Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Laiza, Martin Jr. 1930 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Marilyn Ransom mlnransom@chartermi.net June 19, 2013, 3:19 pm The Ionia Sentinel-Standard, Tuesday, May 6, 1930 An after-school quest of three small Ionia boys for polliwogs in the murky waters of the VanderHeyden brickyard pond, at the western edge of the city, Monday resulted in one of the lads drowning and another barely escaping a similar fate. The dead: Martin Laiza, Jr., 8-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Laiza, 569 Rice street. Martin, in company with Richard and Arnold Wickerham, neighbor lads, eight and seven years old respectively, had gone to the pond after arriving home from the Emerson school, where he attended the A-first grade. Child fashion, they removed their shoes and stocking and started wading barefoot around the edge of the small, shallow pond when they found a loose plank floating. Martin and Arnold climbed onto the plank and started for the center of the pond. As they got about 15 feet off shore the plank began to sink with its load, Martin toppling off into the water, followed by his younger companion. Both boys went down, but Arnold succeeded in grabbing the plank when he came up to the surface. He tried to assist Martin, but his efforts were fruitless. Richard, meanwhile, had remained on shore and was powerless to aid his brother or Martin. Arnold and Richard ran to their home, about a mile distant, and spread the alarm. In the meantime, however, Arthur Selleck, 13-year-old youth living on West Yeomans street, a short distance from the brickyard, learned of the tragedy and, racing to the pond, leaped in and recovered the body, which he found floating on top the water. The water is less than four feet deep where Martin sank. Dr. F. M. Marsh was summoned, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Coroner Mathew J. Bradley and Sheriff William Franch decided an inquest unnecessary after they had questioned witnesses. The Laizas have two other children, Jennie, four years old, and Richard, two. Mr. Laiza recently obtained employment with the county highway department after being jobless all winter. He is a World war veteran and was gassed overseas. Funeral services for Martin will be conducted at the home on Rice street Wednesday afternoon at 3 o’clock by Rev. W. F. Boettcher. Burial will be in Highland Park cemetery. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/ionia/obits/l/laiza20948nob.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/mifiles/ File size: 2.8 Kb