Papa's Last Paper

We only have a handful of newspapers that are pre-1930 due to a fire at the Cleaver office in 1926.  Of those we do have one is from September 22, 1922.  I often wonder why the surviving papers were kept and over the years drifted back to our office.  This particular paper has written in the top left corner "the last paper papa read." 

The subscription label reads "Amos Scrimger" We can safely assume he's the "papa" in question.  Amos Judge Scrimger was a farmer in Frost township and passed away on Sept. 27, 1922 at only age 45.  He was born in 1876 in Van Buren county. His cause of death is listed as an abscess of the lung from a neglected case of pneumonia.  He is buried in the Evergreen cemetery in Frost township.  

We also have the newspaper from October 6, 1992 with Scrimger's obit on the front page.  It is one of only four newspapers we have from the 1920s.  The Oct. 6 newspaper also mentions him in their neighborhood column for Frost twp., " Amos Scrimger passed away on Wednesday of last week. The community is deeply grieved." and also that, "Francis Beemer went to Clarence [in Redding township] Sunday to teach school for Miss Pansy Scrimger."  Pansy was one of Scrimger's three daughters.  

The Clare Courier reported his death in their Sept. 29, 1992 issue, "Mr. Amos Scrimger died Wednesday noon at his home in Frost Township from an abscess on the lungs."

Amos married Sarah Klingler in 1901 and they had three daughters: Pansy, Francis and Dorothy.  Sarah does not appear to have remarried after Amos died and she passed away in 1963.