Police Officer, St. Louis Police Dept. A Carnegie Hero Fund honoree:
Arthur L. McGuire, 40, patrolman, helped to save George W. Berton, 67, laborer; Mattie Berton, 45, and three children, 14, 12, and 9, from drowning, St. Louis, Missouri, March 25, 1913. Heavy rains caused the River des Peres to rise to a depth of over 25 feet, and the Berton home was surrounded with water over three and one-half feet deep that flowed with a strong, swift current. Berton woke, at night, and called for help. After two men had rowed 20 feet from the bank and then returned because of the swift current and the conditions of the oarlocks of the boat, McGuire and another man entered the boat and rowed diagonally across the current. The boat drifted downstream. A rope that had been tied to a telegraph pole and the stern of the boat was found to be an encumbrance, and it was removed from the boat and tied to a house. Then by hard rowing, the men reached the Berton house, which was 275 feet across the current from their original starting place. When the Bertons had been taken into the boat, the men tried to reach the house where the rope was tied, but the current carried them past it. McGuire’s companion caught the corner of a house with a pike pole, but it was jerked from his grasp. The boat struck a fence post and tipped, and a quantity of water was shipped. With the gunwale but three inches above the water, it drifted with the current. As the boat neared a house, McGuire put his legs around a seat, reached out, and grasped a doorstep, to which he clung desperately. He and his companion pulled the boat to a door, and all entered the house. All reached safety by means of ladders extended from an embankment 35 feet from the house.
Arthur L. McGuire, 40, patrolman, helped to save George W. Berton, 67, laborer; Mattie Berton, 45, and three children, 14, 12, and 9, from drowning, St. Louis, Missouri, March 25, 1913. Heavy rains caused the River des Peres to rise to a depth of over 25 feet, and the Berton home was surrounded with water over three and one-half feet deep that flowed with a strong, swift current. Berton woke, at night, and called for help. After two men had rowed 20 feet from the bank and then returned because of the swift current and the conditions of the oarlocks of the boat, McGuire and another man entered the boat and rowed diagonally across the current. The boat drifted downstream. A rope that had been tied to a telegraph pole and the stern of the boat was found to be an encumbrance, and it was removed from the boat and tied to a house. Then by hard rowing, the men reached the Berton house, which was 275 feet across the current from their original starting place. When the Bertons had been taken into the boat, the men tried to reach the house where the rope was tied, but the current carried them past it. McGuire’s companion caught the corner of a house with a pike pole, but it was jerked from his grasp. The boat struck a fence post and tipped, and a quantity of water was shipped. With the gunwale but three inches above the water, it drifted with the current. As the boat neared a house, McGuire put his legs around a seat, reached out, and grasped a doorstep, to which he clung desperately. He and his companion pulled the boat to a door, and all entered the house. All reached safety by means of ladders extended from an embankment 35 feet from the house.
Police Officer, St. Louis Police Dept. A Carnegie Hero Fund honoree:
Arthur L. McGuire, 40, patrolman, helped to save George W. Berton, 67, laborer; Mattie Berton, 45, and three children, 14, 12, and 9, from drowning, St. Louis, Missouri, March 25, 1913. Heavy rains caused the River des Peres to rise to a depth of over 25 feet, and the Berton home was surrounded with water over three and one-half feet deep that flowed with a strong, swift current. Berton woke, at night, and called for help. After two men had rowed 20 feet from the bank and then returned because of the swift current and the conditions of the oarlocks of the boat, McGuire and another man entered the boat and rowed diagonally across the current. The boat drifted downstream. A rope that had been tied to a telegraph pole and the stern of the boat was found to be an encumbrance, and it was removed from the boat and tied to a house. Then by hard rowing, the men reached the Berton house, which was 275 feet across the current from their original starting place. When the Bertons had been taken into the boat, the men tried to reach the house where the rope was tied, but the current carried them past it. McGuire’s companion caught the corner of a house with a pike pole, but it was jerked from his grasp. The boat struck a fence post and tipped, and a quantity of water was shipped. With the gunwale but three inches above the water, it drifted with the current. As the boat neared a house, McGuire put his legs around a seat, reached out, and grasped a doorstep, to which he clung desperately. He and his companion pulled the boat to a door, and all entered the house. All reached safety by means of ladders extended from an embankment 35 feet from the house.
Arthur L. McGuire, 40, patrolman, helped to save George W. Berton, 67, laborer; Mattie Berton, 45, and three children, 14, 12, and 9, from drowning, St. Louis, Missouri, March 25, 1913. Heavy rains caused the River des Peres to rise to a depth of over 25 feet, and the Berton home was surrounded with water over three and one-half feet deep that flowed with a strong, swift current. Berton woke, at night, and called for help. After two men had rowed 20 feet from the bank and then returned because of the swift current and the conditions of the oarlocks of the boat, McGuire and another man entered the boat and rowed diagonally across the current. The boat drifted downstream. A rope that had been tied to a telegraph pole and the stern of the boat was found to be an encumbrance, and it was removed from the boat and tied to a house. Then by hard rowing, the men reached the Berton house, which was 275 feet across the current from their original starting place. When the Bertons had been taken into the boat, the men tried to reach the house where the rope was tied, but the current carried them past it. McGuire’s companion caught the corner of a house with a pike pole, but it was jerked from his grasp. The boat struck a fence post and tipped, and a quantity of water was shipped. With the gunwale but three inches above the water, it drifted with the current. As the boat neared a house, McGuire put his legs around a seat, reached out, and grasped a doorstep, to which he clung desperately. He and his companion pulled the boat to a door, and all entered the house. All reached safety by means of ladders extended from an embankment 35 feet from the house.
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