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By Margaret Leidy Harner from her book One Day at a Time: A Social History of Boyertown, PA.
April 9, 1910: Edgar Shaner, orphaned by the fiery deaths of his father and oldest brother at the Carver’s bakery fire in 1902 and his mother and remaining two brothers in the Opera House fire, has died of pneumonia at the Pottstown Hospital. He was 17 years old. He lived with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Miller, in Bechtelsville after the death of his mother, and sometime later, he was married.
Five months after Edgar died, his wife gave birth to their daughter Kathryn. Little Kathryn, the daughter Edgar never got to see, died at the age of five during a flu outbreak in the area. Father and daughter are buried in the Fairview Cemetery with the rest of his family.
Edgar had been injured in the Opera House holocaust, and it is possible that his lungs were damaged as a result of the fire.
Sunny, with a high of 83 and low of 61 degrees. Sunny in the morning, clear overnight.
Kudos to Zack! In these troubled times, the world could use many more people like him. And kudos to Boyertown for providing the kind of atmosphere where Zack (and others like him) can grove and thrive. Finally, is the book mentioned still available? I'd like to buy one as I remember all of the people mentioned.
Yes, Mark. The books are available at Studio B Art Gallery and the Building a Better Boyertown office.