1/20/1947

     Funeral services for Harold Arthur “Pat” Kannard, 7 years old, who was drowned Saturday in the Sterling lake, will be held at 3 o’clock Tuesday afternoon at the Sterling Methodist church. Burial will be in the Sterling cemetery.

     He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold R. Kannard of Sterling. Mr. Kannard is a painter.

     The accident occurred Saturday afternoon after Pat and his 9-year-old brother, Jack, had gone to the lake, in the south part of Sterling, to have a look around. The boys saw ducks swimming just beyond the icy rim of the lake. Pat ventured onto the ice to scare them.

     Jack, who is heavier, held back and saw his brother wander ten or twelve feet from shore before the thin ice suddenly gave way beneath him. The boy was plunged suddenly into 18 feet of chilling water.

     Jack watched his brother struggle a moment and then ran for help. He thought of his scoutmaster, Harold Johnson, who supervises the Cub pack to which Jack belongs; Johnson lives a short distance from the west side of the lake.

     He wasn’t at home, but Mrs. Johnson heard Jack’s tale and went into action. She called first the Sterling fire department and then some other men.

     A crowd soon gathered at the lake. Various persons tried to recover the drowning Pat. A couple of volunteers, Dennis Savage and Billy Peck, stripped to the shorts and, secured by ropes, dived into the icy water, but were unable to find the body.

     Earl Higley, veteran fisherman, went into action with his rod and reel. His fish hook finally found Pat’s body and it was pulled to shore. More than an hour elapsed since the boy went into the water. Artificial respiration and a mechanical inhalator rushed to Sterling by the Hutchinson fire department were used for more than an hour, but failed to revive the boy.

     Besides his parents and brother, Harold Arthur is survived by a sister, Marsha Darlene; his paternal grandmother, Mrs. Dora Kannard of Caney and his maternal grandfather, E. V. Olson of Duluth, Minn.

     He was a second-grader in the Sterling schools.

     Until recently Mr. Kannard was employed by a Salina Milling company as an elevator maintenance man. He has since been operating a spray paint outfit. He was redecorating the family’s home when the accident occurred.