On a chilly evening in October, 1972, Pete Webb, four-years-old at the time, was playing on his dad’s sailboat and fell into Lake Massawippi. Luckily, he was fished out of the lake by a passer-by, who returned Webb to the care of his parents and then continued on his way.
Forty-four years later, Webb is trying to find the man who saved his life.
“This event is burned into my memory,” Webb said.
He believes the man who pulled him from the lake must have shared the story with someone who could come forward with information to help identify the unsung hero.
“It’s the kind of story a man might tell his relatives or children. Not the kind of thing he would easily forget or keep silent about,” Webb said, in a Facebook post describing the event in as much detail as he could remember.
The incident took place at a cottage on Lake Massawippi between North Hatley and Ayer’s Cliff in 1972.
“It was an unusually cold October, so I had my winter coat on,” remembered Webb.
“My father had a sailboat he had built himself and it was tied to a jetty waiting to be docked for the winter,” he explained.
Webb’s father worked at Ingersoll-Rand. A co-worker, a Scottish fellow by the name of Norman (last name unknown) had a lakeside cottage, and invited Webb’s father to moor the boat there until it could be taken out of the water for the winter.
Webb and another young boy, likely a relative of Norman’s, were outside playing. “They said don’t go near the boat, and of course we went near the boat,” he said, as curious young kids would.
“Unbeknownst to our parents, we went down to the boat which the lake current had pulled to the end of its short rope. I pulled the boat in so we could both jump on deck. The boat floated back to the end of its tether, a few feet (to a four-year-old, a scary distance) from the jetty,” Webb said.
“We were alone, trapped on a boat in the cold, and I panicked,” Webb went on. “I reached down to grab the rope to pull the boat in but instead plunged into the water, which was over my head and very cold. My coat quickly soaked up water and dragged me down. I had a loose grip on the jetty but could not pull myself up and was freezing.”
Webb said a man walking along the shore had likely heard the commotion. He ran down the jetty and pulled Webb from the water by the scruff of the neck. He then proceeded to scold the two boys for playing unsupervised on the sailboat, and then escorted them back to the cottage to the care of their parents.
From what Webb’s dad could remember, the man said something along the lines of “here, I pulled your kid out of the water,” and then continued on his way.
The man didn’t seem to know Norman, the cottage owner, so was likely a visitor to the area.
All Webb could remember about the man was that he appeared to be fairly young, probably in his 30s; he spoke English and had a beard.
“These are just the impressions of an old memory, not facts,” Webb said, unsure of any specific descriptors.
“I’d like to find this man; maybe he is alive or dead. Either way, I’d like to find out who he is. He saved my life and I owe him one. In fact I owe him everything,” Webb said.
Webb grew up in the Townships, and then moved to Stratford, Ont. in 1984. He had a career as professional musician for a number of years, and then returned to school for his PhD in the 1990s. After contract hopping for a few years, he was offered a position at Champlain College and moved back to the area three years ago.
Webb said the incident has long been on his mind, but being back in the area with two kids of his own now, ages five and seven, triggered the memory and some strong emotions.
Two weeks ago, Webb was driving through Ayer’s Cliff with his kids, out to pick up a Christmas tree.
“Maybe it was having the kids in the car,” Webb said, that made him think “Wow, I could have died in Lake Massawippi,” he said, as he drove.
He then had a flash similar to James Stewart’s character in the Christmas classic ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. “If I weren’t here, my kids wouldn’t be here,” he thought, feeling a sudden wave of gratitude towards the stranger that pulled him from the lake.
“Some people are just modest, but I don’t think he would forget this,” Webb said, hoping the man or someone familiar with the story will come forward.
“How do you repay someone for saving your life? I don’t know,” Webb said.
Assuming the man would now be in his late 70s or 80s, Webb said he would be willing to help out in any way he could. “Maybe he needs his shed painted,” he said, or some help running errands.
If he has passed away, Webb said he would still like to know who he was and write a letter to his family if possible.
Webb’s facebook post about the incident has been shared over 170 times, but there have been no concrete leads yet.
He hopes to find a Townshipper who remembers a story being told about the boy pulled from Lake Massawippi in 1972.
Webb’s parents now live in Saskatchewan so they can’t help narrow down where on the lake the cottage was and he was too young to remember any surrounding landmarks, but according to his father, the cottage is believed to be closer to North Hatley than Ayer’s cliff.
The next plausible lead to follow would be to identify the Scotsman Norman, who apparently owned the cottage where the incident took place. Alternatively, Webb’s playmate, believed to be a relative of Norman’s, would be in the 48-50 age range, and may also have information regarding the owners of the neighbouring cottages, where the man who saved Webb’s life was believed to be staying.
Anyone with information is invited to contact Pete Webb through facebook. Readers can also contact The Record newsroom at 819-569-6345; the paper would be happy to pass on any leads regarding the man who pulled the boy from the lake.
Pete Webb: I’m looking for the man who saved my life
