(reprinted from The Record August 7, 1930)

RIVER TRAGEDY LAYS HEAVY HAND ON THREE FAMILIES

Six Members of the Guenthner and Heichelbech Families Meet Death When Boat Capsizes.

A sudden large wave and the shifting to one side of nine little children, not over-loading, was ascribed by members of the family as the cause of the capsizing of a flat-boat on the Ohio river Sunday morning when one man and five children were drowned in one of the grimmest tragedies to appall Louisville or vicinity in a number of years.

Those who lost their lives were Joseph Guenthner, 45, 4716 South Second Street, a worker in the L & N planing mill; his only daughter Mary Matilda who was 12 the 22nd of July; three children of his brother William; Mildred 12, Mary Lee 10, and William Jr.,8; and the youngest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heichelbech, of 1118 Mulberry St., Mary Louise who would have turned 10 years old in November. Mrs. Heichelbech is a sister to Mrs. Joseph Guenthner.

Twenty-nine members of the three families anticipated a pleasurable day's outing Sunday at a camp on Madden place fourteen miles below Louisville on the Ohio river. The camp had been rented for the summer by one of Mr. Joseph Guenthner's sons, Leo, and some friends. Leo Guenthner, Lawrence Shacklett, and two other companions had gone earlier and had been on the river in the flat-boat which was equipped with an out-board motor, but never beyond midstream. When they saw the families arriving, which was about 11:10 they pulled to shore. The children wanted to boat ride and nine of them were put in, Leo Guenthner and Lawrence Shacklett taking charge and Joseph Guenthner the father accompanying the party. The boat stayed within 50 feet of the shore and after going a quarter mile upstream turned around to come back to camp. A sudden large wave caused the children to shift to one side and then the other, then dipping the boat several inches. The older men told the children to sit still, [planning to get out and swim back to shore with the boat, but the children, when they saw the men climb out, jumped into the water after them, and the boat capsized, stricking Joseph Guenthner who was rendered unconscious and drowned. Louis Heichelbech, who was at the camp a quarter of a mile away when the accident happened, succeeded in saving one of his little girls, Anna May, aged 11. Chas. Hager, who was fishing a few yards up stream, rowed out to the overturned boat and took off several of the children sitting on top. A valiant but ineffectual effort was made by the older boys to save all the children, who became panicky. Joseph Guenthner, Jr., drove to the city and took out two coast-guardsmen, who found all the bodies close to the spot where the accident happened.

The flat-boat, 16 feet long and 4 feet wide had been used by the Joseph Guenthner family several times during the summer and was considered safe and large enough to hold ten or twelve grown people. All but three in the boat Sunday were small children. Surviving Joseph Guenthner and his little daughter are his widow Mrs. Mary Schnell Guenthner, and eight sons, the youngest 8 years old William Guenthner, an organ builder, who lives at 2064 South Shelby Street, has left three girls and two boys, the youngest a baby two years and eight months old. Mrs. Guenthner, who was Wilhelmina Brumleve before her marriage, died two years ago. Mr. Heichelbech, a building contractor, has eight living children, six boys and two girls.

Funeral services for Joseph Guenthner and his little girl were held from the Church of the Holy Name Tuesday morning, the Rev. John Oconnor pastor, celebrated the Mass of Requiem. Wednesday morning at St. Elizabeth Church, four coffins containing the remains of the three children of the Wm. Guenthner family and little Mary Louise Heichelbech, stood in the center aisle while a Requiem Mass for them was offered by their pastor, the Rev, John F. Knue.

The tragedy shocked the city, in their sorrow the bereaved, parents have received the sympathy of hundreds of friends and sympathizers. Among those who hastened to offer condolence to the bereaved ones was our Right Rev. Bishop John A. Floersh, accompanied by the Rev. Francis R. Cotton, who visited each of the three families and spoke to every member of the stricken household, which, needless to say was a source, of the greatest consolation to those hearts benumbed with sorrow through the tragic ending of a happily-planned family outing.

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