Naymon “Elmer” Watson, left, was rescued by his grandson, Taylor Forey, in 2004 after he had a heart attack while swimming ashore when the two flipped out of their fishing boat.
Daily Journal Archives
News from around Johnson County as reported on March 14 in the pages of the Daily Journal and the Franklin Evening Star from the last 112 years.
On this day in 2005, the main story on the front page of the Daily Journal was about a Whiteland boy being honored for rescuing his grandpa.
The American Red Cross Hall of Fame was inducting Taylor Forey, 11, after he pulled his unconscious grandfather from a pond. He was set to become one of the youngest people ever inducted into the hall of fame.
Forey and his grandfather, Naymon “Elmer” Watson, planned to go fishing on a friend’s property in Morgan County in April 2004. Watson’s blood sugar wasn’t normal, so the 72-year-old took a 90-minute nap and then they were off.
They picked a spot to fish, and when they still weren’t biting 30 minutes later, they loaded a boat and went out on the water.
Ten minutes later, when Watson moved around the small boat, it flipped.
Watson had Forey climb onto the bottom of the boat, and he intended to swim ashore, pulling boat and grandson behind. The wind worked against them, however, and Watson was too tired to go on.
Forey knew they’d both have to swim to shore or they’d die in the water.
He swam ahead, and Watson was supposed to follow. But when Forey reached the bank, he watched his grandfather go under three times. Then he didn’t come back up.
No one knew he had suffered a heart attack.
Forey swam out to his grandfather, later finding him and hooking his forearm through the big overall straps of his 223-pound grandfather.
He held his grandpa’s head above water and swam to land. He cleared the moss from his grandfather’s throat and gave him two breaths on the steep bank. Then he ran and got his grandfather’s friends.
Watson eventually recovered, spending 57 days in the hospital or at a rehabilitation hospital.
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Other memorable Johnson County stories from this day
2014
The Franklin Development Corp. placed a bid to purchase the former Red Carpet Inn near the Interstate 65 interchange at State Road 44.
2008
The Greenwood Parks Board unanimously voted to borrow $11.5 million to build a new pool.
1996
A General Motors strike idled 200 workers at the Arvin North American Automotive plant in Franklin.
