Features
The enthralling account of the attempt to revive a drowning victim – as written at the time by Dr. John Eadie
By BERNIE BELLAN Fascinated as I was by the story I had received from Reid Linney about Aron Katz, there was something else attached to the information about Aron Katz that was equally compelling: A vivid account of an attempt to revive a drowning victim, also in Big Whiteshell Lake (which is where Aron Katz drowned). It turns out that, subsequent to publishing the story of Aron Katz’s life – and tragic death, in our Aug. 3 print issue, we received information that confirmed the drowning victim in the account you are about to read could not have been Aron Katz.
What happened was that years ago, Dr. Gerald (Yosel) Minuk, who was also a classmate of Reid Linney and Aron Katz at St. John’s, had read an account of a drowning in Big Whiteshell Lake in a book titled It was a photocopy of something that, as Gerald (Yosel) Minuk subsequently explained to me in an email, had appeared in a book titled “History and Folklore of the Whiteshell Park North,” which his wife happened to buy from a woman going door to door selling copies of the book about cottage life in the Whiteshell area.
After Dr. Minuk had read Dr. Eadie’s chapter in the book, titled “Triumph and Disaster,” he was certain that the story Dr. Eadie tells must have been that of Aron Katz’s drowning. He sent a photocopy of the chapter to Reid Linney who, in turn, sent it to me.
It turn out the author of the story, Dr. John Eadie, was a Director of Public Health in Manitoba who would eventually became the Director of Epidemiology for the Province of Manitoba.
In his obituary, it notes that Dr. Eadie, who died in 2014, was born in England, studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, and served with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Burma/Rangoon during the Second World War.
in 1950 Dr. Eadie and his family moved to Portage la Prairie. “In 1955 the family moved to Winnipeg, and later he purchased a cabin on Big Whiteshell Lake, where he would spend his retirement years exulting in family and his beloved outdoors,” his obituary notes.
I’ve decided to reprint Dr. Eadie’s entire account of what happened one summer day in the Big Whiteshell. However, as you’ll see once you start to read Dr. Eadie’s account, he says that what happened occurred on a Sunday – and that he decided to record his recollection of the day’s events at 4:00 am the following day, which would have made that a Monday. Aron Katz drowned on a Tuesday – and, as you’ll see at the end of this story, Dr. Eadie’s own daughter, Sheelagh, offered further evidence that the drowning victim described in the story you are about to read was not Aron Katz.
Here is Dr. Eadie’s story:
BIG WHITESHELL LAKE
JOHN A. EADIE
LOT 8 BLOCK 4
TRIUMPH AND DISASTER
“A normally busy Sunday at the lake started, for me , at about 7:30 a.m., when I took my wife’s dog for a run up to the ‘mountain’ behind our cottage. After a rest to admire the start of another ‘Sunny Manitoba Morning,’ without a cloud in the sky – back downhill, with Tuffy in the lead, to breakfast alone, listening to the world political situation on C.B.W., as was my custom.
“A quick shave and out to do chores – gas up in readiness for a day’s water-skiing, etc. Still no one else astir in the cottage. So out comes the axe and finally dispose of that poplar stump that should wake someone.
“Now the boys are astir and we’re off water-skiing. The water’s a bit choppy and there’s plenty of traffic – so I do most of the driving. Kenny goes first – an old pro at 13 years, followed by his friend Lars – skiing for 24 hours, but keen to catch up. Then Maria – a beginner, but too shy to tell us to speed it up for her. Irene and Carmen – prospective sisters-in-law to my two older boys – go up double.
(At this point the story is cut off. It resumes here:)
“A swim to the point with my wife, Pat, and a friendly visit with the neighbours.
“Great Scot – it’s 3:30 p.m – so we’re up to grab some lunch. When that’s over, the day’s activities tell their tale and I drop off for 40 winks.
“A thunder of feet up the stairs, ‘Dad, there’s a drowning at the dock!’”
