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- Kaukauna Times
6-16-1911
FOUR YOUNG LADIES DROWNED
A Sail Boat Capsized on Lake Butte des Morts.
Miss Lizzie Brill is Among the Dead.
The Ill-Fated Craft Caught by Heavy Wind and Tipped Over-The Bodies All Recovered.
Miss Elizabeth Brill, daughter of Mrs. And Mrs. William Brill of the town of Buchanan, well known here where she had lived all her life, being a member of St. Mary's church and one of the active workers of the Young Ladies sodality, was one of the ladies who met death by drowning Sunday afternoon by the capsizing of a sail boat on Little Lake Butte des Morts, near Strobe's Island, between Appleton and Menasha.
This quadruple fatality was one of the most shocking which has ever occurred in the Fox river valley and a merry outing of the clerks and employes of the Geenen dry goods store was a moment changed from great pleasure to a scene of mourning and gloom. The other three young ladies who lost their lives in the Fox were Miss Agnes Geenen of Kimberly, Miss Gertrude Kueschel and Miss Bertha Pollex of Appleton. The fatality occurred shortly after 3 o'clock and within a few moments thereafter the news was telephoned to the family and relatives of Miss Brill here and spread like wild-fire about the city.
There were nine aboard the ill-fated craft at the time it was overturned by the wind storm, three young men and six ladies. The three boys and two young ladies were rescued, the latter being picked up by E. P. Humphrey. The five whose lives were saved were: Miss Anna Bast and Miss Rosetta Schmidt of Appleton, Chris E Mullen of Appleton, Charles Kenppock and Cyril Wassenberg of Menasha, the last two named being owners of the boat. The four young ladies who went down to death in the thirty feet of water at the point where the craft capsized, were not seen again after being thrown into the water or some of them might have been rescued. It is presumed that they came up under the sail which stretched across the top of the water on the side where they were plunged in and were thus suffocated and deceased with no possibility of escape.
Ed P Humphrey, editor of the Appleton Post, who was an eye witness to the tragedy, gave the following account:
The accident happened so suddenly that despite the fact that there were a number of gasoline launches on the river within a few minutes run of the scene of the tragedy, none was able to get to the overturned boat in time to be of any assistance to the four girls who lost their lives.
Every person aboard the ill-fated craft, aside from the two owners, was an attendant at the annual outing given Sunday by the management of the Geenen dry goods store. The picnic was held on Strobe's Island and several of the picnickers who did not go with the sailing party stood on the shore and witnessed the drowning, which occurred only a comparatively short distance from the scene of the picnic dinner, which was enjoyed by the party but a short time before the accident.
It was about 2:40 o'clock in the afternoon when the members of the picnic party stood on the high bluff of the island watching the two Menasha young men in the sail boat making their way up river. As the boat made the trek close to the island one of the young men called to the girls on shore, asking them if they did not want to take a ride. The water was not rough at that time and the sport looked attractive so some of them accepted the invitation. The party had gone only a few hundred feet when the waters horizon showed the first evidence of an approaching squall. Evidently believing the storm would blow over or possibly not break at all in the vicinity of the upper river of little Lake Butte des Morts, the sailing party remained in the boat. Almost as the first gust of wind gust struck it the craft overturned. The four girls who were drowned never saw the light after they struck the water for the big sail covered them and prevented all possibility of their saving themselves or being rescued by others.
Mr. Humphrey's gasoline launch was anchored in the lee of the island, directly opposite Clay Point at the time the boat capsized. Mrs. Humphrey and their niece Miss Woodward were also on the launch. Mr. Humphrey says:
"We had noticed the sailboat, one of the Lake Winnebago racing scows, come down through the lake into the river, go in to the dock at the Strobe's Island resort and come out again loaded to the guards with girls. On Lake Buttes des Morts the wind was heavy but fairly steady, while in the river behind the island it came in sharp flaws, with little force 'one minute and far too much the next'. Every time these small squalls struck the boat and she careened to them the girls screamed. The boat sailed up the river to and beyond where we lay and then back again several times, but kept close to the other side of the river doubtless in order to be further from the island and get steadier wind.
Five or ten minutes before she came up the river I looked to windward and saw that the sky for a considerable distance up from the horizon was of a dirty brown color, as though the air were filled with flying dust. The clouds could not be seen through it and shortly afterwards, just about as the accident happened, it was impossible to see more than half way up Lake Buttes des Morts. By this time the wind had struck Lake Buttes des Morts, and it was evident that the squall was one of the fearful force. In a moment the surface of the lake became a feathery mass of white. Just at this moment the sailboatmen apparently for the first time saw what was coming. The boat at that time was a little above Clay Point. They might have dropped their sails, but they chose to chance flights. They turned to come down the river again and just as the boat came around the squall struck it. The boat with no way on would not luff and down down she went, until the mast and sails were in the water, the screaming girls on the weather side plunging down into the abyss beneath.
At least I suppose they did that was what naturally would have happened under the circumstances, but I did not wait to see. I rushed below and started the engine and then forward and cast the anchor cable overboard. I did not get time to look at the overturned boat till I got back to the steering wheel and had shoved in the clutch. Then I saw the three boys and two of the girls clinging to the boat. There were no other girls in sight. The boat was perhaps 600 or 800 feet away from us. The wind was tearing the tops off the waves. The problem was to run down alongside and stop just close enough and at the right point so that the girls could be reached. I don't know just how we did it, but we stopped exactly right. The girls got up on their knees and the onto their feet on the overturned boat, reached out and caught the cockpit combing of our launch and hung there over the outside of the boat.
