Dang, Jim...I googled "whitecaps vs Conrads" and got the story from 1893 (Muskegon (MICH) Chronicle, August 9, 1893, p. 6. ):
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/IN-SOUTH-CENTRAL/2012-06/1338986106
A great read with a great quote from the old mother: "After the got out of the boat...