“Up and moving. Grab the keys – to the wagon – drive to the dock. The kids beat me to it by boat – tell me it’s out at the diving dock, but they take me over by boat – 13-year-olds think fast and act with purpose.
“At the floating dock – signs of tragedy. A lifeless young man in his prime, the centre of earnest ineffective efforts at artificial respiration and cardio massage. What to do? Find out what the chances are or try to improve the resuscitation techniques? I’ll have to try both, somehow.
“ ‘ How long was he under?’ – ’15 minutes – maybe 10 – maybe eight – Who had a watch – how accurate are the estimates?’ (five minutes is the limit.)
“ ‘Is he breathing “No!’
“ ‘ Any pulse?’ ‘Yes,’ says Nurse.
“ ‘Is his airway clear? Are we getting air into his lungs?’ ‘Not much!’
“ ‘OK – four men get an arm or leg up and lift him, head down, feet up. You “Nurse” – (she wasn’t, but we didn’t know for an hour) – help clean out the mouth of blood and vomit. Quick – back down – on his back and start massage and breathing.’ Not good – take over breathing and show breather how to get a good breath in – chest rises – ‘OK? Now you try it. Get the rhythm 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005 – breathe. Repeat – a beat a second and a breath every five beats.’
“Am doing the massage – ‘Who can take over?’ ‘I will,’ says a voice – strong and confident – and he has the build to see us through to Pinawa. ‘OK – use the butt of the palms, quick beats – right on the breast bone – see?’ ‘OK!’ – tries it.
“Nurse reports femoral pulses – colour poor – pupils not good. To continue or stop?
“No one knew how long he was under for sure – he’s turning pink after being tipped up a couple of time and improving technique. OK – he has a chance – let’s give it to him.
“Time to look to the next step. ‘We need a hard board and four men to help lift.’ ‘Here we are!’ A surfboard appears – ‘We need a boat to get him to main dock.’ ‘OK- change boats – yours is biggest. Can you bring it alongside?’ ‘Did anyone send for ambulance or Mounties?’
(At this point the story is cut off again. It resumes here:)
“new catch phrase -KEEP the SYSTEM GOING. ‘If you’re tired ask for relief.”
“ ‘When we move him onto the surfboard after the next breath – hold it, he’s filling up again – tip him up and clean him out. Well done!’ Back to the SYSTEM. It’s going again.
“ ‘OK, now move him on to the board after next breath – 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005 – Breath – MOVE!’ He’s on the board – KEEP the SYSTEM GOING.
“ “Next move – move the board on to the boat – head to front – breather and cardiac massager keep going. After next breath MOVE but KEEP THE SYSTEM GOING.’ He’s in the boat – the two men on the outside fall in the lake and get left behind. Nobody laughs.
“We’re moving – to the main dock. On to dock –
“ Get the crowd out of the way!’ Someone does.
“ OK. Four men move him down the dock, but KEEP the SYSTEM GOING!’
“ ‘Who’ll drive my wagon?’ – ‘I will.’ – ‘Here’s the keys – the blue wagon’ – back it on to the dock – tailgate down – four movers ready – into the wagon and the SYSTEM KEEPS GOING.
“Nurse” asks privately – ‘What are his chances?’ – ‘Just about zero.’
“The Mounties are here, flashing lights and the works.
“ ‘We need water in a cooler – bucket – anything.’ They appear.
“We’re off.
“ ‘Hey, not so fast – watch the corners – we can’t do massage at that speed.’ We’re all on our knees – never knew steel deck was so hard on knees, especially on corners and on my cartilage scar.
“ ‘OK – relieve the breather!’ ‘I’m OK, Doc.’
“ ‘You can’t do it all yourself – take a break and come back stronger.’ ‘OK.’
