The years 1921 was one of deep heartache for Mort and Jennie Austin and their four sons.
Thursday, March 24, Dr. Smith arrived at the Austin home to take out Elizabeth’s tonsils. The operation took place on the family’s kitchen table.
Still perhaps recovering from the death of their son McKinley in France during World War I, one can imagine the deep sorrow of the family when the unthinkable happened—Elizabeth died from a “heart clot following an operation for tonsils and adenoids.”
Elizabeth, the only daughter of Mort and Jennie Austin, died four days before she turned 10. Mort Austin wrote down his thoughts.
Mort Austin’s Letter
March 24, 1921
Our only daughter died on the 24th day of March, 1921. My dear Elizabeth. I did not know how much we loved you until now. I hope that it will not be long before I meet you in Heaven. I know you are happy there and I hope through the goodness of God, in a few years to be with you. Father
Guenther and Vonderhost Deaths
The year 1921 was also a year of terrible sadness for Freida Meyer Guenther and Louise Vonderhorst.
Joseph Guenther, a butcher, had a meat market in Lackawaxen and Shohola where he worked with his friend Fritz Suessman.
On a foggy March morning as Joseph and his dog Spot crossed the railroad tracks to the Shohola Depot, they were struck by an Erie train. Joseph, 35, died about two weeks later as a result of his injuries. Spot also died.
Joseph’s wife Frieda was now a widow with five children: Freida, 11, Edith Vera, 10, Clinton Joseph, 7, Helen Katherine, 6, and Viola, 2.
Louise and Eric Vonderhorst were building a boarding house up above Washington Lake when Eric, still in his twenties, died of typhoid fever. Louise Vonderhorst would raise their children: Carl, 6, Walter, 3, and Elsie, 1; and run Lake View Inn for at least another twenty years.
Other letters of sympathy sent to Mort and Jennie Continue reading
