Just over a year ago, a group of friends from Arcola found a typical game of war transformed into a dramatic rescue of one of their own, resulting in six young men receiving Certificates of Commendation from the Governor General of Canada for “an act of great merit in providing assistance to others in a selfless manner in Arcola, Saskatchewan, on September 12, 2014.”
Brady Bell, 13, Connor Bryce, 13, Tucker Eaton, 12, Austin Fleck, 13, Jaron Johnston, 12 and Seth Petzel, 12-received the commendation after helping their friend-and Jaron's brother, Mason Johnston, 13-emerge safely from an abandoned well he had fallen into.
The boys' feat came to the attention of Governor General David Johnston's office via a letter from the Johnston brothers' great-grandmother, Marjorie Askin of Arcola.
“We are so proud we just had to do it,” she says. “And even though Mason didn't receive official recognition, he kept his head and warned the other boys right away so they wouldn't fall in the well, either.”
Marjorie's husband and the Johnstons' great-grandfather, Bud Askin agrees.
“We're very proud of all of the boys. We're both so proud and to save Mason's life....well, they're real friends. The way they all acted in that situation-including Mason-makes us so proud of how they are growing up.”
On Sept. 12, 2014, the seven friends were exploring and playing a game with their airsoft guns on a farmsite outside of Arcola.
“They were playing a game of airsoft wars,” says Jaron and Mason's mother, Carrie. “They were hiding and trying to find each other, kind of like 'Mantracker.'”
“Mason was wearing a full ghillie suit and eye protection. The suit is designed for hunting and for camouflage. It's pretty heavy and Mason's had stuff hanging off it, so it would blend in with the vergetation. He also had a big (airsoft) sniper rifle that he bought with his own money. He was supposed to be the sniper in their game, so everybody was hiding from him, in old buildings and all around the farm. Nobody was supposed to know where he was.”
“(Mason) ran behind a tree with the intention of hiding there and he stepped on a rotten piece of wood. It was like a trap door and he fell down about 20 to 30 feet into an old well.”
“There was water in the bottom, but we were so lucky, because if the weather during previous years had been different, the well could have been 100 to 200 feet deep, depending on precipitation.”
“ There was old brick inside the well, so we're lucky he didn't hit his head. He used his sniper rifle to brace himself and he managed to get his ghillie suit off, because it was heavy and getting wet, too.”
“The kids couldn't hear him at first, but he as he was yelling to let him know where he was, he also had the presence of mind to warn them that there was a well and told them not to come running, even though he must have still been in a state of shock to find himself 20 or 30 feet down a well that he hadn't even known was there.”
Mason's friends got a RZR side-by-side with a winch on the front and got the winch down the well. Even though the metal cable was thin, Mason held on with his bare hands, saying: “I wasn't letting go.”
“We were in the middle of our war (game),” says Tucker Eaton. “When we first heard him yelling, I thought he was trying to draw us out to shoot us. It went on for a while and I thought 'This is getting annoying.'”
“We were all in the (abandoned) house,” adds Seth Petzel. “Me, Jaron, Tucker. We heard screaming and we didn't know what it was until we heard (Mason) yelling, 'I'm in the well.'”
“The yard had old buildings. We've looked around all day before and couldn't find anybody,” adds Austin Fleck. “Our team was hiding in the barn loft. Connor and Seth found Mason down a well screaming.”
“We came down and saw Mason in the well and we're all searching for ideas. And then we remembered the winch on the RZR. Austin drove it and I ran the winch,” says Brady Bell.
“We dropped the winch down,” says Connor Bryce. “Jaron grabbed ahold of it and me and Austin held him by his arms...”
“We were surprised; it just happened so quick,” says Brady Bell. “It might have only taken 10 minutes, but it's really hard to tell. We weren't really focusing on the time; we were just trying to get him out of the well.”
“We took him to Austin's house,” says Jaron Johnston. “It was the closest place and he got wrapped up in a blanket. But he was mad about losing his gun down the well.”
Mason Johnston says he is grateful to his friends and recounts his own admirable calm under pressure.
“I'm glad they got me out,” he says. “When I left to hide behind that tree, I hit an old piece of plywood and it must have only been about 10 seconds until I fell down.”
“I could feel the water come up, so I rested my back against the wall and my feet on the other side. I knew I had to get my ghillie suit off, because it was heavy and it was starting to get wet.”
“I started yelling for help; but I also warned them about the well. I didn't want any of the other guys to fall in, too.”
“I'm proud of everything all of the boys did, including Mason,” says Jaron and Mason's father, Jeremy Johnston. “They're good learners. They can think on the spot.”
“He's a survivor,” says Mason's mother, Carrie. “I'm so grateful for so many things: that he didn't hit his head, that he was able to stay calm under such pressure, that the boys heard him and that he's okay.”
Although life has returned to normal for the boys, Carrie says: “It's still with (Mason). It's still with all of us. It's upsetting to think about what could have happened. We went back just to see it again and Jeremy and I took a load of gravel and filled in the well.”
“These boys were already good friends and this has just made that friendship stronger,” she adds. “I know Mason would have done the same thing for anyone. They all would.”
“I'm proud of them all,” says Bud Askin. “They catch on to a lot of things, just by observing and this proves it.”
“They're friends, really good friends. And they're good people, too.”
