Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1918-12-12
MOTHER AND
DAUGHTER DE
Mrs. Matilda Karberg and Her Daugh
ter Miss Lydia Found Dead Sat-
urday Evening

Death is always sad, but it appears
to be more so, when it comes acct
IDENTIFY and suddenly while in full
health and vigor. So the sudden death
of Mrs Matilda Karberg and her
daughter, Miss Lydia, which occurred
Friday night or early Saturday morn
ing, by asphyxation, was a great shock
to the community.
| Friday noon, Miss Lydia, who was
clelking ct the Johnson & Hill Cos.
store left her mother at her work a
bout the house after dinner as usual.
| At six o'clock she left the store and
| had supper with her brother Eric and
wife who reside on the East Side on
First Street North. After tea Miss
! Lydia talked with her mother over
| the phone and asked if she could be
spared to go to the picture show with
her brother and wife and the mother
said yes After the show she returned
! home reaching there at 10 o'clock p.
n.
The next day, which was Saturday,
nothing took place until nearly six
o'clock p. M when Mr.. and Mrs. Eric
Karberg were asked why Miss Lydia
had not been at work. They knew of
10 reason and therefore commenced
to investigate They telephoned to
| the mothers home and received no re-
My. They then telephoned L. Meun-
| ier's residence to investigate and mott
! fy them of the result. They did SO
and reported the house dark and doors
all locked. They were ordered to
| break in the house. They did SO and
fouad the mother dead in bed and the
daughter almost dead upon the floor.
! The family physician was summoned
then the District Attorney and others
were soon upon the ground investi-
| eating the cause. 1t was concluded
that death was caused by asphyxation
with coal gas generated from the coal
stove.
The condition of the oed room in
Dictated that Miss Lydia had made an
effort, while partially overcome with
the gas, to get to the phone, or open
a window, as she had knocked a plant
off its stand and everything off the
dresser in the bed room. -
At first the cause of death seemed
a mystery. DR.. Mortenson states that
when he entered the house he did not
notice anything unusual about the
condition of the air, and the two
! MeUniers say the same thing, but
| gaseous condition was noted BY Eric
| Karberg, who arrived almost immedi-
ately and an examination of the
| hard coal base burner in which fire
had been started only on Friday in
the sitting room adjoining the bed
room had the check draft pulled clear
out, and the isenglass in the front
doors was badly broken permitting
free egress to the gas, while the fact
that every door and window in the
house was tightly closed, prevented
its escape into the outer air.
Finding things as he did, and af-
ter Lydia's death, DR.. Mortenson call
ed District Attorney John Roberts,
who in turn called Chief of Police
Payne and both arrived at the Kar-
berg home very soon after 1880 p. m.
A very careful examination was
made by Mr.. Roberts of the dead,
| the premises and the informal testi-
mony of those present was secured.
1t was evident that Lydia Karberg
had been up until late Friday night,
as on the center table in the living
room was found an unfinished letter,
| pen and ink. This letter was written
| to friend overseas, was begun at
noon and that portion was written in
happy mood. The latter portion,
which was dated at 1890, more than
two hours after her return home from
her brothers home, was doleful in
tone and stated that her mother had
been taken with influenza and that
she herself had such a headache she
could not think Then the letter end
ed abruptly as if her mother had need
ed immediate attention.
The funeral service took place this