By Phyllis A. Muzeroll
It’s a trip to Maine that Claremont resident Patrick Howe is not likely to forget. Howe, who serves on the Personnel Advisory Board, was vacationing at Pine Point, ME, over the July 4th holiday with his family. They were on the beach on the 4th when they saw a family of three -- mother, father and a child of about 3 or 4 -- walking out into the water towards the rocks. People on the beach, said Howe, began to scream to the family, telling them to turn back. They didn’t and “the tide grabbed them,” Howe told the e-Ticker News. Howe is a volunteer firefighter, a Captain, with the Ascutney Fire Department, and he said his “instincts just kicked in.” He jumped into the water to help the family, accompanied by his nephew.
The father, he said, was trying to hold onto the child and the rocks
and struggling to do so, unable to help his wife, and Howe reached him
and worked to secure his safety while his nephew reached the woman,
helping her to safety on some rocks; she was too traumatized to climb to
the top, said Howe. “She was in terror.” Eventually with more help,
she made it back to the beach safely. “Her eyeballs were the size of
saucers,” he said. Meanwhile, Howe continued to help the father and
little girl until they were out of danger. Fortunately, there were only
minor injuries suffered, scraps and cuts, Howe said. “I got banged up
from the barnacles on the rocks, but nothing serious.”
That same day, a short time earlier, he said, another rescue took place around in the same area, due to the strong tides that are found in that area. There are, he said, no signs that warn visitors of the dangers from the tidal activity. “It happened relatively quick,” he said, describing the incident.
Whether they were still in shock or what, Howe said they watched the trio walking down the beach and back to the parking lot, not having extended a thank you to their rescuers, a fact that Howe thought was curious but that he did not take too seriously. All he knows is, he said, is that “It made me feel fulfilled and I slept well that night.”
That same day, a short time earlier, he said, another rescue took place around in the same area, due to the strong tides that are found in that area. There are, he said, no signs that warn visitors of the dangers from the tidal activity. “It happened relatively quick,” he said, describing the incident.
Whether they were still in shock or what, Howe said they watched the trio walking down the beach and back to the parking lot, not having extended a thank you to their rescuers, a fact that Howe thought was curious but that he did not take too seriously. All he knows is, he said, is that “It made me feel fulfilled and I slept well that night.”
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