Mrs. Humphrey grasped one girl and Miss Woodward the other and held them. The side of the boat at this point is about three feet above the water, and the girls hung there with their knees in the river wholly unable to climb aboard. As soon as the boats separated and I had thrown the clutch out I went to the assistance of Mrs. Humphrey and Miss Woodward. By main strength, we lifted the girls over the side and laid them on the floor of the cockpit. They were utterly exhausted. If we had not had two people aboard to hold them one of them must have been lost. By this time other boats were coming up, and somehow we felt that the boys could take care of themselves, so made no attempt to reach them. After the girls had lain on the cockpit floor a few minutes they were recovered enough to go below, where we gave the makeshifts of dry clothing and a sip of the hot tea just made for dinner, and after they had got into clothes landed them at the Strobe's resort dock.
The police department of Appleton was promptly notified of the accident and the police patrol, with a number of officers and volunteer workers, equipped with pike poles, ropes and grappling hooks, hastened to the scene of the tragedy. The water at the point where the accident happened is about thirty feet deep and the current is quite rapid, which made instant recovery of the bodies impossible. A large number of men worked until dark and many others worked until nearly midnight Sunday night in an effort to recover the bodies of the drowned girls, but to no avail. Monday morning the crew of searchers was greatly increased. Assistance was also sent from the police and fire departments of Neenah and Menasha, the accident having occurred in Winnebago county, until upwards of a hundred had joined in the search for the bodies.
Patrolman John Bloomer of Appleton pulled the first body, that of Miss Geenen, from the water shortly before 11 o'clock Monday morning after nearly twenty hours of dragging. The body was quite badly lacerated by the hooks and indicated had been caught on the hooks before, probably Sunday afternoon but had dropped off. A few minutes later Mr. Bloomer found the body of Miss Brill and shortly afterward Miss Kuschel's body was pulled out by a young man named Meidam.
Miss Pollex's body was not found until late Monday afternoon, when it was discovered under the forward deck of the overturned yacht after it had been towed to Menasha and turned right side up. The position of the body seemed to indicate that she had crawled under the deck in her efforts to get out and had there suffocated and drowned. It is thought that had the boat been righted immediately after the accident that Miss Pollex might have been saved. Some are of the opinion that the suction of the water as it flowed into the forward deck as the boat went over drew her into the hole and that the body would not have been noticed even though the ill-fated craft had been uprighted.
The Appleton Crescent has the following to say about the four young ladies drowned:
Miss Bertha Pollex, aged 26 years was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Pollex, 614 Atlantic street, and was one of the most popular clerks in the city. For over ten years Miss Pollex was employed as clerk in the Fair store, resigning on account of ill health, but after an extended vacation she regained her health and for the last two years had been one of the most efficient and popular clerks in the Geenen establishment. She was a member of Zion Lutheran church.
Miss Agnes Geenen had been on a vacation from the store since January 1 on account of ill health, but expected to return to her work July 1. She was 21 years of age and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Geenen of Kimberly, and a niece of the owners of the store. Miss Geenen attended the Appleton high school and graduated with the class of 1909. While attending school here and while employed in the Geenen store she made her home with her aunts on North street, and was quite popular with a large circle of friends.
Miss Elizabeth Brill, aged 21, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Brill, of Buchanan, just out of South Kaukauna, had a premonition that something would happen. Like Miss Geenen, her cousin, she had attended the Appleton high school for two years and for the last two and a half years had been employed in the Geenen store, making her home with the Misses Geenen. She was jolly and the life of the party, but twice was heard to say she was afraid something would happen.
Miss Gertrude Kuschel, aged 18 years, had been employed in the store only about two months. She was the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Kuschel, 1133 Oneida street, and with two younger sisters were supporting the family, her father being an invalid.
The Geenen store at Appleton was draped in mourning and did not open for business until after the funeral Wednesday, the clerical force and the Misses Geenen, proprietors of the store, and relatives of two of the deceased, assisting in the last sad rites for their dead associates.
The funeral for Miss Elizabeth Brill and Miss Agnes Geenen, who were cousins, was held at St Mary's church at Appleton, Wednesday morning at 9:30 o'clock, the large edition being filled to overflowing. There was solemn Requiem high mass with Rev. Father Steinbrecher of the city as celebrant. Rev. Father Van Nestleroy of Kimberly, deacon, Rev. Father Van den Borne of Little Chute as sub-deacon and Rev. Father Fitamaerice of Appleton as manager of ceremonies. The body of Miss Geenen was interred at St. Joseph's cemetery, Appleton, and then the funeral cortage of relatives and friends came on to Kaukauna with the remains of Miss Brill, where interment took place at St. Mary's cemetery about noon.
MISS BRILL'S FUNERAL
Among those who were in the city to attend the funeral of Miss Lizzie Brill on Wednesday, were Mr. and Mrs. John Hyde, Green Bay; Mr. and Mrs. P. E. Mullen, Antigo; Joseph Brill, Chicago; Francis Brill, Milwaukee; Mrs. John Schaller, Bert Schaller, Miss Kate Schaller, Miss Anna Scaller, Miss Rosalia Frieberger, Miss Belinda Banks, Mrs. Charles Samba, New London; Mrs. William Lammers and son William, Milwaukee; Mrs. August Bast, West Allis. The pallbearers were William Ryan, George Emmers, Andrew De Coster, John Hartzheim, Earl Framway and Walter Stilp. The honorary pallbearers were the Misses Adelaide Rechner, Mayme De Yong, Emma Verstegen, Belle Rossmeisal, Hilda Blickstein and Edna Kramer, all associate clerks from the Geenen store in Appleton where she had been employed for sometime.
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