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A Century of Drownings at Harvey’s Lake (1863-1963) |
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A Century of Drownings at
Harvey's Lake
1863 - 1963
pdf
Report of Study and Findings
of Thirty-Six Drownings in Harvey’s Lake and Susquehanna River
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by F. Charles Petrillo
1. Introduction
Harvey's Lake Police Chief Fred Swanson recovered 17 drowning victims over the years of his service, from 1932 to 1952.
This article recounts 57 reported deaths by drowning at Harvey's Lake between the years 1863-1963. Nearly half of the drownings occurred in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time public access to the Lake was at its zenith with major beaches at Sunset, Picnic Grounds, and Sandy Beach. But there were also boat rental services at points around the Lake. A number of drownings occurred, too, at Warden Place where a drop-off on the Lake bottom contributed to deaths.
The available reports suggest that four victims were never recovered from the Lake depths and a fifth in the post-1963 era.
List of Drowning Victims
This is as complete a list as possible of drownings at Harvey's Lake. The primary source is the Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac; corroborating news articles from the Record and other sources have also been used where possible. These sources may not be complete. Dr. Benjamin S. Davis used the Almanac as the basis for the accompanying article.
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1. June 13, 1863 David Westover |
36. July 11, 1928 Ralph Frey |
© 2002 F. Charles Petrillo (Revised 2019)