The Tragedy of the Volunteer
A sudden squall on Roche Harbor claimed the lives of three boys while their parents remained unaware of the danger.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Roche Harbor, March 2. A sad drowning accident occurred here Sunday evening, by which Thomas Mullen, Freddie Fauble, and Eddie Gerow lost their lives. They were out sailing in the pleasure yacht Volunteer when a sudden squall overturned it, and Mullen and Gerow sank almost immediately. Young Fauble got caught by a sack of sand, and was sitting in the boat with his hands outstretched as if imploring aid. Captain Royce was the first on the scene, but could find no trace of the others. The Harry Lynn is out with a search party, who are using every possible means to recover the bodies, but so far without avail. Eddie Gerow was 11 years old and Fred Fauble aged 10. Much sympathy is expressed for the grief-stricken parents, who did not know their boys were out till the terrible news of the accident was received.
“Young Fauble got caught by a sack of sand, and was sitting in the boat with his hands outstretched as if imploring aid.”
Tragedies involving small pleasure craft in the unpredictable waters of the San Juan Islands remain a stark reality for coastal communities, echoing the same perils faced by sailors over a century ago. Today, search and rescue operations benefit from modern communications and technology, but the vulnerability of the Sound remains unchanged.
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