Notice how those identified as the deceased’s surviving sisters are not listed by their own names but by married social titles. “Mrs. This” and “Mrs. That.” Who were these near-anonymous but worthy ladies? Am I missing something here? Yet that’s the way some women thought it should be. You were nobody if you were female and not married. And confirmed bachelors also were viewed with vague suspicion by some in our family. Nobody stopped to consider that marriage is not a magic formula that works for everyone. Maybe these single folks of yore just never found the right person. My own maternal grandmother, who notoriously treated her own husband with a mean-spirited attitude throughout their marriage, would extol the increased status of a woman who found a husband. “She’s now Mrs. Such and Such,” she’d exclaim with admiration. In other words, no longer a so-called spinster. But let’s hear it for the community’s single people. Many were and are tireless companions and supporters of their friends and families, particularly back then in an era when there were no visiting nurses or PTs or OTs. They’ve served as educators and volunteers and mentors and honorable citizens and friends of the young.
And speaking of good citizens, poor old James Roger! Wonder if he had norovirus or something worse.
Another example of pneumonia as a 'friend' as Dr. Selzer would say. Not sure I agree with that. Not sure dying from respiratory failure is the best way to go. Maybe in pre-penicillin times it may have been. In any case, Dr. Selzer was quoting his father who was a physician in the 1920s, but penicillin was available in the 40s and by the 50s other antibiotics were available to Richard Selzer.
The Prestons were an important part of NI history from the 1700s to the 20th century. William E. Preston was the fireman whose badge is depicted in the photo and served the town in the 1940s. He also owned the beach on Waterloom Pond. He died in 1954. He was the son of Hannah Chapman and Charles Barrett Preston. William A. Preston, father of John Preston and uncle of F W Preston and president of Appleton Academy in 1890, died in 1904. A younger William A Preston (Mary's son) died in 1946 and is buried in Central cemetery.
Rodger, that is. I hate spell check programs that second-guess every word one types.
Notice how those identified as the deceased’s surviving sisters are not listed by their own names but by married social titles. “Mrs. This” and “Mrs. That.” Who were these near-anonymous but worthy ladies? Am I missing something here? Yet that’s the way some women thought it should be. You were nobody if you were female and not married. And confirmed bachelors also were viewed with vague suspicion by some in our family. Nobody stopped to consider that marriage is not a magic formula that works for everyone. Maybe these single folks of yore just never found the right person. My own maternal grandmother, who notoriously treated her own husband with a mean-spirited attitude throughout their marriage, would extol the increased status of a woman who found a husband. “She’s now Mrs. Such and Such,” she’d exclaim with admiration. In other words, no longer a so-called spinster. But let’s hear it for the community’s single people. Many were and are tireless companions and supporters of their friends and families, particularly back then in an era when there were no visiting nurses or PTs or OTs. They’ve served as educators and volunteers and mentors and honorable citizens and friends of the young.
And speaking of good citizens, poor old James Roger! Wonder if he had norovirus or something worse.
Another example of pneumonia as a 'friend' as Dr. Selzer would say. Not sure I agree with that. Not sure dying from respiratory failure is the best way to go. Maybe in pre-penicillin times it may have been. In any case, Dr. Selzer was quoting his father who was a physician in the 1920s, but penicillin was available in the 40s and by the 50s other antibiotics were available to Richard Selzer.
The Prestons were an important part of NI history from the 1700s to the 20th century. William E. Preston was the fireman whose badge is depicted in the photo and served the town in the 1940s. He also owned the beach on Waterloom Pond. He died in 1954. He was the son of Hannah Chapman and Charles Barrett Preston. William A. Preston, father of John Preston and uncle of F W Preston and president of Appleton Academy in 1890, died in 1904. A younger William A Preston (Mary's son) died in 1946 and is buried in Central cemetery.