Charles Hermanson died attempting to save John L. Haataja from drowning, Hancock, Michigan, December 20, 1920. While crossing Portage Lake on skis, Haataja, 36, laborer, broke through thin ice 200 feet from the bank, where the water was 35 feet deep. He got hold of ice at the edge of the hole and called for help. Hermanson, 46, laborer, without skis ran 180 feet over the ice to within about 50 feet of Haataja and then suddenly broke through. Another man reached Hermanson and extended a stick to him. Hermanson got hold of the stick with his teeth and was pulled a short distance toward solid ice, but the other man then broke through, and Hermanson sank and was drowned. The other man was rescued by a man who reached him by walking on boards and a ladder on the ice, and two men meanwhile pushed a boat over the ice to Haataja, and he was taken to the bank. 22098-1784
22098 – 1784
22098-1784