Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1938-06-16
LOcalCommunity
Is Saddened By
Water Tragedy
Karlo (Charlie) Cron.
beck, %, of Askov, is Vic
tim While Swimming.

The strong current of Kettle river
was too much for valiant physical
strength and Kristian Karlo Kofoed
Gronbeck, better known to his friends
here as Charlie, went to watery
death. Charlie, in company with
Clarence and Carl Hansen, cousins,
went swimming at about o'clock
Saturday evening for the first time
this season. Next to shore there is
water about 10 feet in depth, but
just beyond and in the center of the
stream is a sand bar, to which the
boys were accustomed to swim.
While the other boys were yet on
shore Charlie, who had just learned
to swim last year, attempted to swim
to the sand bar. The swift flowing
of the water carried him by his
goal and when he attempted to touch
bottom and could not he became
frantic and went down. Carl, seeing
his plight, attempted to rescue him
and succeeded in towing him several
feet toward shore, but became ex-
hauSted and the rescue work was
taken over by Clarence, who possibly
would have succeeded but for the
superior weight of Charlie and the
eXertion of swimming against the
fast current of the river that had
taken its toll from Clarence and he
became unconscious and released his
grip from the victim, who immedi-
ately sank.
It is not clear in the boys minds
being a good underwater swimmer,
it is thought that instinct alone car
ried him there.
Drag River.
Help was summoned and several in
boats began dragging the river in
the vicinity of the drowning with
the result that the body of the vic
tim was finally found about an hour
and a half later. Coroner A. l..
Arends of Sandstone, was among the
workers at the scene and he i'm
mediately pronounced the young man
dead.
Mr. Gronbeck was born in Aakir-
keby, Bornholm, Denmark, and came
to the United States in March, 1928
and to Askov in November, 1881. He
was a member of the Young Peoples
Society, w. o. w. and D. B. S. lodges.
He had been, during his stay in the
community, employed at farm work
and recently on the prison farm con-
Struction at Sandstone. He was also
a member of the Danish Lutheran
church.
The tragic death of Charlie left
the community temporarily stunned,
as he was of an industrious char
acter and popular among young and
old alike He was an ardent fisher
man and could always be counted
upon to get fish when few others
were having any success. He was a
lover of the water and it is significant
that the water claimed him as its
victim.
Funeral services which were at
tended by many friends far and near,
were held from the Hansen residence
Tuesday afternoon at 100 o'clock and
from the Askov Danish Lutheran
church at o'clock. Burial was made
in the local cemetery. Rev. jobs.
Knudsen preached the funeral SER
mon and Franz Jensen, E. o. John
sen, Peder Miltersen, Albert Juhl,
Carl Dixen and Roy Petersen were
pallbearers. The deceased leaves his
mother in Denmark, sister, Mrs. A..
N. Woodward, in Chicago, three aunts
and two uncles and several cousins.
Mrs. Chris Hansen of the Askov COM
munity, is one of the aunts. Mrs.
Woodward and the aunts from Chi
cago, Mrs. E. Petersen and Mrs. Chris
Petersen, were here to attend the
funeral.