When A Lewisburg Boy Received A Carnegie Medal

Fleming Claude Bower, son of Attorney Frederick E. Bower of Lewisburg, recipient of the Carnegie Medal, for saving a 12 year old Milton boy from drowning in the icy river, January 1909.

 Who knew a broken arm could be so lucky?

Fleming Bower, age 26, entered the navy after graduating from Bucknell. A machinist on the ship "Georgia", Bower had his arm broken when an iron beam fell on it.

According to the Lewisburg Chronicle, it had been found that "the broken arm has not properly united, and a resection of the bone by a Boston specialist will be made."

Well, that sure doesn't sound lucky, does it?

Unless you know that on July 16th 1907, there was an explosion on the Georgia.  Eight seamen were killed, and not one of those in the turret escaped injury.

"The accident happened while the battleship was several miles off Provincetown and the men were engaged in target practice, together with other vessels of the battleship squadron of the Atlantic fleet. The powder had just been taken from the ammunition hoist to lead an 8-inch gun. It was seen to be burning and in an instant it exploded in the very face of the loader of the gun. No damage was done to the vessel, as the powder was not confined, and early last evening, under orders from Washington, the GEORGIA sailed back for the target grounds of Provincetown."

How the powder became ignited is not known, but the theory held at the navy yard is that it was set off by a spark from the smokestack of the warship.

Bower was not on board the ship at the time, because he had a broken arm.  A broken arm that didn't heal properly, and required a special surgery, and a much longer time to heal than expected.

And that's how he came to be back in his hometown of Lewisburg, visiting with his parents, in January of 1909.  Which turned out to be extremely lucky, for 12 year old Stoner Watts.

Stoner Watts, of Cameron Avenue in Milton, was ice skating, along with his friends, below the railroad bridge on the Susquehanna River, when he fell into a hole in the ice.  The Miltonian says:

 "His young companions fled at the sight of the boy's predicament, Mr. Bower, however, being in the neighborhood and taking in the situation, took a headlong plunge of twenty feet, caught the boy and succeeded in holding him above water [at the edge of the ice], until rescuers reached the pair in a boat, when they were taken to shore in an exhausted condition."

In 1910, Bower received a Carnegie Silver Medal.

 

An article in the Carnegie Hero Fund Periodical, imPulse, June 2012, says that the award came with a grant of $2,000, which Bower applied to the  resumption of his studies at Bucknell and then at Cornell University, where he studied mechanical engineering. During World War I, he served in the U.S. Merchant Marine as first assistant engineer aboard the Armenia, a German ship that had been seized. On a voyage to England the vessel was torpedoed twice but remained seaworthy. Bower was then an ordnance inspector in Findlay, Ohio, before entering the U.S. Maritime Service, which was
established in 1938. During World War II, he served as chief engineer on ships carrying
ammunition to American forces in North Africa for airplanes and trucks to forces in England. He rose to the rank of commander. 

Along the way, Bower married Catherine Ruth Haldeman. The union, which bore 11
children, four of whom survive, lasted until Bower’s death in 1973 at age 91. “All of us are deeply proud of him,” says granddaughter Cathy Hughes Atkinson of Palm Coast, Fla. “My grandfather was and remains a great source of family pride and forever remains a man of honor. What he did inspires us all and will continue to inspire his descendants.” 

When he retired, Bower read an entire set of encyclopedias from start to finish.

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About The Carnegie Medal
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On January 25th 1904, a disaster in the Harwick Mine, just outside of Philadelphia, claimed the lives of 181 men.  Selwyn M. Taylor and Daniel A Lyle gave their lives in rescue attempts.   Greatly touched by Taylor's and Lyle's sacrifice, Andrew Carnegie had medals privately minted for their families.  Two months later he  wrote a "Deed of Trust",  for a Carnegie Hero Fun,  established to recognize persons who perform extraordinary acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and the dependents of those killed saving or attempting to save others. Those chosen for recognition receive the Carnegie Medal and become eligible for scholarship aid and other benefits.

Carnegie medals are 3 inch in diameter, cast in bronze, silver and gold. Chapter 15 verse 3 from the Gospel of John encircles the outer edge: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" . The trust soon stopped issuing gold medals, and the last silver medal was issued in 1981.

