The Daily Oklahoman
06-20-1929
p.1
Victim Claimed by City Lake; Guards Critized By Relative of Dead Boy
Volunteer Divers Find Body; City Manager to Ask For Inquest
George Imholse, 20 years old, formerly of St Louis, Ill, was found in five
and one-half feet of water at Lincoln park swimming pool Wednesday night
45 minutes after last seen by a companion.
Imholse came here a month ago from the Illinois settlement where he located
shortly after his arrival a year ago from Germany.
The victim was pronounced dead from drowning at Rolater hospital by
Dr Paul Crawford after firemen had attempted to revive him with a pulmotor,
and almost two hours after he went under.
An inquest will be asked Thursday, E M Fry, city manager said. Possiblity
that Imholse may have been affected by some organic trouble was indicated
in the fact that he was not seen to rise.
Life guards to whom he appealed did not search for the body, said
Louis H D Kastens, 2244 West Elenventh street, a relative with whom Imholse
was living and who reported he saw the youth take two strokes near the ropes
that seperate the shallow from the deep water, and never reappear.
Paul Schrack, 705 North Brauer avenue, and Frank Simmonds, 1500 West Sixth
street, who had removed their street clothes and put on bathing suits at the
request of Kastens, found the body just inside the roe, in five and one-half
feet of water. The body was recovered 45 minutes after the first appeal to
the guards, Kastens said.
Clarence Huffman, Ira McCroskey, and Fay Ferguson were lifeguards on duty.
Ferguson said that Kastens came to him but that Imholse had gone in at the
other end and that he could not leave his part of the pool for an extensive
search. He did row over the spot in a boat, he said. He said he did not pay
a great deal of attention because such calls are not uncommon, with the usual
result that the person sought is found to have swam into some dark spot.
The quota of guards at the pool is four or five. Three were on duty. Kastens
got the aid of Schrack and Simmonds after he had agreed to hold their clothing
for them while they put on their swimming suits to search.
Imholse, whose parents live in Germany, was an athlete, Kastens said. He had
only been in the water three minutes when he took the final strokes and was
never seen.
Imholse went in at 8:30 o'clock and was taken out at 9:15 o'clock.
The body is at Street and Draper funeral home.
***posted for genealogical purposes only; no relation***