A Distant Tragedy

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This postcard was addressed to Mrs. Frank (Bertha) Henning, who lived across the county line in Union Township, Porter County. When the Vidette-Messenger took notice of the Hennings' social activities, it did so under the heading of "Sedley News," in spite of their address on Hobart's rural delivery route.

Elmer was Frank and Bertha's son, Florence their daughter-in-law, Harold their grandson.

"Little Carol" was two-year-old Carol Piske. On August 20 she had drowned in a water trough on her parents' farm near Oxford, Michigan. I expect that this Piske family was related to the Ross Township Piskes (of which there were at least two households) and perhaps even lived in this area before moving to Michigan. I can't find Carol's parents' given names.


Sources:
♦ Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002. Original data: United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.
♦ "Drowns in Horse Trough." Evening Chronicle (Marshall, Mich.), 21 Aug. 1937 (Access Newspaper Archive).
♦ "Sedley News." Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Ind.), 18 June 1937 (Access Newspaper Archive).