It was a cold, winter day on December the 27th. The Hicks boys were out of school for Christmas break. They were walking up the ditch bank through the hay field on John Tomonovich’s ranch. It was pretty risky going this way since the snow was about eight inches deep and crusted. Walking was hard enough but if John’s bull should notice them in the field he would charge them and running would be very difficult in the crusted snow. However, it was a short cut to the river and they kept a wary eye on the bull that was with his harem of cows a few hundred yards across the field. The old bull raised his head and watched the boys but did not charge like he always did in the warmer weather days. They figured he was enjoying the warmth of the herd and did not want to exert himself on such a cold day. The boys got across the field and climbed through the fence and up onto the rock dike that ran several miles along the river. The dike was to keep the water off John’s field in the spring during high water time.
Lonny who was fourteen and his brother Mike, a year younger, were setting off on a winter day adventure. Lonny was carrying his fishing pole and some grubs for bait and an axe to cut a hole in the ice. Mike had his .22 rifle to shoot some ducks with if he could find any before they spooked and flew up. As the boys walked along the top of the dike they felt the snow crunching under their boots as it did when the weather was below zero. Lonny commented that “It sure is colder than a well digger’s butt.” Mike replied, “Yeh, it said 18 below on the thermometer on the side of the house when we left a while ago.” The boys had lots of experience dealing with cold weather as they had lived in the little house on River Street in Salmon, since the family came back to Idaho several years before from Arizona. They had moved to Arizona when Lonny was about seven to sweat out the rheumatic fever that he had then. Old Doc Goggins told their parents to take him to a hot, dry climate and he would get well. So, the family moved to Arizona for a year and sure enough, Lonny got over the fever.
Soon they reached the place on the river where an island separated the river into two channels and the small channel, nearer the dike, was frozen over as they knew it would be. There was still a pretty swift current in this channel but not the rough water that was in the larger channel on the other side of the island.
Mike stood on the dike and watched as Lonny slowly walked out onto the ice to test it for thickness. It seemed OK and he began to chop a hole for fishing. Mike hollered, “I will see you later at the house, I am going on up to the head of the big ditch and then I will hunt ducks back down it until I get home.” Lonny yelled back, “OK, I will fish for an hour or so until I get too cold and then go on back to the house, see you there.” Mike replied, “OK, don’t let that bull get you on your way back across John’s field.”
Mike then went on his way up the dike to the head gate that allowed water from the river into the big ditch. The head gate was closed this time of year but Mike knew there were a few pools of water down along the ditch that the ducks kept open during the winter. Ducks can keep water from freezing by swimming in it. They do this to get feed from the bottom of the ponds. He expected he could sneak up and shoot a duck or two with is .22 if he was quiet enough.
Mike did his stalking along the ditch for a mile or so without any luck. The crusted snow was too noisy and the ducks kept flying up before he could sneak through the brush close enough for a shot. He decided that it was to darn cold anyway so he guessed he would just hurry on home before he got much colder. The house was about a half mile away and Mike knew he would be in the warm kitchen in a few minutes with his rear backed up close to the wood stove if he hurried.
As Mike began to increase his walking speed toward the house and warmth he suddenly had the thought that he should go see if Lonny had caught any fish. He told himself, “No, I will see the fish when he gets home after while.” So he hurried along toward home. Again, he got a strong feeling that he should go see how Lonny was doing. He argued with himself for a few minutes and finally told himself, “Crap, I don’t know why I should freeze my butt off but I guess I will so I can see if Lonny caught anything yet.” Mike turned around and began the walk back up the ditch to where he could cross the field to where he knew Lonny was fishing. It was about a mile back and he was pretty grumpy but somehow felt like he should do this.
In the cold weather and crusted snow it took Mike about 45 minutes to get back up the ditch and across the field to the spot where Lonny was fishing. As he climbed up onto the top of the dike he saw his brother out mid-way in the frozen river channel. Lonny was standing in the middle of a hole in the ice. He had obviously broken through. He was in the bitterly cold water up to his arm pits. He had his hands out on the ice on either side of him, keeping his balance so he would not be swept under the ice in the fairly swift current. Mike was amazed that Lonny could be standing there because this was one of the boys favorite swimming spots in the summer and he knew the water there was ten or fifteen feet deep.
Lonny was clearly in serious danger because of the deep water and the swift current. Also, the channel was iced over for at least 300 yards down stream from where Lonny was standing in the water. No way would he live through it if he went under the ice. In fact, they would probably never find is body because there was only a small opening in ice below him and then the river iced over for miles below that. Mike yelled to Lonny, “How can you be standing there in that deep water?” Lonny yelled back, “My feet landed on a tree sticking out from the bank, get me out of here before I slip off and go under.”
Mike quickly broke off a dead branch from a nearby willow tree and crawled out on the ice on his stomach. He extended the branch toward Lonny who grabbed tight with both hands when it got within reach. Mike gradually pulled Lonny out of the hole and up onto the icey surface. Both boys slowly crawled back toward the bank and when they got to safe ice they got up and got off the ice. Mike told Lonny, “Run for home before you freeze.” Lonny took off on the run down off the dike and over the fence and across the field toward home. Mike went back to the ice and crawled out a ways and reach with the long branch and pulled Lonny’s fishing pole and the axe to him. When he could he got hold of them and got off the ice and ran for home too.
By this time Lonny was far across the field and in the trees on the other side. The bull was still with the cows. Mike followed Lonny’s tracks in the snow to make sure he got home OK. It was about a mile and a half so it took a little while for Mike to run home. When he got there Lonny was sitting in the kitchen, near the wood stove with a blanket wrapped around him. His wet clothes were still frozen stiff and leaning against the wall behind the stove to thaw out. Both boys realized how close this had been to a real tragedy for this Idaho family.
Over the years since this happened the thought often came as to why Mike felt so compelled to go back up the ditch bank to check on Lonny? Interestingly, Mike was on his way back to see Lonny, even before he had fallen through the ice. Also, how did Lonny’s feet happen to land on the slippery tree under the ice? No doubt it was the Lord who caused Mike to go back up the ditch. Thank God for the His foreknowledge and His miracles. The Lord looks over us...
Written by Mike Hicks
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