“He’s getting pinker – He’s got femoral pulses. His pupils seem smaller, are they really? Wish I had my glasses! ‘Good work –keep it up – Keep it up – change breather – change massager – keep it up. Get a rest.’
“A young guy in his car gets between us the Mounties and won’t pull over, despite our lights and horn. The Mounties radio ahead and he’s invited to stop for a ticket at Seven Sisters.
“Half hour to Pinawa. Twenty minutes to Pinawa. Ten minutes to Pinawa. He’s still pink, still got a pulse. But, what about those pupils? Keep it up. ‘Breather rest so you can take over again at Pinawa.’
(Cut off again. Resumes here:)
“femoral pulse – but hold it – those pupils are dilated and fixed and have been for half hour or more. Don’t tell the team – yes, we’re a team now – everyone knows his job and does it well.
“Last time – KEEP the SYSTEM GOING – back in to the Emergency door. A word with Pinawa doctor – into Emergency.
“Electro-cardiogram shows he still has pulses, still was pink – without the system pulses become few and weak – pupils still dilated. The patient is dead. DISASTER! Or is it triumph? – Seven total strangers – who didn’t even know each others’ names – worked themselves into a team in three hours of desperate effort for a patient whose name they didn’t know.
“When the verdict was finally announced – that he was dead – despite pulses and pink colour – the Nurse looked around the room and there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen. For a stranger? Who is a stranger?
“The dilated pupils showed the patient’s brain had died before he was pulled from the water He’d been down too long – but who could be sure? He had a chance – we gave it to him – but it didn’t work out.
“The team was totally exhausted. After a wash up and juice or coffee the Mounties took our statements His girlfriend’s father came in to thank us – she was too distraught.
“Then home to family and friends, bucking traffic all the way back to Big Whiteshell – where there is still no lifeguard!
“Dozens of these helpers who gave instant action and response to requests should not be forgotten.
“But for the seven people – four men: an orderly, a policeman, president of the Campers Association, and the doctor; three ladies: a nurse, an accountant, and a housewife we thought was a nurse – it will remain TRIUMPH AND DISASTER.
“(Above disjointed notes written at 4:00 am the following morning, when I couldn’t get b
ack to sleep for the drama going round and round in my mind.”)
Post script: As mentioned at the beginning of this story, despite the many similarities between Aron Katz’s drowning and the drowning described in Dr. Eadie’s account – which had led Dr. Minuk to assume that the account was indeed that of Aron Katz’s drowning, subsequent to publishing this story in the Aug. 3 print issue of The Jewish Post & News, we received an email that had been written by Dr. Eadie’s daughter, Sheelagh. In it Sheelagh wrote: “I am thinking that Aron is not the person John assisted.
Aron died on a Tuesday and given that Dad wrote his notes right away and refers to it being a Sunday it is not likely that he would confuse the day of the week. As noted this is a discrepancy that is noteworthy.
“Secondly, he refers to his son, Ken, as being 13 but in July 1973, he was 11 going on 12.
“Dad was a precise person, not sure that detail would be altered.”
Features
History of a Holocaust Survivor Turning Eighty
By HENRY SREBRNIK On July 19, I turn 80 years old. This is indeed a milestone, but for me, an even bigger one was just being born. My parents were Holocaust survivors, and I found out just a few months ago that, technically, so am I. My parents were from Czestochowa, Poland, where I was born in 1945. By 1943 most Jews in the city, including their own families, had been murdered by the Nazis, at Treblinka, and after the uprising in the Jewish ghetto, my parents, by now married, became slave labour in a major Nazi munitions plant, the HASAG-Pelcery concentration camp, in the city.
The Russian army liberated Czestochowa January 16-17, 1945, and I was born July 19, six months later. You can do the math. My mother was emaciated and didn’t even know she was pregnant, but another month, and it would have been obvious, and she would have been killed. (I never asked how this happened but found out when listening to her testimony for the Shoah Foundation in 1995. The men and women were housed in different barracks, but one night the Germans were delousing one of the buildings and allowed married couples to sleep together in the other.)
