Anthon G. Thorgeson saved Lyman E. Parkhurst from drowning, Albert Lea, Minnesota, February 15, 1946. Lyman, 8, broke through ice on Albert Lea Lake into water four feet deep 400 feet from the bank. A sewage disposal plant was near, and fluid muck three feet deep was beneath the water. Fully clothed, Thorgeson, 51, accountant, who was a poor swimmer, found a board 12 feet long on the bank and ran with it on the ice to a strip of open water 10 feet wide 190 feet out. Extending the board across the water, he crossed on the board, carried it to the hole, and extended it to Lyman, who could not raise himself onto it. Lying on the board and holding it with one hand, Thorgeson reached toward Lyman but broke through. Thorgeson raised Lyman onto the board and worked it to firm ice, onto which Lyman rolled. Pulling the board back, Thorgeson after breaking off more ice raised himself onto the board and rolled to firm ice. He and Lyman walked to the strip of open water and along it for 300 feet, where firemen extended a ladder across the water. A fireman carried Lyman to the bank, and Thorgeson followed them. Lyman and Thorgeson suffered shock and chills but recovered. 41283-3556
41283 – 3556
41283-3556