I remember the day my Uncle Jake drowned in Octagon Pond. It was July 13th, 1946. It was two weeks after the capelin rolled in Newfoundland. I recall as a boy seeing capelin "run" so plentiful that the ocean would turn black and dories had no choice but to go with the flow until the large school of fish dispersed. Dad salted a quantity of fish and dried them on the flakes over blasty boughs. Not far from our home, less than a mile west, on Topsail Road, was the Octagon Club. It was a very popular night club, especially during the war. Octagon Pond was within yards of the club. Uncle Jake, aged 30, had just returned from the war and was a single man. This was where he had been born and raised. He was known as a very experienced, superb swimmer and he loved the water. Around 7:00 in the evening on that faithful day, I was taking in the capelin when Uncle Jake walked down the road on his way to the Octagon Club. His back was to me as I called his name. He was my hero. He turned when he heard my call and waved at me, as he continued walking to his death. It was a beautiful summer evening, calm, still, sunny and warm. Later that evening, around dusk, Uncle Jake decided to swim across a narrow inlet of Octagon Pond. The water was calm, clean and clear and pleasantly warm. For him it was another refreshing dip. He swam to the far side of the pond and waved at his friend who was with him, standing on the shoreline. Suddenly, heavy dark clouds gathered from nowhere. Uncle Jake was halfway back on his return swim when lightning flashed several times. Uncle Jake's friend said it appeared to hit the water where he had last seen Uncle Jake. Early the next morning, my father and my Uncle Eddy, Dad's brother-in-law, took a rowboat and went to the area where Uncle Jake was last seen. Dad told me years later, that the sun was rising in the morning sky and cast a glare on the calm water that made it easier to spot his brother's naked body on the bottom of Octagon Pond, in six feet of water. My father reluctantly related how he and Uncle Eddy used a large fish jigger hooked in his brother's thigh and pulled him into the boat. Uncle Jake survived the war only to die tragically by lightning a short distance from his home. Wilf Lynch Victoria, BC