A Shoemaker's Carefully Planned Farewell at the Grand Hotel
Carl Eggert, despondent over his wife's death and his son's suicide, shot himself in a Tacoma hotel after leaving detailed notes, money for the cleanup, and instructions to wait until morning.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
I, Carl Eggert, born in Germany, 1843, committed suicide in Tacoma February 15, 1909, at 6:15 a.m., the same hour when my dear son killed himself. We are no cowards, but were both true Germans till death. We loved each other until the end. — C. EGGERT.
Above is a memorandum found in the notebook of Carl Eggert, a wealthy German who killed himself in the Grand Hotel, 1514 Pacific Avenue, late last night, while a party of detectives and police officers were vainly trying to gain admission to his room. The memorandum, which was transmitted to Coroner Shaver this morning, shows that Eggert's suicide had been carefully planned. It explains Eggert's repeated statement last night, immediately before killing himself, that the officers could come into the room at 7 o'clock this morning, but not before.
Eggert was about 65 years old and a shoemaker of Oshkosh, Wis. He is believed to have become despondent over the death of his wife and the suicide of his son, who shot himself in San Francisco. He shut himself in his room yesterday, and when the chambermaid attempted to enter, he told her to go away, saying that no one could enter until 7 o'clock today.
Finally, late last night, M. E. Peterson, the proprietor of the place, called in Officers Wiley, Geary and Nelson. The officers knocked at the door, but were told to wait until this morning. Without warning, a shot rang out, and a bullet splintered a glass in front of the officers, passing directly in front of them. Eggert had shot himself through the head.
A note written on a scrap of paper, found on Eggert's person, read: "My son said when he shot himself, 'Father, I have always made a good shot; this is to be the best shot I ever made.' I think, my son, I will make a better shot than you. I want to be buried in Oshkosh, beside my son. The $250 will defray burial expenses." The suicide had only $40 on him when he killed himself.
Another paper read: "My wish will now be gratified. I am dead tired. I have had no sleep for four nights." Still another said: "I haven't behaved well. I could not help it. The $2 is for the person who cleans up the room after I am gone." Two dollars was placed on top of the paper.
Three letters with six cents for stamps placed on them were found on the man's bureau. They were addressed to "Mr. Bieschov Bergens, Oshkosh," "Mr. Finsch, Lawyer, Oshkosh," and "Mr. Frank Klein, Oshkosh." They will be translated later for the coroner. Word was received from the chief of police of Oshkosh today to send full particulars of the suicide and to hold the remains. The only living relatives are believed to be Charles Eggert, a clothes cleaner of Oshkosh, and his sons.
Eggert stated to employees of the hotel that he owned property in the East and that he was worth $20,000.
“We are no cowards, but were both true Germans till death. We loved each other until the end.”
In 1909, a downtown hotel room could be a place to disappear; today the same blocks are part of a city still wrestling with isolation and access to care. Eggert's meticulous notes are a reminder that even a planned death leaves the people around it—and the institutions meant to respond—struggling for explanation.
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