Death of a Local Merchant
The community mourns the sudden passing of Lovell H. Hodgins, owner of the local Cash Store.
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.
Our community was shocked last Saturday to learn of the death of Lovell H. Hodgins at the Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, where he had gone several weeks before for treatment for an ailment of the stomach. The attending physician, Dr. Fye, performed an operation which was thought to have been successful, but last Saturday Mr. Hodgins suddenly grew worse and died at 4:30 p. m. Mr. Hodgins was born in Michigan 31 years ago. He opened the Cash Store in Coulee City May 10th, 1915, which has since then been doing a thriving business. He was married to Miss Elsie Brimble January 29, 1910. Besides his wife and two small children he leaves a father in Michigan, a sister, Mrs. Dr. Morris, of Alaska, another sister, Mrs. McKenzie, of Hillyard, and a brother, William, of Leavenworth, Wash. The funeral services were held at Smith’s chapel, Spokane, by Rev. Jas. Howell, of Coulee City. Interment was at Fairmont cemetery. Mrs. Hodgins has the sympathy of the entire community in her bereavement.
“Our community was shocked last Saturday to learn of the death of Lovell H. Hodgins.”
Small-town business owners remain the lifeblood of rural economies today, and the sudden loss of an entrepreneur like Hodgins reverberates just as deeply now as it did in 1916. The transition from independent retail to modern consolidated commerce is mirrored in the historical shift toward the larger regional centers like Spokane for advanced healthcare.
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