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Chicago Tribune
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Hammond woman receives Carnegie hero award for assisting swimmers in peril
About two years ago, Sara Schaller and her daughter were at Porter Beach, collecting seashells and building sandcastles. As they were ready to leave, a woman ran up to them, asking if Schaller knew how to swim. 'She was like, 'She's drowning,'' Schaller said. 'I was like, 'What?' And then she pointed out to the water, and I could see someone going in and out of the surface.' A teenage girl and a teenage boy were trapped in Lake Michigan, Schaller said, but at the time, she only saw the girl. Schaller asked the woman to watch her child as she went to save the girl. 'She got pulled out past the buoys,' Schaller said. 'I just kept trying to talk to her, telling her she's got to swim, she's got to help me.' Tides had been bad at the beach that week, Schaller said, and the teenagers got swept up in a current while swimming. Schaller eventually brought the girl to shore when she learned a boy was also in the water. She swam to pull him out of the water and administered CPR until paramedics arrived. The next day, Schaller received a call from a detective on the scene, saying the girl survived, but the boy didn't. 'She said they were out swimming, and the tide took them out,' Schaller said. 'There was no way she was going to make it on her own.' In April, Schaller received a medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which is an organization that recognizes civilians in the U.S. and Canada for acts of heroism, according to its website. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, presented Schaller with the Carnegie medal. Schaller doesn't know who nominated her for the award, but she said it had to be someone who was at the incident. She hasn't talked to the girl she rescued or her family since the drowning. The Hammond resident was surprised to receive the award, she said. 'I'd never heard of the Carnegie award prior to this experience,' Schaller added. 'I was just happy that I was able to get the girl out in time. I feel really bad I didn't get the boy, though. That still bothers me.' Mrvan also talked about Schaller on the House of Representatives floor earlier this month. 'Northwest Indiana is home to over 40 miles of incredible shoreline on Lake Michigan, which is a tremendous attraction for tourism and our economy,' Mrvan said. 'But also, unfortunately, can, at times, pose great dangers with its currents and riptides. … Where many hesitated, (Schaller) stepped up and took life-saving action.' According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, since 2010, the Great Lakes have seen 1,357 drownings. In 2025, the lakes have already seen 23 drownings. The week Schaller saved the girl from drowning, most Indiana beaches had a tide advisory, and there were drownings in other areas. 'There was a general warning out that there was a strong tide,' Schaller said. 'The waves were big, and the water was pretty strong.' The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project is a nonprofit that raises awareness about water safety, said Dave Benjamin, its co-founder and executive director. 'Knowing how to swim doesn't mean you could survive the marathon of a drowning incident, unless you have a survival strategy set in place,' Benjamin said. In 2010, Benjamin himself nearly drowned while surfing on Lake Michigan in Portage. He wiped out near a rock wall near a pier, and he didn't stay attached to his surfboard. 'When you panic, all of your experience, it's pretty much out the window,' Benjamin said. 'You start making a lot of mistakes.' It's important to know drowning statistics, Benjamin said, including who, when, where and why. He encourages adults to keep an eye on children when they're near bodies of water. In May, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources released water safety tips to Hoosiers, including discussing the dangers of water; telling someone where you are going and when you'll return; going with a buddy; staying away from flooded or fast-moving waterways; wearing a life jacket; keeping a watchful eye on children; and avoiding alcohol. When boating, the DNR recommends assessing water levels and monitoring the boat's speed, as well as designating a sober boat operator. People should also wear life jackets, which should be U.S. Coast Guard-approved, in good working condition, and an appropriate size for the wearer, according to the DNR. Benjamin also encourages people to pay attention to currents and tide trends each day because that impacts swimming conditions.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Feats of derring-do earned Carnegie Medals for a dozen Erie heroes from 1911 to 1993
