Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1919-07-11
GERTRUDE DONAHUE, II, DROWNED
AT LAKE DUNMORE WHEN CANOE TIPS
Makes Pucky Fight TO Swim Ashore, But Finally Cries 81 Can't
Make 1t, Smithy"
Ralph Smith Her Companion Story The Unfortunate
Accident occurred-BOdy Recovered BY Diver

Gertrude Margaret Donanuej seven
teen, who just four weeks ago tonign
took first prize with her splendid essa.
at the Graduation Exercises of the Mid
dlebury High School, and her JUNO
schoolmate, Ralph Smith, were, victim
of a canoe upset on Lake Dunmore las
Tuesday evening which cost the LII
of the pretty and popular young cir
graduate.
I The accident happened at a poin
Just under the shadow of Mt. Moosala
moo, on the west side of the lake, a
an hour-S:45 o'clock-when, by thu
daylight savings plan, it was still fairly
light, and at time when the water wa
perfectly still. The young couple hac
been canoeing before, and on this triT
had taken what seemed like every
reasonable precaution against an acci
dent.
According to Smiths own story, they
hired a canoe at Meehans Pavilion
early in the evening, and kept close tC
shore in making a circuit of the upper
half of the lake. They had skirted the
vicinity Of the Mountain Spring Hotel
crossed the lake near Sanford's Point
and had been sighted at various points
bv friends they knew. At Allan Cal
houns camp, Leroy Russell had waved
to them, and at the new Camp Lelen'
ko, where $50 young Jewish boys were
plaving games on what was the ole
Bresee property, they had shouted hello
to Russell Duncan Of Middlebury whc
is one of the swimming instructors al
the camp.
lust beyond the Zelenko camp they
drew up close to shore, where MISS
Donahue proposed that she should take
the stern seat and thus learn to steer
The exchange of seats was safely made
with Miss Donahue doing all OF the
padding from the stern.
"She thought she could learn to steer
better" said Smith, continuing ms
story "if didn't paddle SO l sat with
NV paddle across my lap. But she was
naddling always on the right, and not
having learned how to cut the blade oil
her paddle. this tended to carry us
quite ways out into the lake. was
inst on the point of joking her about
the way she was steering US when tne
cane in the seat under me gave way a
notch or two. The forward seat had
been troubling her previously and was
nrettv we'll broken in. Her coat was
in the forward part of the canoe ana
reached for it. to put it on my seat
"This weight of my movement lol-
ward seems to have pulled the stern
Of the canoe up a little from the water
"Donny" Miss Donahue only weighS
lttle over 100 pounds and she was
not heavy enough to keep the stern OIL
the canoe down in the water When
sbe took her next stroke she did not
hit the water deeply. heard splash
ae though the paddle had just SKINNED
the surface. and the vigor she mad put
in the stroke lurched her over. All
tnow is we were then both in the wa
ter she some distance from the canoe
when came up. 1 had gone in head
first and took quite dive before l
came up. "Donny"-game little grl
that she was. had already struck out tor
shore and shouted to me that she could
make il all right. l soon caught up
with her. however, and suggested that
If she could swim on her back she
could rest by letting me hold her by
the arms. We tried this for little
but with our clothes and shoes as
handicap neither Of us made mucn
headwav. and we tried swimming be-
side each other.
"The shore seemed further away
than we first thought. Suddenly Don
nv" grew exhausted and said l guess
| can't make it, Smithy'. l went to her
again. and tried to swim on my back
holding her by the arms. She made
plucky struggle to swim, too, and thus
helm me along. Then all seemed sud
denly up with both of us. We went
down. exhausted, and it seemed as
though we went to the bottom OF the
lake. As l came up tried my best to
bring her, too, but l lost my hold and
had to come to the surface as l had
swallowed quantities Of water
81 saw someone on the shore and call
ed to them, but they didn't seem to
move. The next l knew l was pulled
out of the water near shore and car
ried in somebody's car to the Zelenko
camp where l spent the night in the
doctors care"
Who that somebody was who stood
on the shore or who it was that carried
the almost unconscious Smith to camp
in their automobile is apparently not
known to anyone at the lake or there
abouts 1t was some party from Rut-
land, which disappeared after rendering
this aid.
The news of the accident travelled
quickly, but not swift enough. Within
gunshot of where it occurred was Camp
where there are 100 boys
and several men in charge, and a little
'urther distant was Camp Zelenko
where the Jewish boys were having
their playhour at baseball, tennis and
1ther games. Russell Duncan, swim
ming instructor at the Camp, was the
irst on the scene, having put out in
,anoe. but this was ten or fifteen min
ties after the body had gone down
and there was no trace Of its where |
lbouts. The water at that point, right |
inder the lee Of the mountain, is the |
deepest in the lake, or upwards OF so |