The Times-Democrat (Lima, Ohio) 1896 July 28 "An Idaho Hero" "Places his own life in Peril and saves another". - Ferdinand Trentman performed two acts of heroism at Hailey, Idaho, the other morning. One was the saving of human life and the other placing his own life in jeopardy. The warm weather, having caused a perceptible rise of water in the river, it became necessary to remove the brush that had accumulated on the edge of the dam at the foot of Boullion Street. James Riggen and Ferd Trentman, a young blacksmith, were carried out to the damn in a chair secured to ropes drawn down by pulleys. Having an Axe apiece, they soon cut the brush adrift. Riggen then caught ahold of the life rope and was drawn to the shore. Trentman did not, however, even try to catch the rope. Taking hold of the axes, he floated on the brush to the bridge, about 100 feet away. As he neared it he yelled to those to get out of the way. He then threw the axes onto the bridge and jumped onto the bridge himself as he got in reach. The brush must have been moving at the rate of 12 or 15 miles per hour. If he had failed to jump when he did, he would have been a dead man. The same morning Joseph Yentzer, Trentman, and others tried to dislodge a huge tree that had been lodged against the central pier of the main bridge at Boullion street. Yetzer, who was standing on the bridge, attempted to lasso the trunk, but lost his balance and was pulled into the river on the upper side of the bridge, but reappeared on the lower side in a second or two. Trentman instantly jumped into the raging torrent, swam to his drowning partner, and succeeded in pushing him ashore about 200 feet below. - Oregonian.

Daily Inter Lake (Kalispell, Montana) 1943 May 10, the Newspaper article that speaks of Fred Trentman of Livingston, Montana. Evidently, he had saved one of his companions (Joseph Yetzer) from drowning in Hailey, Idaho in 1896 and was awarded a Carnegie medal but he had moved away from Hailey and never received it.
Contributor: Thomas Graham (50744568) •