R. Clarence Robinson saved Nettie Pebley and Marjorie M. Christensen from drowning, Farmington, Utah, August 13, 1923. Mrs. Pebley, 61, and Marjorie, 3, were caught in the floodwaters of Big Creek and carried in darkness into a mass of drift backed up at a culvert, where the water was at least six feet deep. Robinson, 37, dentist, who was weak from illness, left his home in response to cries for help, waded to his neck, and swam 80 feet through thick drift to Mrs. Pebley, and then towed her on a log through the drift to the bank. Sending his wife for help, he again waded to his shoulders and swam 50 feet through heavy drift and in a strong current that pulled toward the culvert to Marjorie. He held her by the hair with one hand and swam a few strokes through the drift and then struck a submerged barbed-wire fence. He swam 80 feet along the fence, resisting the pull of the current by keeping a hold on the barbed wire with his bare feet. Then fearing he would faint, he clung to a fence post and called for help. A man waded to him, relieved him of Marjorie, and assisted him toward the bank. Mrs. Pebley and Marjorie were not seriously affected. Robinson’s feet were lacerated, and tetanus set in. He was totally disabled for three months and did not recover from the nervous reaction for 18 months. 23677-1981
23677 – 1981
23677-1981