What has begun as a hookey-playing frolic and a boat ride on a mill pond on May 12, 1910, ended in the drowning of eight young people of the Huntington Mills Area.

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All were pupils at Huntington Mills High School and several were to have graduated six days after the tragedy. Shock waves of horror went throughout the region as word of the tragedy in the 35-foot-deep pond spread.

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And - strangely enough - there was a sequel to the drownings. The four other pupils who had skipped school for the trip each also suffered an unnatural death many years after the drownings. Each of those four had a narrow escape from drowning in the original 1910 tragedy.

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The pond originally had been used by a paper firm that made the type of paper used in early years by butchers. The plant had closed a few years earlier but the pond became popular with fisherman and picnickers. A couple of rowboats, owned by fisherman were left tied to the brush along the bank.

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The 12 pupils had decided to take a ride on the pond in those boats. Six clamored into each, seriously overloading the craft. Even at that, all went well for a few minutes, but the young people, exuberated over the approaching end of the school term, began home horseplay. It included reaching over the side and splashing water on each other.

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The rowboats began to rock and one began to ship water. One girl stood up and then fell against the side of the boat, causing water to flow in. By that time the boats had moved some 60 feet apart. Those in the second boat, seeing the first one sinking, tried to get to those struggling in the water to aid.

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Then it was the old story of panic. Those in the water tried to climb into the still usable boat and it too shipped water and began to sink.

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On most days there would have been men working in the fields nearby, but none were there on May 12 to hear the screams for help. All the boys could swim, but exhausted by the efforts to help others, they had much trouble in getting to the bank. One, Robert Minnich, died a hero's death as, after reaching the bank, realized most of the group were still in the water and swam back to aid. A girl he sought to help grabbed his arms and both drowned.

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As the bodies were later recovered it was found girls had died in each other's arms, clinging tightly to each other. One girl was clasping the two boys in a death clutch.

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A couple of the surviving boys ran a substantial distance from the dam to spread alarm. Hundreds quickly arrived at the scene among them, two doctors.

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For the first, and probably only time, the Benton Argus, a weekly,  published and "extra". The paper was ready for distribution that afternoon, but in a fine piece of newspaper work, the editor secured the story, names of those drowned and of the four survivors, and inserted the single sheet in the weekly.

 

Those who drowned were: Caroline Koons, 18, Harveyville; Maude Sutliff, 17, Town Line; Ruth Bonham, 17, Waterton; Kathleen Good, 16, Waterton; Rachel Thompson 17, Huntington Mills; and Roy Dodson, 17, Huntington Mills.​

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Mrs. Ethel Baker of Benton, whose first husband had been Jay Koons, one of the four survivors of the drownings, was able to tell me the unusual deaths of those survivors.

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Darius Whitesell of Town line died of an infection that had resulted from an inoculation given to him as a serviceman in World War 1; Charles Bell of Fairmount was killed when hit by an auto in New York; George Dodson of Fairmount died of a broken neck in a fall down a basement stairway and Jay Koons of Harveyville was killed in an electrical accident at his planning mill. He had been using a long pipe in cleaning away shavings when it struck a high tension wire.

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The entire Huntington Mills area talked of little else for weeks and Sheldon Kleintob commented, "The tragedy had a devasting effect on the countryside for many years.

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Individual funeral services were held by eight families. Jessie Wiant, mother of Doris Harvey - one of the many who aided me with this story - recalls attending the funeral of one victim. The copy of Argus extra was saved by Lena Tuinitas.

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Others who aided with data included: Jim Fenstemaker, Dr Joseph Bittenbender, Melissa Heintzelman, Sheldon Kingsbury, Jack Koons, Carlton And Doris Ridall and, of course, Joseph Larish Sr, who had first suggested the subject.

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Ted Fenstermaker is retired editor of the Berwick Enterprise and Press Enterprise history columnist.​

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