SHANNON COUNTY DEMOCRAT
May 4, 1944
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TWO BOYS DROWNED IN LEWIS LAKE MONDAY

Terrible Tragedy Happened Monday Afternoon while Amos and Bobby Hoover Were Fishing.

On Monday afternoon, Amos and Bobby Hoover, sons of Mrs. Jake Pyeatt, who lived some four or five miles north of  Winona near the headwaters of Big Shawnee, were drowned in the Lewis Lake, about a mile north of Winona.
     The boys, with their mother and step-father, were fishing in the pond, and the two boys were out near the center of the body of water in a boat when the accident occurred. The water at the center of the lake is normally some seven feet deep, and was considerably swollen by recent torrential rains in that vicinity. The boys lost their boat paddle, and Amos, the older boy, age 14, was trying to retrieve it, when he became entangled in the thick growth of water weeds, apparently, and called to his brother, Bobby, age 11, for help. Bobby went to his rescue but they both seemed to become entangled in the weeds and could not extricate themselves, sinking almost immediately under the surface of the water, while their parents were making frantic but futile efforts to reach them.
     The alarm was given and a large crowd soon gathered to try to recover the bodies. The body of the younger boy was recovered in about two hours, but it was not until late afternoon that the body of the older boy was taken from the lake, and it was thought for some time it would be necessary to drain the lake to recover the body. All efforts to revive the victims by artificial respiration proved unavailing.
     Funeral services were conducted Tuesday afternoon by Rev. John A. Bolen, and interment was in the new Winona Cemetery (Pine Lawn).
     We Sincerely regret this tragic accident that snuffed out the lives of two of our boys. Our sympathies go out to the bereaved family.