CLIFFORD SEILER

Contractor Drowns in Shoto River
Clifford Seiler Goes Under After Boat Overturns While Fishing
Clifford Seiler, 33, local excavating contractor, drowned in the Shoto river a
mile and a half north of Two Rivers between 3:30 and 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon
while trying to swim to shore after the boat from which he was fishing with two
companions overturned.
The body was recovered at 6:30 p.m. with grappling hooks brought from Manitowoc
by Sheriff Max Hiller. The Two Rivers coast guard assisted the sheriff, deputies
and residents living in the vicinity of the drowning.
Boat Tips Over
Seiler was in the boat with his brother-in-law, Frank Pilger, and Miles Panosh,
Joe Panosh, son of Miles, was fishing from the bank of the river. The men were
fishing for suckers and the flat-bottomed boat was equipped with a large dip net.
Panosh was rowing the boat and Pilger was lifting the net. The men were dressed
in heavy woolen garments and wore boots.
“I was standing up in the back of the boat lifting the net.” Said Pilger in
telling the story of the drowning. “Seiler who was in the front of the boat, also
stood up to see if there were any fish in the net. The boat tipped over. Panosh
couldn’t swim at all and I knew Seiler wasn’t a very good swimmer. I hollered for
Seiler and Panosh to hang on to the bottom of the boat and I would swim to shore
and got help. But Seiler started swimming so I hung on to the boat.
Saw Him Sink
“When Seiler was about half way to shore I saw him sink. I could only see his cap.
I hollered for him to try to get back to the boat and he seemed to be trying to
get back to us. Then he went down again. I grabbed an oar and shoved it to-…
(cont. on page 9) CLIFFORD SEILER DROWNS IN RIVER (Cont. from Page 1)…
ward him. He was going down again but the oar hit his chest and I could feel him
take hold of it. I pulled him toward the boat but when he was about six feet away
from the boat he sank again and he didn’t come up. Panosh and I lay on the boat
and paddled until we could touch bottom.”
Joe Panosh saw the boat overturn and Seiler’s futile efforts to reach shore. He
ran to the farm house of George Pieschel and called the sheriff and the coast guard.
Emil Peterick, who resides near the Pieschel farm, also called the sheriff.
Get Grappling Hooks
Sheriff Hiller and Deputy Otto Lohse obtained grappling hooks from the police
department and went to the scene of the drowning. Boatswain Deegan and Surfmen
William Lucas and Harold Jacobsen of the Two Rivers coast guard arrived with a
large boat. Soon four boats were engaged in a search for the body. Peterick and
Lohse were in one boat, Pieschel and Joe Panosh in another, Ray Mandel, Robert
Grenier and sheriff Hiller in another, and the coast guardsmen in their boat.
At about 6:30 p.m. Pieschel located the body in about 18 feet of water. The body
was placed in the larger coast guard boat and brought to Shimek and Schwartz
funeral home in this city.
Seiler, married and the father of four children, was an excavating contractor.
The family resides at 1801 Menasha avenue.
He was born July 23, 1902 in this city.
On Sept. 24, 1924, Mr. Seiler married Miss Eleanor Pilger. He is survived by his
widow, two daughters, Shirley and Sally, two sons, Harold and Dale, his mother,
Mrs. Emma Seiler, Manitowoc Rapids, one brother, Irving, Manitowoc, and one sister,
Mrs. Leila Mortimere, Appleton.
The funeral will be held Wednesday afternoon at 2 o’clock at the Shimek & Schawrtz
funeral home. The Rev. R. B. Walden will officiate and burial will be in Evergreen
cemetery. The body may be viewed at the funeral home from Tuesday noon until the
hour of the funeral.
Manitowoc Herald Times, May 4, 1936 pp 1,9
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[bur. 5-6-1936/age 33 yrs/cause: accidental drowning/bur. on Eleanor Marie Seiler lot]