Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2023
“I waded out and tried to grab David, but I couldn’t hold him,” said Mike Stephens, age 12. “I went back to shore, took off my pants, and then tried again, but he slipped away and started downstream.”
With those words, Mike tearfully described the fatal moment when his pal, David J. Strehlow, drowned in the Minnesota River Monday afternoon, July 13, 1959, according to an article, “David Strehlow, 13, Drowns In River After Rescue Attempt Fails,” in the July 16, 1959 Shakopee Valley News.
David and Mike had spent the afternoon picking berries and shooting carp with bows and arrows in the Minnesota near Rahr Malting Company, according to “Minnesota River Claims Life of 13-Year Old Near City Bridge,” in the July 16, 1959 Shakopee Argus-Tribune. Before supper they headed home, stopping at the Holmes Street Bridge so that David could wash mud off his shoes. David waded into the seemingly shallow water there.
“He was just wading and went out…he went under…and it was terrible,” Mike muttered to Police Chief Pat Thielen while attempts were made to discover David’s disappearing body about twenty minutes later. “When I looked up again, he was under…bubbles were coming up. I couldn’t see him anymore and I went for help.”
According to the Shakopee Argus Tribune, a sobbing Mike went to a service station nearby to summon help. Police and fire department rescue workers were called to the scene. A crowd was beginning to form on the bridge and along the bank.
“Shakopee firemen launched a boat and were dragging the area with hooks. Lazy bubbles scattered over the river appearing to indicate the likely spot. Yet, no one knew exactly where to dive in a desperate effort to save the boy…. Firemen made sweeps in the immediate area and within minutes contacted the boy’s body some twenty feet from the south bank.” Though twenty minutes had elapsed, the firemen and volunteers at the scene worked feverishly applying artificial respiration, attempting to keep life going or restore it.
“David was taken through the thick riverbank brush to the edge of Joe Kurver’s garden where a respirator was employed, Fr. Martin Flemming arrived to pray over the youth shortly before Dr. B.F. Pearson pulled the blanket over the boy’s head.”
The funeral services for David J. Strehlow, 13 years old, were held at St. John’s Lutheran Church, with Rev. F.A. Meske officiating, according to “Last Rites Today for Strehlow Boy,” Shakopee Valley News, July 16, 1959.
David was born Nov. 7, 1945, son of Harold Strehlow (1911-1989) and Edna Anna Plackner Strehlow (1915-1973). David’s grandparents were August Otto Strehlow, Jr. (1882-1952) and Augusta Gussie Ruehling Strehlow (1888-1990).
David, who attended Shakopee public schools, was survived by his parents and two sisters, Barbara and Nancy. The pallbearers were James Nolting, Stanley Stier, James Perry, Lance Raduenz, Mike Melchior, and James Zoschke.
David was buried at Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.