J. Joseph Blackshear saved Caroline V. Fidler, 13; Ruby McMath, 14, and Lila Brinson, 15, from drowning, Thomasville, Georgia, May 18, 1912. The girls fell into water eight feet deep in a pond in Roddenberry Park when a springboard broke under them, and they went beneath the surface. All were dressed, and none could swim. Joseph, 14, schoolboy, jumped into the water and grasped one of the girls. He took her to the bank, and other boys pulled her out. Joseph then went to the other two girls, who were 12 feet from the bank. They grasped him, and the three went beneath the surface at least twice. Boys on the bank extended a narrow board to Joseph. He grasped it and was pulled to the bank with the girls clinging to him. 8559-1023
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8559-1023