I have had this book idea in my head for quite some time and have done some preliminary research. The following is an example of the kind of stories in my vision. Tales of tragedy and triumph based on the real lives of SE North Dakotans.
Tragedy at Lake Tewaukon
Four persons lost their lives in the waters of Lake Tewaukon while boating on July 4, 1943, the worst water tragedy in the history of Sargent County. The victims were residents or former residents. Three others in the motor driven boat were saved.
There were a great number of people at the lake that Sunday who were out to get relief from the heat and to celebrate the Fourth of July. Some of the men on shore made heroic rescue attempts, among whom may be mentioned Mid Dada of Forman who brought in some of the victims after they had gone down. Following is an account of the tragedy as taken from the Fargo Forum.
Four persons were drowned and three others escaped a watery death Sunday in a July 4 boating mishap near the west shore of Lake Tewaukon in Sargent County. The dead are:
Mrs. Mary Warzeka of Cayuga. Mr. and Mrs. John Waclaw of Chicago, formerly of Cayuga, son-in-law and daughter of Mrs. Warzeka, and Ray Lueck, Standard Oil company filing station operator at Lidgerwood.
Saved were Frank Poliska of Lidgerwood, who swam to shore; Robert Waclaw, 6 year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Waclaw and Delores Warzeka, 18, daughter of Mrs. Warzeka.
Information gained by J.E. Ellsworth, acting Sargent County coroner, was that Mr. Waclaw first fell out of the boat and that it was tipped over when he attempted to climb back in. Lueck was running the outboard motor.
Sheriff L.R. Kerling of Forman, who with Ellsworth and A. Leslie, State’s Attorney of Forman investigated the accident. No inquest was held.
The boat overturned about 200 feet from the west shore of the lake in about 10 to 12 feet of water.
Robert Waclaw was saved when Mr. Lueck held him out of the water while men in another boat grabbed the lad but before the rescuers could get hold of Mr. Lueck he had gone under water.
Miss Warzeka told the sheriff that she remembers bumping her head twice against the overturned boat but she doesn’t know how she got safely to shore.
The bodies were recovered and artificial respiration applied. Attending physicians called Fargo and Charles Punton, Highway patrolman, and Ralph Yoder, of the Yoder Ambulance service, took a resuscitator to the scene but the four had been in the water too long.
Mrs. Warzeka was a sister of V.E. Nogowski, 1402 Fourth Ave. N, Fargo. Besides Delores and the Fargo brother, she leaves two sons, Gilbert in the army in Oregon, and Clifford at home; two other daughters, Florence, at home and Mrs. Helen Livery of Cayuga, her mother, Mrs. Pauline Nogowski of Geneseo, N.D. and three other brothers, Peter Nogowski of Greenfield, north of Hunter, Stanley Nogowski of Forman and Joseph Nogowski of Geneseo. The bodies were taken to the Walby Funeral home at Lidgerwood.
Mr. Lueck was born July 29, 1913 in Richland County. He had lived in the Lidgerwood community all his life. Besides his wife, Dorothy, he leaves two small children, William and Dennis, his parents and nine brothers and sisters. (Dorothy Lueck died in 2003 at the age of 87 and is buried with Ray in St. John’s cemetery in Lidgerwood.
Robert Waclaw became known as Robert “Bobby” Wacloff, the spelling his parents used as early as the 1940 census, they seem to be the only ones in the Waclaw family that changed the spelling. His aunt, Delores Warzeka married Irving Weber of Havana in 1946 and Bobby Wacloff was raised along with their sons. Bobby graduated from Havana High School. He was married to Peggy Koop of the Wahpeton area. He also achieved the rank of Lt. Col. in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. Robert died in 2007 at the age of 70 in Arizona .