Of the others. t'ren.
zied as all were. however the girls
| clung to them wherever they could
| seize them. some around the neck
some around the bodies The surviv.
ors. who broke away after being drag.
| ged down. saw group of four all
clinging together
Each Of the boys who escaped tells
| Of being dragged down by the girls or
other boys and fighting TO get away
! and each reached the shore after a
I desperate struggle to save his own
| life. Apparently there were no COW
ards The survivors saved themselves
only when 1t was impossible to save
| others and saved themselves with an
| effort. They reached the shore so ex
| hausted that it was some minutes be.
| fore they had strength to drag them
selves to the road and shout for help
| Yhe bodies were recovered. Nearly
every victim was clasped In a death
| embrace about some other one
Robert Minnick. one OF the drowned
| boys. was the particular hero of the
| occasion In the confusion he first
swan to shore and then. seeing the
| girle were in the water. he struck out
! for the middle OF the pond again and
was drowned while endeavoring to res,
cue the girls