In 1945 the 9th of Av fell on July 19, and the Jewish world had just gone through our worst period in history. I was born in a makeshift hospital at the Jasna Gora, the famed Pauline Catholic monastery in the city. The actual city hospital had been destroyed in the fighting. It is home to the Matka Boska Czestochowska, (“the mother of God”), a very beautiful and large icon of Mary and the baby Jesus. Other women giving birth were surprised and one said, “Ona jest Zydowka” (She’s a Jew). So, though I am a proud Polish Jew, this could only have helped! The doctor who delivered whispered to my mother that he was Jewish but added that he wanted it kept quiet because he wasn’t going to leave Poland. It also took awhile for a mohel to come to the city for me.
The next few years were spent in Pocking-Waldstadt, a DP camp in the American zone in Bavaria, Germany, and then on to Pier 21 in Halifax and Canada. We lived in Montreal, though at home we were to all intents and purposes in Czestochowa, Jewish Poland.
As I was packing up my books in May because we all had to vacate our offices for the summer due to repairs in our building, I came across a book that I had never read – I don’t even recall where I got it — by the Polish historian Lucjan Dobroszycki, Survivors of the Holocaust in Poland: A Portrait Based on Jewish Community Records 1944-1947 (Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1994). Chapter 5 is comprised of “Lists of Jewish Children Who Survived,” in alphabetical order. I am listed on p. 146 (Heniek Srebrnik, 1945). I sent in a form to the Claims Conference in New York informing them. So, at age 80, I’ve become a Holocaust survivor! Compared to that start, the next decades have been easy street! As the Aussies say, “no worries! But the Jewish world has grown darker. Like many others, were I to write a memoir, I’d call it From Hitler to Hamas.
I grew up in Montreal, and have lived in Calgary and Charlottetown, as well as London, England, and four American cities. But I’ve only been to Winnipeg twice, in 1982 and, more dramatically, the weekend of Sept. 7-10, 2001. I presented a paper on “Birobidzhan on the Prairies: Two Decades of Pro-Soviet Jewish Movements in Winnipeg,” to a conference on “Jewish Radicalism in Winnipeg, 1905-1960,” organized by the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada. I left the morning of Sept. 11. An hour into the flight to Toronto we were told all airplanes had to land at the nearest major airport. I spent the next three days in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., with fellow passengers. We mostly watched the television reporting on the 9/11 catastrophe.
Though an academic, I have always written for newspapers, including Jewish ones, in Canada and the United States. Some, like the Jewish Free Press of Calgary, the Jewish Tribune of Toronto, and the previous version of the Canadian Jewish News, no longer exist, which is a shame. Fortunately, the Jewish Post still does.
Henry Srebrnik is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island.
Features
Why Prepaid Cards Are the Last Refuge for Online Privacy in 2025
These days, it feels like no matter what you do online, someone’s watching. Shopping, streaming, betting, even signing up for something free—it’s all tracked. Everything you pay for with a normal card leaves a digital trail with your name on it. And in 2025, when we’re deep into a cashless economy, keeping anything private is getting harder by the day.
If you’re the kind of person who doesn’t want every little move tied to your identity, prepaid cards are one of the only real options left. They’re simple, easy to get, and still give you a way to spend online without throwing your info out there. One card in particular, Vanilla Visa, is one of the better picks because of how widely Vanilla Visa is accepted and how little personal info it needs.
Everything’s Online, and Everything’s Tracked
We used to pay for stuff with cash. Walk into a store, hand over some bills, leave. No names, no records. That’s gone now. Most stores won’t even take cash anymore, and the ones that do feel like the exception. The cashless economy is here whether we like it or not.
So what’s the problem? Every time you swipe or tap your card, or pay with your phone, someone’s logging it. Your bank saves the details. The store’s system saves it. And a lot of times, that data gets sold or shared. It can get used to target you with ads, track what you buy, where you go, and when you do it.
