McCoy - Arthur
Source: Crawfordsville Journal, Monday, September 25, 1916 - thanks Kim H for this sad one
Artheur McCoy, a painter and decorator living on east College street, son of Mr. and Mrs. William McCoy, was drowned at four-thirty Sunday afternoon above the Martin dam in sugar creek when a flat bottom boat in which he and Leo Tobin and "Rube" Corey were riding capsized twenty-five feet from the shore. Corey was able to swim to shore and Tobin was helped out by Bert Grimes, 208 south Pine street, an employee of the Journal Printing Company, who happened to be in the neighborhood of the dam at the time of the accident and was the hero of the catastrophe. McCoy's body was not recovered until three-quarters of an hour later when Chief of Police, Ed Hill and patrolman Jerry Long found the body with grappling hooks in nine feet of water. The body had been in the water so long that all efforts of resuscitation were unsuccessful. Woman Summoned Help The three men had taken an old boat with a wooden flat bottom and had just reached the middle of the stream when the boat capsized. All three men were thrown into the water. A woman on the bank saw the boat turn over and began to scream for help. Bert Grimes and his brother, Mark were the first to hear the cries, and they ran to the creek, throwing off their coats as they went. The woman who had called for help pointed up stream, and told Grimes that several boys were drowning. Bert Grimes immediately leaped into the water off the diving board and swam out. He reached Corey first, but as Corey was able to swim he told Grimes to help the others. Grimes at the time saw only Tobin, and was able to bring him back toward the center of the stream. Turning his head Grimes saw the head of McCoy appear above the surface. Goes Out Again Tho he was not an exceptionally strong swimmer, Grimes started out again. McCoy went under before the aid could reach him. His body did not come to the surface again until it was pulled up with the police grappling hooks. Grimes was unable to locate the body by diving and several people who had gathered on the shores immediately jumped into boats and began to feel the bottom with poles in an effort to locate the man's body. Crowd Gathered News of the disaster spread rapidly and by the time McCoy's body was found there was a crowd of several hundred lining the shore. Dr. A.A. Swope was called to hasten resuscitation, but his services for McCoy were no avail. Grimes was nearly exhausted by his efforts in saving the life of one man and his attempts to save the life of a second man. While he was glad to have been able to instrumental saving the life of Tobin, Grimes was regretting the fact that he had not been able to reach McCoy in time. "I'm not an extra good swimmer myself," he said after the accident, "and I'm over thirty years old and not very strong. I was nearly exhausted when I got Tobin ashore and I didn't see McCoy until Tobin had mumbled something and pointed his finger out toward the boat. I turned around and just saw McCoy's head. He had just come up. I guess, for the last time, because when I reached the spot where I had seen his head, I couldn't locate his body. If the doctor hadn't been there I'd probably have fainted myself after I got back to shore. They said that it was forty-five minutes after he went under that they pulled him out, but it didn't seem that long to me." Witnesses of the rescue say that Grimes was the real hero of the catastrophe. It was evident when he reached the shore with Tobin that he was exhausted, but that did not keep him from going out after McCoy when he saw that there was a third man in need of help. Had Host of Friends Perhaps no young man in Crawfordsville was known to more people than was "Buddy" McCoy. Nearly everyone in the city and surrounding community knew him and everybody liked him. Possessed of a ready wit and a continual good humor he was the type that makes friends and holds them. He had been a resident of the city all his life, having been born here about thirty-three years ago. He was unmarried. Between his mother and himself a firm attachment and when word of the tragedy was brought to Mrs. McCoy Sunday she was prostrated with grief. His father, too, was overcome when he learned of his son's sudden death. Arthur was the only son of Mr. and Mrs. McCoy and he had always remained at his parents home. Funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon at two-thirty at the residence.