"Birmingham News" (Birmingham, AL)
dated June 18, 1953
A teen-age Bessemer boy was credited with possibly saving his minister-father from drowning in an abandoned strip mine near Johns.
The Rev. Joel Danner, 41, of 1830 27th-av. n, Bessemer, dislocated his shoulder yesterday afternoon while swimming in the deserted pit with his son, Charles, 19.
Pastor of the North Highland Nazarene Church here, the father was almost helpless after hurting the shoulder in a high dive from the 25-foot bank.
With his other hand, the Rev. Danner clung to the cliff-like pit walls until Charles swam to his side.
Together the father and son inched their way around the steep banks of the pit, which is about 50 feet deep. Charles had to help his father to the opposite end of the pit - about a city block away - before they found the bank low enough for them to crawl out.
The Rev. Danner was admitted to Doctor's Hospital in Bessemer where his condition was described today as "fairly good." He blamed the dislocation on an awkward dive and said he did not hit anything in the water.
The pit is located about five miles south of Johns.
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04 July 2006