Iowa
Old Press
Spirit Lake Beacon
Spirit Lake, Dickinson co., Iowa
May 22, 1941
SPENCER TRIO SAVED WHEN BOAT FILLS ON SPIRIT LAKE
Heroic action by two Wakefield, Nebr., fishermen,
fishing near Big Stony Point on Big Spirit Lake, saved the lives
of two Spencer men and a youth, whose boat capsized near the
middle of Anglers Bay before 7 a.m. Sunday morning. The Nebraska
men raced through huge waves to rescue the Spencer men, Mike
Beckett, W.P. Woods and Woods’ son, Robert 14. The heroes of
the rescue were William Salmon and his nephew, Allen, of
Wakefield, Nebr.
The Spencer men suffered from severe shock and exposure resulting
from struggling in ice cold water for nearly an hour, after a
huge wave completely filled their boat with water. Succeeding
waves rolled the boat over and over in the heavy water until it
finally sank to the bottom, and trio was forced to catch the oars
of the boat to buoy them up.
[transcribed by L.Z., April 2018]