A Young Life Cut Short
The passing of a popular local bank employee highlights the sudden danger of pneumonia in the early 20th century.
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.
Max Miller died Friday morning at the home of his uncle, Alfred Coolidge, president of the Second National Bank, after a short illness from typhoid pneumonia, aged 20 years. Until within two or three days before his death a fatal termination was not expected, but from that time all hope was lost. The death of the young man was a shock to his large circle of friends and his loss is deeply mourned among them. He was a favorite in the circle of young people of the city, and especially among the young men with whom he associated, and who attended in a body the removal of the remains to the depot for shipment Saturday evening. He was an employee of the Second National Bank and an exceptionally bright and competent young man.
“The death of the young man was a shock to his large circle of friends and his loss is deeply mourned among them.”
In 1900, illnesses like typhoid pneumonia were frequently fatal even for the young and healthy, serving as a reminder of the fragility of life before the advent of modern antibiotics. This notice captures the somber social ritual of the era, where young men would collectively escort a friend's remains to the depot for final transit.
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