It’s not just companies either. Apps collect it. Hackers try to steal it. Some governments keep tabs too. And if you’re using the same card everywhere, it all gets connected pretty fast.
Why Prepaid Cards Still Matter
Prepaid cards are one of the only ways to break that chain. You go to a store, buy one with cash, and that’s it. No bank involved. No name. You just load it up and use it. And because Vanilla Visa is accepted on most major websites, you can use it just like any normal card.
You’re not giving out your real name or tying it to your main account. That means when you pay for something, it’s not showing up on your bank statement. It’s not getting saved under your profile. You’re basically cutting off the trail right there.
Why Vanilla Visa Stands Out
There are a few different prepaid card brands out there, but Vanilla Visa is probably the most popular. You can grab one at grocery stores, gas stations, pharmacies—almost anywhere. And once you’ve got it, you can use it on pretty much any site where Vanilla Visa is accepted.
No long setup. No personal info. You don’t need to register it under your name. You just pay, go online, and spend the amount that’s on the card. When it runs out, you toss it and move on. No trace.
This makes it great for anyone who wants to sign up for a site without attaching their real identity. People use it for online gaming, streaming, subscriptions, or just shopping without giving out their main card info.
The Good and the Bad
There are some solid upsides to using a prepaid card:
- You don’t need a bank account
- You don’t give out your name or address
- It’s easy to budget since you can’t spend more than you loaded
- Most major sites take them, especially where Vanilla Visa is accepted
But there are a few downsides too:
- You can’t reload the card. Once it’s empty, it’s done
- You can’t use it to get money out, like at an ATM
- Some cards have small fees or expiration dates, so don’t let them sit too long
- A few sites want a card tied to a name and billing address, which doesn’t work here
- If you lose it or someone steals the number, you’re probably not getting the money back
So yeah, prepaid cards aren’t perfect. But if privacy is the goal, they’re still one of the few things that actually help.
Real Ways People Use Them
Let’s say you’re trying out an online casino. You don’t want your bank seeing it. You don’t want it on your statement. You walk into a Walgreens, buy a Vanilla Visa with a hundred bucks in cash, then use it to make your deposit. Done. The casino sees a card, but not your name.
Or maybe you’re signing up for a new subscription. Could be a video platform, a magazine, whatever. You don’t want it auto-charging your main card every month or sharing your info with advertisers. Use a prepaid card, and it stays off the radar.
Even if you’re just buying something from a site you don’t totally trust, using a card that isn’t tied to your real money is a smart move.
Will These Cards Still Be Around?
That’s the thing people are starting to worry about. Some stores have started asking for ID when you buy higher-value prepaid cards. And there’s talk in some countries about requiring people to register cards before using them.
Governments don’t like anonymous money. Companies definitely don’t. There’s a chance that in the future, prepaid cards will be harder to get or come with new rules.
But for now, they still work. You can still walk into a store with cash and walk out with a prepaid card. And as long as Vanilla Visa is accepted at the places you shop, you’ve got a way to stay private.
Bottom Line
If you’re living in 2025 and trying to protect your privacy online, prepaid cards are one of the last easy options. The cashless economy makes it almost impossible to pay without leaving a record, but prepaid cards break that pattern. They don’t ask for your name. They don’t track your habits. And they don’t leave a trail if you use them right.
They won’t fix everything. They don’t keep you completely invisible. But they give you a level of control that’s hard to find now. In a world that wants to watch your every move, that still counts for something.
Features
Winkler nurse stands with Israel and the Jewish people
By MYRON LOVE Considering the great increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Canada over the past 20 months – and the passivity of government, federally, provincially and municipally, in the face of this what-should-be unacceptable criminal behaviour, many in our Jewish community may feel that we have been abandoned by our fellow citizens.
