Carpe Some Diem: 2012

There is a lot going on in this picture. This is the funeral of of a cousin of my father. My dad was 16 and his cousin Peter was nearly 24. Peter contracted tonsillitis, which quickly led to kidney failure. He was ill enough to be hospitalized in the community hospital. While penicillin was discovered in 1928, patients were not treated until 1941. This was 1935. Note how the procession has stopped to have a photograph taken. The attire of the people is beyond impeccable. The attire of the women is especially distinctive, being dressed all in white. It is likely that these garments and accessories were purchased in Duluth, some 40 miles to the northeast. The casket is white. They are departing a family home where the wake has taken place and are heading for St. Joseph's Catholic Church and Cemetery in the country. I see Uncle Mike in the background, the gentleman on the right with the eyeglasses. The community knows what to do.