Like any family on vacation, the Thomases expected to have a wonderful time. In 1892, when they decided to spend a couple of weeks on Loon Lake near Rangeley, they didn’t imagine tragedy would strike. Today we might say they should have seen it coming, but in their day, people did not take safety precautions the way we do.

Apparently, no one in the Thomas family knew how to swim. And yet they planned their vacation around water activities, fishing and boating the dozen or so lakes near Forest Camps. What is worse, their guide didn’t seem to know how to swim either. No one could even keep their head above water, and yet they went out on the lakes every day in boats without any flotation devices.

Whether they feared the water they were so unprepared for, we don’t know, but the Thomas family was having a wonderful time during the early part of their stay. They slept well in spring beds, dined well on roast pork and fried trout and enjoyed a striking view of Loon Lake and Kennebago West Mountain.

Twenty-year-old Marcia Thomas loved to draw the mountains, the pine trees and the water. The entire family enjoyed catching fish.

There was a hint of fall in the air when the Mr. and Mrs. Thomas and their three daughters set out Friday morning in early September for another day of fishing. Their guide, Marsh Carlton, took them to Greeley Pond where he had a spot in mind on the far side. Not everybody could fit in the boat at once, so Mr. Thomas, Marcia and her sister joined the guide first to cross the pond, while Mrs. Thomas and her oldest daughter waited their turn on shore.

What made the boat lurch that day on Greeley Pond? No one ever knew, but the jolt was strong enough to throw all four boaters into the water at once. Mr. Thomas, his daughters and Carlton grabbed hold of the boat now floating upside down.

Greeley Pond wasn’t deep. In fact, the group capsized in only about three feet of water. But what made their plight dangerous was the mud.

Beneath the water was 25 feet of soft mud. A swimmer could have avoided it and swam to shore. A non-swimmer with a life jacket or floating seat cushion could have kicked her way to shore. A guide trained in life saving could have hauled in the others.

But Marcia Thomas, who could not benefit from any of these precautions, struggled to keep hold of the overturned boat, knowing that to let go would mean sinking into a muddy grave.

Exhausted after a half-hour of struggle, Marcia sank to her death while the others watched helplessly.

Finally, camp owner Roland York and his employee McCain arrived at the pond. Evidently they couldn’t swim either, because instead of jumping in to save the survivors, they cut and lashed together cedar poles to float out to them. With what little strength they had left, Mr. Thomas, his daughter and Carlton managed to get back to shore.

A little while later York and McCain managed to haul Marcia’s body up from the soft mud of Greeley Pond. York reported that the drowned girl’s eyes were open and she was smiling.

Luann Yetter has researched and written a history column for the Sun Journal for the past nine years. She teaches writing at the University of Maine at Farmington.

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