Elders, Alberta

Picher Oklahoma. A drowning 16 year old high school girl struggled under 14 feet of mill pond water for 25 minutes today while her cousin and four boy swimming companions searched frantically for help at a nearby mill. The body of the girl, Alberta Elders, daughter of Chris Elders, Douthat Oklahoma miner, was finally brought to the surface by Francis Scott, an employee of the nearby Skelton Mill No. 7, a unit of the Century Lead and Zinc Company. The newest methods of artificial respiration were applied in efforts to revive the girl, but after nearly 45 minutes of labor over the body by emergency crews of the Bell Telephone Company, the Empire District Electric Company, and the Miami and Picher Police and fire departments, hope was given up. Dr. Matt Connell, Picher physician, examined the body and pronounced her dead at 1:30 o'clock this afternoon. Sudden cramps while swimming was given as the only explanation of the drowning. The girl was known as a rather weak swimmer, but when she sank suddenly in the middle of a 25 foot swim from the edge of the pond to a raft in the middle, no other explanation was attempted. Alberta had been visiting with her father for about a week. For the last year she had been attending high school and living with her mother at Galena Kansas. Her parents have been separated for some time. She had decided to go swimming in the mill pond, one of the largest in the district, shortly before noon and with her cousin, Helen Elder, and four Douthat high school boys, Charles Bass, Abe Bass, Junior Smith and Major Carter, splashed in the water for about a half-hour. Then she decided to try to swim to the raft, in deeper water. When she went under, her companions swam ashore and called for help. The body was taken to the Todd undertaking company at Picher shortly before 2 o'clock this afternoon.

Funeral services for Alberta Elders, 14 year old girl who drowned late yesterday morning in a mill pond at Century Oklahoma, will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock in the Boise funeral chapel at Galena Kansas. The Rev. H. M. Skaggs, pastor of the Galena Christian church, will officiate, and burial will be in Hillcrest cemetery at Galena under the direction of the Todd undertaking company. She is survived by her father, Chris Elders of Douthat; mother, Mrs. Anna Hopper of Galena; one sister, Dorothy Elder of Galena, and a step-brother, Floyd Hopper, Jr., of Delaware Oklahoma.

...Miss Elders, who had attended high school at Galena last year was visiting at the home of her father, Chris Elders. The girl's body was taken to the home of her mother, Mrs. Floyd Hopper, 116 Short Street, Galena Wednesday afternoon. At 10 o'clock Thursday morning the body was removed to the Boice chapel where it remained until the funeral services. The Rev. H. M. Scaggs, pastor of the Christian church of Galena officiated. Burial was in Hillcrest cemetery. Pallbearers were Misses LaJunta Spell, Alice Abernathy, Nadine Fitzgerald, Treva Glassery, Nellie Maudlin and Georgetta Maudlin all of Douthat. The flower girls were Galena Residents. Note: There are two different ages given in the articles.