The lost boy

Cousins, this one is a tough entry to look at, we know. We present it in the spirit of honoring history and in memory of the uncle we never knew. Clarence Sprick died of sepsis or a blood clot after surgery for appendicitis on Jan. 20, 1929. A blizzard was howling as he passed into the next world way too young. He was "10 years, 4 months, 9 days old," to quote his mother's sorrowful entry on a piece of paper the scrapblog editor found in the old trunk. (Clarence was born on Sept. 11, 1918.) At the time, perhaps because people had so few family photos, the custom was to take photos of the dead. At least six heartbreaking photos were taken of Clarence in death. The practice was not meant to be morbid, only sad and final. The scrapblog editor has been able to find only a few happier images of Clarence, but if she finds more, she will keep updating this entry. He's the little blond boy on the left in the top photo. Not sure about the other kids in that photo, but the little girl next to Clarence looks like Annette.