Monument Still Honors Heroism 100 Years Later, Winfield Courier, January 15, 1991
Collection: Paul Bedilion and Thomas Morgan
Title
Monument Still Honors Heroism 100 Years Later, Winfield Courier, January 15, 1991
Subject
Winfield Daily Courier
Bedilion, Paul
Morgan, Thomas
Winfield, KS
Description
This article recounts the heroism of Thomas Morgan who tried to save his friend, Paul Bedilion, after he fell through the ice while ice skating in January 1891.
Creator
Winfield Daily Courier, Winfield, Kansas USA
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, KS USA
Date
1991-01-15
Rights
Format
text/plain
Type
Clippings
Citation
Winfield Daily Courier, Winfield, Kansas USA, “Monument Still Honors Heroism 100 Years Later, Winfield Courier, January 15, 1991,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed June 23, 2026, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/226.
Text
Monument still
honors heroism 100 years later
One hundred years ago Wednes-day a 19-year-old man gave his life while attempting to save a drown-ing friend in Timber Creek west of Island Park.
Thomas Severance Morgan and Paull Bedilion were skating with friends on Jan. 16, 1891, when the ice gave way and Paull fell into 15 feet of icy water. Morgan jumped in to save him but the ice was too thin to hold the men and too thick for them to break through to the shore.
In a retelling of the tragedy in the Jan. 17, 1928, edition of the Win-field Courier, it said: “Thomas Morgan caught Paull Bedillion (sic) by the coat and tried to swim to the bank. When the boys on the bank called to him saying, ‘Tom, let go or you both will get drowned,' Paull Bedillion answered and said, ‘Tom, don’t let go,’ and Thomas Morgan answered and said to Paull Bedil-lion, ‘I will save you, or we will both go down together.’
“Thomas Morgan held Paull Bedillion by the coat and as he sank in the water, he put up his hand and called out to the boys on the bank saying, ‘Tell Paull’s parents I tried to save him and couldn’t. Tell my folks good-bye. I am all right."
A double funeral was held Jan.
(SEE: Monument, page 3)
1OO
Anniversary
HEROISM — A monument honoring Thomas Morgan still stands at Ninth Avenue and Fuller Street. A hundred years ago Wednesday, Morgan gave his life in an attempt to save a drowning friend in Tim-ber Creek near Island Park.
Monument still honors heroism
(Continued from page 1)
18, and the men’s bodies were bur-ied in Union Cemetery.
The people of the Winfield com-munity were stirred by Morgan’s heroic deed and raised money to erect a monument in his honor. Some of the money was raised by selling portraits of Morgan with the story of his heroism on the back.
Word of the heroic act was spread by newspapers throughout
the country, and contributions for the monument came from many distant states.
According to the 1928 Courier article, the names of those who contributed to the monument and the amounts given were enclosed in the base of the monument.
The monument erected in Morgan’s memory still stands today at the comer of Ninth Avenue and Fuller Street by the southwest corner of Winfield Middle School.
Original Format
Paper
Title
Monument Still Honors Heroism 100 Years Later, Winfield Courier, January 15, 1991
Subject
Winfield Daily Courier
Bedilion, Paul
Morgan, Thomas
Winfield, KS
Description
This article recounts the heroism of Thomas Morgan who tried to save his friend, Paul Bedilion, after he fell through the ice while ice skating in January 1891.
Creator
Winfield Daily Courier, Winfield, Kansas USA
Publisher
Winfield Public Library, Winfield, KS USA
Date
1991-01-15
Rights
Format
text/plain
Type
Clippings
Citation
Winfield Daily Courier, Winfield, Kansas USA, “Monument Still Honors Heroism 100 Years Later, Winfield Courier, January 15, 1991,” Winfield Digital Collections, accessed June 23, 2026, https://winfield.digitalsckls.info/item/226.Text
Monument still
honors heroism 100 years later
One hundred years ago Wednes-day a 19-year-old man gave his life while attempting to save a drown-ing friend in Timber Creek west of Island Park.
Thomas Severance Morgan and Paull Bedilion were skating with friends on Jan. 16, 1891, when the ice gave way and Paull fell into 15 feet of icy water. Morgan jumped in to save him but the ice was too thin to hold the men and too thick for them to break through to the shore.
In a retelling of the tragedy in the Jan. 17, 1928, edition of the Win-field Courier, it said: “Thomas Morgan caught Paull Bedillion (sic) by the coat and tried to swim to the bank. When the boys on the bank called to him saying, ‘Tom, let go or you both will get drowned,' Paull Bedillion answered and said, ‘Tom, don’t let go,’ and Thomas Morgan answered and said to Paull Bedil-lion, ‘I will save you, or we will both go down together.’
“Thomas Morgan held Paull Bedillion by the coat and as he sank in the water, he put up his hand and called out to the boys on the bank saying, ‘Tell Paull’s parents I tried to save him and couldn’t. Tell my folks good-bye. I am all right."
A double funeral was held Jan.
(SEE: Monument, page 3)
1OO
Anniversary
HEROISM — A monument honoring Thomas Morgan still stands at Ninth Avenue and Fuller Street. A hundred years ago Wednesday, Morgan gave his life in an attempt to save a drowning friend in Tim-ber Creek near Island Park.
Monument still honors heroism
(Continued from page 1)
18, and the men’s bodies were bur-ied in Union Cemetery.
The people of the Winfield com-munity were stirred by Morgan’s heroic deed and raised money to erect a monument in his honor. Some of the money was raised by selling portraits of Morgan with the story of his heroism on the back.
Word of the heroic act was spread by newspapers throughout
the country, and contributions for the monument came from many distant states.
According to the 1928 Courier article, the names of those who contributed to the monument and the amounts given were enclosed in the base of the monument.
The monument erected in Morgan’s memory still stands today at the comer of Ninth Avenue and Fuller Street by the southwest corner of Winfield Middle School.
Original Format
Paper