Polls regularly show that as many as 70% of Canadians support Israel – and there are many who have taken action. One such individual is Nelli Gerzen, a nurse at the Boundary Trails Health Centre (which serves the communities of Winkler and Morden in western Manitoba). Three times in the past 20 months, Gerzen has taken time off work to travel to Israel to support Israelis in their time of need.
I asked her what those around her thought of her trips to Israel. “My mother was worried when I went the first time (November 2023),” Gerzen responded, “but, like me, she has trust in the Lord. My friends and colleagues have gotten used to it.”
She also reports that she is part of a small group of fellow believers that meet online regularly and pray for Israel.
Gerzen is originally from Russia, but grew up in Germany. Her earliest exposure to the history of the Holocaust, she relates, was in Grade 9 – in Germany. “My history teacher in Germany in Grade 9 went into depth with the history of World War II and the Holocaust,” she recalls. “It is normal that all the teachers taught about the Holocaust but she put a lot of effort into teaching specifically this topic. We also got to watch a live interview with a Holocaust survivor.”
What she learned made a strong impression on her. “I have often asked myself what I would do if I were living in that era,” she says. “Would I have been willing to hide Jews in my home? Or risk my life to save others?”
Gerzen came to Canada in 2010 – at the age of 20. She received her nursing training here and has been working at Boundary Trails for the last three years.
“I believe in the G-d of Israel and that the Jews are his Chosen People,” she states. “We are living at a time of skyrocketing anti-Semitism. Many Jews are feeling vulnerable. I felt that I had to do something to help.”
Gerzen’s first trip to Israel was actually in 2014 when she signed onto a youth tour organized by a Christian group, Midnight Call, based in Switzerland. That initial visit left a strong impact. “That first visit changed my life,” she remembers. “I enjoyed having conversations with the Israelis. The bible for me came to life. Every stone seemed to have a story.”
She went on a second Midnight Call Missionaries tour of Israel in 2018. She went back again on her own in the spring of 2023. After October 7, she says, “I couldn’t sit at home. I had to do something.”
Thus, in November 2023, she went back to Israel, this time as a volunteer. She spent two weeks at Petach Tikvah cooking meals for Israelis displaced from the north and the south as well as IDF soldiers. She also spent a day with an Israeli friend delivering food to IDF soldiers stationed near Gaza. She notes that she wasn’t worried so close to the border.
“I trusted in the Lord,” she says. “It was a special feeling being able to help.”
Last November, she found herself at Kiryat Shmona (with whom our Jewish community has close ties), working for two weeks alongside volunteers from all over the world cooking for the IDF.
On one of her earlier visits, she recounts, a missile struck just a few metres from the kitchen where the volunteers were working. There was some damage – forcing closure for a few days while repairs were ongoing, but no injuries.
In January, she was back at Kiryat Shmona for another two weeks cooking for the IDF. She also helped deliver food to Metula on the northern border. This last time, she reports, there was a more upbeat atmosphere, “even though,” she notes, “the wounds are still fresh. It was quieter. There were no more missiles coming in.
“Israelis were really touched by the presence of so many of us volunteers. I only wish more Christians would stand up for Israel.
“It was really moving to hear people’s stories first-hand.”
She recounts the story of one Israeli she met at a Jerusalem market who fought in the Yom Kippur war of 1973, who was the only survivor of the tank he was in.
“This guy lost so much in his life, and he was standing there telling the story and smiling, just trying to live life again,” she says. “The people there are so heartbroken.”
Back home, she has been showing her support for Israel and the Jewish people by attending the weekly rallies on Kenaston in support of the hostages whenever she can.
She is looking forward to playing piano at Shalom Square during Folklorama.
Nelli Gerzen doesn’t know yet when she will be returning to Israel – but it is certain to be soon. “This is my chance to step up for the truth,” she concludes. “I know that supporting Israel is the right thing to do. When I am there, it feels like my heart is on fire.”