‘Ely character’ dies Sunday swimming

Henry Held, longtime maker of moosehide chopper mitts and an Ely icon, died Sunday at age 61 while vacationing in Ixtapa, Mexico. Held, who worked from a hole-in-the-wall shop called Henry’s Shoe Repair on Ely’s main street, drowned while swimming in the ocean Sunday evening, according to his wife, Florencia Held. Apparently, he had just finished supper and wanted to go for a swim but got caught in undertow or a rip current, friends say.

By: By Sam Cook , Forum Communications Co. , The Jamestown Sun