High School Pupils Drown

Every person in Olney was shocked and overwhelmed with grief Wednesday afternoon, May 29, 1918, when a telephone message conveyed the sad news that Ruth Henry and Paul Delaney were drowned in the Embarras River at Cow Ford, where the Senior and Junior classes of the Olney township high school were picnicking for the day.

Miss Henry was a member of the 1918 graduating class and Paul Delaney was a junior.

The two classes some time ago agreed to forego the usual formal junior-senior reception and voted an all-day outing instead.

The classes were conveyed in automobiles yesterday morning to the Weber Cabin on the banks of the Embarras and all went well until about 3:15 o’clock when the accident happened. A number of the picnickers were in bathing, among them, Miss Henry and the Delaney boy. During the excitement of bantering one another, as is usual on such occasions, these two found themselves in the swift current of the river and were carried beyond their depth and drowned. The boy and girl were almost in the center of the river bed where the current was pronounced. Due to high water, it was estimated the current runs from 8 to 10 miles an hour at that point, growing even swifter farther down. Both students sank downward after a brief struggle. The struggle was observed by several others who attempted to rescue them, but their efforts were hopeless in finding the bodies, so a call was made to the city for help.

Dr. Frank Weber and others rushed to the river. J.B. Porter, whose establishment had a pulmotor, also raced to the scene. More than a hundred high school students watched and people of the neighborhood flocked to the scene. Divers and draggers worked almost without ceasing during the night.

At 7 a.m. Thursday, Sylvester Hahn secured the body of Miss Henry and raised it to the surface, in 12 feet of water a short distance from where she went down. The body of Paul was raised by Albert Pauley four hours later at 11 o’clock about 15 feet downstream from Miss Henry’s body.

Olney Advocate (IL) - Thursday, May 30, 1918 & June 6, 1918

Mr. and Mrs. M. Odeas and sons have been called to Olney to attend the funeral of Paul Delaney, who was drowned on Wednesday in the river near that city. The young man was attending a picnic given by the junior class of the Olney High School, of which he was a member. The girl companion in the boat with young Delaney was also drowned.

Delaney was the son of Patrick. and Mary Ann (O’Dea) Delaney of Olney and a brother,  James Delaney, a traveling representative of the Public Service Company, with headquarters in Mattoon, Illiois.

The funeral of Paul William Delaney was held at St. Joseph's Catholic Church Saturday morning at 9:30 o'clock with burial in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Olney.

Olney Advocate (IL) – Thursday, June 6, 1918 & Journal Gazette (Mattoon, IL) - May 31, 1918