SIXIT WAS 1942. Gretchen Atkins watched her cousin, Emma, swim toward the center of the farm lake. All she could see was wet, red hair and stroking arms. Emma was 40 yards from the shore. Both girls knew it was deep out there but they didn’t know how deep. They had been taught to always stay close to the shore. Gretchen was 6 years old and Emma was 7. Emma was Leonard Atkin’s only child. Gretchen was the only child of Leonard’s brother, Daniel.
There were no adults supervising. Gretchen’s mother had left for a moment to bring back lunch. This gave the girls a chance to break the rules. The double dare was for Emma to swim to the middle, dive down and come back up with muck in her hand to prove she’d been to the bottom.
Gretchen stayed in the chest-deep water before the drop off to marvel
