Hero’s medal passes down to fifth generation

A Spokane family’s legacy of heroism has been passed down to the fifth generation.

Ann Lancaster has passed a family heirloom—a Knights of Columbus medal—down to her step-son and his son. It is an heirloom that brought back stories of heroism and long-held family memories.

On April 30, 1906, Peter Lancaster, then a captain in the fire department of Milwaukee, crawled into a collapsed communication tunnel that was under construction under the Milwaukee River.

Five men had been trapped in the tunnel and four of them escaped. Only Jacob Flyter, a 30-year-old foreman on the project, was trapped.

Lancaster waded through the dark tunnel in water that was almost up to his armpits and was, in places, charged with electricity.

He could hear Flyter groaning, which kept him going. Even running up against a steel door couldn’t stop Lancaster. He found a wooden plank floating in the water and battered the door for more than an hour before it gave way.

Lancaster then helped carry Flyter out of the tunnel. The whole ordeal took three hours.

Family legend holds that after Lancaster crawled back out of the tunnel, he found himself some whiskey and went back to work. No one had noticed him, and he was presumed dead.

He read his own obituary in the paper the next day.

He later moved to Spokane, became a county health inspector and raised a family. His son, Emmett, would go on to become the city treasurer. His two grandsons would become a police officer and an elementary school principal.

A little more than a century later, Peter Lancaster’s accomplishments have been recounted by Ann Lancaster, the widow of Emmett’s son, Jack Lancaster, and Patrick Lancaster, Jack’s son, and Katie and Ryan Lancaster, Patrick’s grown children.

Peter was awarded the Carnegie Gold Medal for heroism for the events of that day, as well as the cross of the Knights of Columbus and a personal letter from President Theodore Roosevelt.

Although it’s unknown what happened to the Carnegie Award – it is assumed that it was sold during the Depression – or the letter, Ann decided that it was time for the cross of the Knights of Columbus to be handed down to Peter’s descendants.

“It’s time for me to pass it on,” Ann Lancaster said.

Her husband, Jack, died last year.

“I was wanting your dad to pass it along to you,” Ann told Patrick.

Patrick was impressed by his great-grandfather’s courage that day. He pointed out that many people are afraid of the dark or drowning.

“What could be worse than that,” Patrick said.

Patrick said he felt that Peter’s heroics that day were typical of the men of that time, which he called “old-school Irishmen” who worked hard and drank hard.

“These guys had less concern about themselves,” he said, comparing the men of that day to those of today.

Patrick said that the story has been handed down through the last five generations.

“Dad had all this knowledge and it was all between his ears,” Patrick said. “My dad told me years ago about this heroic save.”

He said that his great-grandfather was a tough and resilient man.

“My grandfather had a lot of Peter in him,” he said. “I even saw a little of that in my father.”

Ann said that Ryan Lancaster is now taking after his grandfather who worked for many years as an elementary school principal at Balboa, Logan and Whitman. Ryan, 24, recently graduated from Elmhurst College in Illinois with a degree in education and kinesiology. He found a job as a physical education teacher in Elmhurst and moved Aug. 7. Ann wanted to pass the medal down before he left for the Midwest.

“He looks exactly like my husband,” Ann said.

She is equally proud of Katie, 22, who also graduated this year from Washington State University with a degree in public relations.

“These are two smart grandchildren,” Ann said.