    Approximately  11% of those nominated received the Carnegie Medal

The Commission’s working definition of a hero as well as its requirements for awarding remain largely those that were approved by the founder. The Fund's website states the criteria:

• "The rescuer must be a civilian who knowingly and voluntarily risks his or her own life to an extraordinary degree. Members of the armed services and children considered by the Commission too young to comprehend the risk involved are ineligible for consideration."
• "The rescuer must have rescued or attempted the rescue of another person."
• "The act of heroism must have occurred in the United States, Canada, or the waters thereof (12 nautical miles).
• "The act must be brought to the attention of the Commission within two years of the date of its occurrence." [ roughly one-quarter of awards have been given posthumously]
• "The act of rescue must be one in which no full measure of responsibility exists between the rescuer and the rescued, which precludes those whose vocational duties require them to perform such acts, unless the rescues are clearly beyond the line of duty; and members of the immediate family, except in cases of outstanding heroism where the rescuer loses his or her life or is severely injured."
• "There must be conclusive evidence to support the threat to the victim’s life, the risk undertaken by the rescuer, the rescuer’s degree of responsibility, and the act's occurrence."

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For more Stories & History of Lewisburg:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2020/08/lewisburg-pa.html

And more stories and history from surrounding towns:

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/p/history.html

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READ MORE

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September 1907

"Fleming C. Bower, 26, student, saved Stoner F. Watts, 12, from drowning, Milton, Pennsylvania, January 21, 1909. Bower jumped into a hole in the ice, in the middle of the Susquehanna River, to the assistance of Stoner, who had skated into the open water. He supported him while they drifted 60 feet to the end of the hole, and, while the current pulled at his legs, with his arms on the ice, he supported the boy for five minutes until two men reached them in a boat."

Fleming Bower, of Lewisburg, made a thrilling rescue of a twelve year old boy from a watery grave. The smoothness of the ice invited skaters from all around, and young Watts, who lives on Cameron avenue, with a host of young friends were skating just below the R. R. bridge on the river here, when the young fellow skated into an air hole fifty by seventy feet in size. His young companions fled at the sight of the boy's predicament, Mr. Bower, however, being in the neighborhood and taking in the situation, took a headlong plunge of twenty feet, caught the boy and succeeded in holding him above water, until rescuers reached the pair in a boat, when they were taken to shore in an exhausted condition. Young Bower is a former Bucknell student and son of Attorney F. E. Bower, of Lewisburg, who is now in the Naval service on the battleship, Georgia. He is voted a brave lad by everybody in Milton, and will be heard from later. - The Miltonian, Jan 29 1909

  

Stoner Fermin Watts was born in July of 1896, the son of Peter & Phoebe (Hornberger) Watts.

A machinist for ACF, he  married Clara Raup.  Watts died in 1964, and is buried in Harmony Cemetery in Milton.

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Other Valley Residents

 Who Have Received The Carnegie Medal:

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LUTHER H WAGNER  Milton, PA, Water w/Ice 1906

MELVIN MACGILL Renovo, Pa Water 1952

BENJAMIN A. ADAMS Sunbury, PA   Electrocution   1929

KENNETH L. BOARDMAN Sunbury, PA   Moving Vehicle - Path   1975

EDWARD T. HAMMER Sunbury, PA   Moving Vehicle - Path   1945

DAVID C. LEONARD Sunbury, PA   Water   1936

AMBROSE A. METTLER Sunbury, PA   Electrocution   1912

WILLIAM H. VONADA Sunbury, PA   Moving Vehicle - Path   1933

HOWARD B. CHEYNEY Williamsport, PA   Water   1914

SHELDON V. CLARKE Williamsport, PA   Water   1912

VITTORIO DE PARASIS Williamsport, PA   Water   1948

HARRY ST. CLAIR HATHAWAY Williamsport, PA   Water   1939

MARGARET KISNER Williamsport, PA   Water   1917

BARBARA ANN KOPP Williamsport, PA   Moving Vehicle - Inside   1957

CLARENCE W. LYONS Williamsport, PA   Water w/Ice   1909