Community Mourns Passing of Albert Weidle
A beloved young resident of Richland passes away following a long illness, leaving behind a widow and infant son.
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.
Albert Weidle, for seven years past a resident of Richland, died at the family home on Sunday, August 20. The deceased was born in Franklin, Iowa, on August 20, 1890, and lived there until coming west to Richland. He married Miss Helen McElvain on June 16, 1912. He leaves to mourn his loss a widow and infant son, mother, father, one sister, and three brothers. The funeral was held on Monday afternoon at the Richland Methodist church, Rev. C. A. Smith delivering the funeral address in the presence of a large number of friends. The floral tributes were unusually beautiful. Interment was made in the Odd Fellows’ cemetery. Albert Weidle numbered every resident in the district among his friends, being of an unusually cheerful and happy disposition. During his long and serious illness, his many friends had opportunity to show their devotion to him by acts of kindness and sympathy.
“The entire community is mourning with the young wife who is left to fight the battle of life alone.”
This reflects the tight-knit social structure of early 20th-century agrarian settlements where neighbors acted as the primary support system for grieving families, a stark contrast to the rapid demographic changes Richland would face later in the century.
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