A locomotive engineer abandoned his train and jumped into a freezing river, making repeated attempts to save a drowning man. A schoolboy swam into Lake Erie to push two younger boys in a drifting raft to shore. Other heroes ran into burning buildings, onto a motorcycle racetrack and after a runaway vehicle with young children inside. They're among the 12 Erie residents who have received Carnegie Medals for heroism since the medals were first presented in 1904. They are awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to honor those who risk death or serious injury while saving or attempting to save the lives of others. The majority of Erie's heroes rushed into the water to save others at risk of drowning, and not just in Lake Erie. Thomas L. Gooley, 33, locomotive engineer, Feb. 11, 1911. Gooley stopped his locomotive and jumped into the Beaver River near New Brighton, Pennsylvania, to rescue a clay miner who had fallen in. Gooley twice was forced to the bank by cramps and though others tried to stop him, then swam to an approaching boat and helped pull the victim from the water. The miner died. Joseph T. Holland, 19, clerk, Aug. 21, 1912. Holland swam from a Lake Erie beach to 19-year-old Hazel Murray, who was shouting for help 60 feet from shore. The frantic woman clutched the neck of Holland's bathing costume and pulled him underwater. He got his head above water a few times until two other swimmers got Murray to shore, where she was revived. Nearly exhausted, Holland swam to shore. James Bickerstaff, 15, schoolboy, June 23, 1921. Bickerstaff swam 100 feet into Lake Erie from Lawrence Park to reach a 13-year-old boy who had swum out to retrieve his hat, then floundered. With the boy clutching one of his arms, Bickerstaff swam back until he could wade and drag the boy. A man finally met them and carried the boy to shore. Ervin W. Carey, 16, schoolboy, April 26, 1943. When a small raft drifted into Lake Erie off Lawrence Park two 13-year-old boys aboard were unable to paddle toward shore with their hands. Carey swam out with a long pole, planning to climb aboard and push the raft. But the raft nearly capsized when he tried to board and the pole was too short. So Carey swam instead, pushing the raft to shore. Melvin Allen, 21, seaman, May 22, 1921. Allen dived into the water when a deckhand trying to swing by rope from their ship to a dock in Duluth, Minnesota, fell into Lake Superior. The man was dazed and in danger of drowning or being crushed by the ship. Allen fastened a lowered rope around the man and climbed behind, helping to support him, as he was hauled on board. Please enable Javascript to view this content. Three more heroes braved a moving car, speeding motorcycles and even an advancing train. Stanislaus Orlemanski, 55, rail crossing watchman, July 24, 1912. Orlemanski grappled with a man who walked onto the tracks in front of an approaching passenger train and then resisted help. The train, moving at 20 mph, hit both men and knocked them 25 feet. The man who had walked onto the track died. W. John Morrison, 29, machinist, Aug. 26, 1921. When a motorcycle racer crashed into a fence and was thrown onto a Lawrence Park track, Morrison ran out to grab him, then jumped aside to avoid another racer. The motorcyclist was able to steer between him and the downed racer, both of whom were pulled to safety by others. The racer died. Morrison broke his leg. Edward C. McIntyre, 28, electrical technician, July 21, 1963. Children ages 3, 4 and 11 screamed in the front seat of a station wagon moving backward down a hill. McIntyre ran to the car, grabbed the steering wheel through the open window, and at the bottom of the hill, jumped inside and applied the brakes as the car approached another parked nearby. The 4-year-old had been climbing out the window and might have been crushed between the cars. Others braved flames or a hole in the ice on Presque Isle Bay to save lives. John F. Denny, 17, schoolboy, Jan. 2, 1934. Denny was on the ice on the bay, 300 feet from shore, when a 69-year-old street cleaner fell through thin ice 700 feet out. Denny fell through the ice trying to rescue the man but was able to pull himself out and onto a piece of lumber that a third man pushed toward them. The street cleaner could not do it, and so Denny ran 400 feet to a dock for rope and, with the third man, was able to pull the man from the water. Thomas E. Lucore, 41, plant guard, Jan. 4, 1960. Lucore went into a burning home when the resident realized that his wife had not followed him and their children outside. Lucore made his way through a partially blocked door into the living room, where the woman was moaning. Blinded by smoke and feeling heat from the floor, Lucore found the woman and dragged her 12 feet to another man, who pulled her outside just before part of the roof collapsed. Both victim and rescuer were burned but recovered. Eric R. Messenger, 26, refuse driver, April 28, 1993. Messenger and co-workers saw a house on fire and learned that a woman, 97, was asleep inside. Messenger went inside and picked the woman up but could not retrace his steps through dense smoke and flames. After repeated attempts, he found the front door, where co-workers took the woman. Both the woman and Messenger suffered smoke inhalation. Messenger also suffered minor burns. Mark Boyd, 35, mechanic, June 8, 1993. Boyd saw smoke rising from his mother-in-law's home, went in and was repulsed by thick smoke partway up the stairs to the second floor. He went up the stairs a second time, and, crawling, found the 61-year-old woman. He dragged and then carried her to safety. Both were treated for smoke inhalation. Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Carnegie Medals honor heroism. Erie has had a dozen recipients
