GOULD, Jimmie 1927-1929

GOULD, HEISLER

Posted By: Tammy (email)
Date: 9/3/2013 at 12:47:40

Little Conrad Boy Dies in the Waters of Creek Near Home

The body of little Jimmie Gould, 2-year-old son of Dr. and Mrs. George R. Gould, of Conrad, who disappeared at 11:30 Saturday forenoon, was taken from Wolf creek about noon Sunday, about three-quarters of a mile from the Gould home.

The body was found after continuous search of the stream throughout Saturday, Saturday night and Sunday morning.

The whole population of Conrad was shocked last Saturday by the news that little Jimmie Gould, the 2-year-old son of Dr. George R. Gould was thought to have been drowned in Wolf creek, which is near the Gould home.

One of the little fellow's rubbers was found stuck in the mud near the edge of the water.

Nearly every man in Conrad joined in the search for the child, most of the search centering on Wolf creek, though every possible place where the child could have wandered was, carefully explored by other searchers.

About noon Sunday the body of the little child was found in Wolf creek, about three quarters of a mile from the Gould home.

The body had become lodged against an old tree which almost damned the stream and when the tree was dragged away with an auto truck, Ernest Ruppelt of Grundy Center, one of the searchers saw the body, his gaze noting first a shining safety pin attached to the child's sleeve.

The body was quickly recovered and taken to the home of his grief stricken parents.

The search had continued all day and night Saturday and Sunday morning and two damns were built in Wolf creek to lower the water for aiding in the quest of the child's body.

Practically the entire town of Conrad and many farmers from the vicinity joined in the search. It was estimated that several hundred were on the scene Saturday afternoon, and fully 1,000 persons were at the creek Sunday forenoon.

Little Jimmie was the youngest of three children. There is an older boy, Cullen, who is about 6, and a daughter, Marilyn, 4.

Before her marriage Mrs. Gould was Miss Helen Heisler, of Monticello. She is a graduate nurse and formerly practiced in Marshalltown.

Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 in charge of Rev. M. E. Krotyes and interment was made in the Conrad cemetery.

The sympathy of every one will go to the bereaved parents in their tragic loss.

--Wellsburg Herald (Wellsburg, Iowa), 24 April 1929

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Two Year Old Conrad Boy Falls In Creek; Drowns

Son Of Dr. And Mrs. Gould Meets Tragic Death Saturday Forenoon

Child's Body Found A Mile From Home

Searching Parties Dragged Stream For More Than Twenty-Four Hours

The two year old son of Dr. and Mrs. George R. Gould, of Conrad, fell into the creek near the Gould home about eleven o'clock Saturday forenoon. His body was found in an eddy of the stream about a mile from home at 12:30 Sunday afternoon. One of the boy's arms could be seen through the surface of the water. The body was discovered by Earnest Ruppelt, of Grundy Center, who with Lester Kupke and Eugene Boyer were walking by the side of the creek in the hope of finding some trace of the missing boy. Mr. Ruppelt was alone when he made the discovery. He hurried up the stream for help and was joined by Mr. Kupke and Mr. Boyer, and the three removed the body from the water, placed it in a car and took it to the Alexander undertaking parlors in town.

The back yard of the Gould home reached to Wolf creek. The little boy had left the house but a short time when he was missed. He was alone when he left the house. He must have wandered to the creek and lost his balance and fallen in. One of the boy's rubbers was found near the creek and it is believed he fell in at this place. The water there was from 4 to 5 feet deep.

A search was made for the little fellow as soon as he was missed. At first it was believed he had wandered away from home and was at the house of one of the neighbors. When the lost rubber was found at the bank of the creek it was taken as proof that the boy must have fallen in. Searching parties dragged the stream for a considerable distance all afternoon without any results. A dam was constructed across the stream to lower the water. The dam broke shortly after it was completed and proved of no help. A second dam was built Sunday forenoon. This held and lowered the water about a foot and a half. It was this help that made it possible to find the body.

It is almost unbelievable that a small stream would carry a body a distance of a mile in a day's time. A short distance above where the body was found a tree had fallen across the creek that it would seem would catch and hold the body as it was washed down. The force of the water when the dam broke may have been enough to carry the body through the tree obstruction.

Conrad and the entire community were aroused as they have rarely been before when news of the child's disappearance was passed around Saturday afternoon and a large army of searchers remained on duty in and along the banks of the stream all night. Some of the searching party walked in and along the stream from Gladbrook and Beaman to the point where the accident took place. Most of the members of the Legion Post from Grundy Center and Beaman assisted in the search throughout the night and all Sunday forenoon. Seines, grappling hooks, boats and even dynamite were used, but none of them helped.

Dr. Gould and his family have the sympathy of all who know them in the tragedy that has come to their home. The little boy's name was Jimmie and everybody who knew him loved him. He is survived by his father and mother and a brother and sister, the oldest of whom is seven.

Funeral services will be held at Conrad on Tuesday afternoon.

--The Grundy Register (Grundy Center, Iowa), 25 April 1929, pg 1