Lake Shawnee Swimming Pool Deaths

Lake Shawnee

 Like many locations with the reputation for being haunted, Lake Shawnee is no stranger to death. Mass burials of First Nations people, the Mitchell-Clay Massacre of 1774, multiple drownings on and near the property, and untold traffic fatalities in the vicinity make up a bulk of the deaths, But, there certainly have been others. In trying to find an appropriate way to actually blog about the deaths, both those confirmed and those presumed, I realized I'd have to break it up into multiple entries. 

For this blog, I'll be sharing some of the documentation for three deaths that occurred at the Lake Shawnee swimming pool, between 1930 and 1966. Two children passed away due to eerily similar drowning incidents, and a young gentleman died as a result of a skull fracture while riding on the pool slide. Again, this is by far a comprehensive look at the deaths associated with Lake Shawnee. All blogs dealing with Lake Shawnee here at Theresa's Haunted History will be linked to my original page, Lake Shawnee Amusement Park. 

WAYNE HARMAN:

On Sunday, June 4th, 1961, six-year-old Wayne Harman visited the Lake Shawnee Amusement Park with his family. His mom, Juanita, was in the pool with Wayne and his four other siblings. Although the pool was filled with other swimmers and allegedly had ample lifeguards on duty, at some point young Wayne slipped under the water...and never came back up. No one saw this happen, and it wasn't until later when another swimmer felt the boy's body under the water and alerted the lifeguards. Life-saving measures were taken, but unfortunately, it was too late. Wayne had drowned.

Later that year, Juanita Harman, Wayne's mother, filed a $10,000 lawsuit against Lake Shawnee owner, C.T. Snidow. She alleged that the park was unsafe and negligent in the matter of her son's death. 

The Raleigh Register
06 June 1961

                                     

Beckley Post-Herald
09 December 1961

JOHN TALLEY:

On Sunday, July 3, 1966 12-year-old John Talley was visiting Lake Shawnee with his family, only a day after his twelfth birthday. Assuming he had already left for home, the rest of the family packed up and followed. However, John wasn't there. They returned to Lake Shawnee to find him. Late that evening, his body was finally discovered at the bottom of the pool. He was buried at Roselawn Memorial in Princeton. 

The Charleston Daily Mail
04 July 1966

Death Certificate of John Talley
Source: WV Vital Statistics

KELLEY SOUDER:

On Wednesday, August 6th, 1930 Kelley Souder passed away at a hospital in Princeton, WV. A week earlier, Mr. Souder had been visiting Lake Shawnee Amusement Park and was enjoying the sled ride that slid into the pool. Unfortunately, Mr. Souder was standing on the sled instead of being in a seated position, so when the sled hit a dip in the chute, Mr. Souder lost his footing and fell, striking his head on the side of the chute before reaching the water. When he didn't emerge back out of the pool, his companions came to his aid, rendered aid, and rushed him to the hospital where he underwent an operation to attempt to save his life. He never regained consciousness. 

Bristol Herald-Courier
10 August 1930