Page 18 - Adobe Photoshop PDF

found a telegram from Mother on the hotel desk. He threw his clothes
into a suitcase, took a cab to the railroad station, and bought a ticket on
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in airplanes, they went by train. The ride to Utah by train took about a
day and a half.
In those days, there were no antibiotics. Fluid was withdrawn
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tis. He died early Saturday morning after becoming ill on Wednesday.
Because of the lengthy train ride, Edge was dead before Dad got home.
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transcontinental train and rode with him on the train from Ogden to Salt
Lake to tell him the news.
This particular winter, and in one subsequent winter, spinal men-
ingitis was rampant in Salt Lake City, especially among teenagers. It is
spread through coughing or sneezing, so when teenagers were in en-
closed schoolrooms in the winter, the danger was greatest. The Mullikan
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losses of teenagers.
Edge was buried in the family plot in the Salt Lake City cem-
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friends of our family.
Mother and Dad were devastated. To us kids, Edge was the last
person in the world we could imagine dying. Only a few weeks before,
the entire family had been proud because Senator William H. King had
appointed Edge to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. At that
time, such appointments were highly sought after and anyone appointed
had a picture and a write-up in the local newspaper. There were limited
opportunities in those days for a naval career, but an Annapolis education
meant that you not only received a free university technological education,
but you were paid enough to cover normal living expenses. The degree
itself was in marine engineering. Edge was interested in engineering
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and pride that had been so high weeks before had been smashed.
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died. On the other hand, there was a group of young fellows who lived

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