Iowa Old Press
Emmetsburg Democrat
Emmetsburg, Palo Alto, Iowa
Wednesday, 11 May 1921
BODY OF BOY STILL MISSING
Details of Drowning of M.F. Brennan's Little Grandson
M.F. Brennan and his daughter, Mrs. Thomas Currans, arrived home
from
Milwaukee Sunday evening where they were called two weeks ago by
a telegram
announcing the drowning of Mr. Brennan's grandson. For ten days
several
hundred friends and neighbors labored diligently to find the body
of the
missing child but without success. The river was dragged, several
divers
searched the bottom of the channel and a dam of sacks filled with
sand was
thrown across the river. Members of the life saving service of
the city were
in constant attendance but they could not find any trace of the
body. We
need not say that Mr. Brennan, our efficient city marshal, was
one of the
hardest and most persevering workers in the long but fruitless
search.
On the day of the drowning the oldest brother, who is about six
years old,
was let out from school half an hour early and on his return
home, he and
his younger brother who was something over four, together with a
companion,
went to Silver Creek, about a mile away to play. As they were
walking along
a high bank, loose dirt gave way and the older brother fell into
the water.
The younger child, Lawrence, grabbed him by the hand and he
succeeded in
catching some grass or shrubbery and landed on the bank in
safety, but in
the struggle, the younger brother lost his balance and tumbled
in. A
neighboring lady witnessed the scene but, instead of notifying
the police
station, as is generally done on such occasions, she walked
nearly a mile to
the home of the boy's mother, Mrs. M.J. Brennan, and notified her
of the sad
affair. Silver Creek is not very deep but there was a cloudburst
a day or
two before and the water raised rapidly and the current was
swift. A short
distance from the scene Silver Creek empties into the Menomonee
river. Four
miles farther down the river reaches Lake Michigan.
A reward has been offered for the recovery of the body. This will
cause many
to watch closely for it, should it rise to the surface of the
water. The
Sunday before Mr. Brennan's grandson was drowned a man sank in
the Wisconsin
river. The body came up last Friday. Two men were drowned in a
lake some
distance from Milwaukee on April 10. The bodies came up to the
surface on
May 1. Hence it is likely that the remains of the missing child
may be
recovered. When the weather is cold parties who are drowned do
not come to
the surface so soon as they do during warm weather. It is claimed
that the
water in Lake Superior is so cold that parties that are drowned
never come
to the top.
We need not say that Mr. and Mrs. M.J. Brennan are heartbroken
over the sad
affair. Lawrence was a stout, hardy, lovely child and was a
favorite among
his little companions. The afflicted parents have the sincere
sympathy of a
wide circle of Palo Alto relatives and friends, all of whom will
be anxious
to learn of the recovery of the missing child.
[transcribed by C.J.L., Aug 2004]