Varva, Joe / John died 1919
VARVA, VAWAWA
Posted By: Reid R. Johnson (email)
Date: 7/23/2019 at 14:51:46
Elkader Register & Argus, Thur., 19 June 1919. McGregor column.
Over in the Prairie du Chien channel last Friday, Joe Vawawa was out in his boat fishing when the steamer, the J.S., passed by on its afternoon trip. The swell of the waves caused the boat to upset. Besides the fish he had a considerable amount of wood on his boat. The craft, tossed about by waves, finally upset and he was thrown into the water and was drowned.
The body was first seen by Mr. Elwell in the river below town, near the Iowa shore. He notified Mate Hill, who with two men, recovered the body.
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Elkader Register & Argus, Thur., 26 June 1919.
After a four day search the body of the pearl hunter, John Varva, was found by a fisherman floating in mid-channel a few miles south of McGregor, Thursday.
Three hundred dollars reward had been offered by relatives.
Varva had been a fisherman and clammer for twenty-two years on that part of the river and had become well-to-do in the business chiefly through his income from pearls. He was worth about $26,000.
He was returning to his home at Prairie du Chien with his motor-boat heavily loaded with clam shells Friday afternoon when his boat was swamped by the waves of the big steamer J. S. The steamer had an excursion party of Campion college students on board at the time.
Clayton Obituaries maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
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