Thursday, July 31, 2014

Friday, July 31, 1936

plesant and cool
Cleaned my bedroom today
made cornstarch pudding and Aunty and I rode over to see Leroy Bower with Mr. Burgduff and truck driver to buy the ballance of old hay-
He bought all over the stable to press about Monday-
$10.00 per ton and pays for pressing-


A round bale of hay

Thursday, July 30, 1936

plesant and cool
Finished the ironing this forenoon-
Put down the bed room carpet for Aunty this afternoon-
and settled the room-
Aunty is very satisfied with it-
Charles called this eve-







Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Wednesday, July 29, 1936

rained last night but plesant and cool all day-
Made tapioca pudding-
done part of the ironing and pasted paper over Aunty's north room chimney and tacked down paper over floor and started her carpet but she had to patch it so had to stop-
Sent letter to Harry this morning-
Aunty and I walked up the lane to find apples this eve-
got a few-


Monday, July 28, 2014

Tuesday, July 28, 1936

plesant all day but looks rainy this eve-
Done a big washing today-
washed 10 woolen blankets and 5 sheets.
besides changes for Aunty and I.
Used all the waste water in the garden.
Rec'da letter from Harry today
very interesting-
119 [degrees] F in the open and 95 [degrees] in the shade at Meadow Mt. Ranch in Montana.


Sunday, July 27, 2014

Monday, July 27, 1936

Sprinkle of rain this early morning, clearing away and plesant all day, very warm-
All the baled hay drawed away today-
14 1/2 loads of it-
Aunty and I cleaned house all day-
Iliff called this evening-
He has let the grain seperator* go-
It was sold to Harold Reilman of Homer and he came for it today-


*I found an interesting article about thrashing. In it you can see an image of a steam grain seperator. I'm not sure if that is the type Iliff would have had.


Saturday, July 26, 2014

Sunday, July 26, 1936

Sunday-
very plesant-
Dusted through the three rooms and made corn starch pudding this afternoon-
took my bath and Lena Hamilton and Ed Emmons came for afternoon-
Leroy Hall called for a few minutes about supper time.
Iliff did not come this eve
I miss my Sunday eve beau.*


*A rare show of emotion for Irene, wishing her son would visit more often.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Saturday, July 25, 1936

plesant all day
Made patty cakes today and got meals and washed dishes and took the tallys for 5 loads of hay
Susie Haring called also
Mrs. Nellie Smith Tuller of Minnesota called on Aunty this eve-
Floyd Fenner brought her over-


(I accidentally posted this a day early, I have fixed July 24, 1936 to reflect the actual diary entry. I apologize for the mix up.) 

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Friday, July 24, 1936

plesant all day
rained all night
Rec'd letter from Christine telling the family expect to go to Michigan to see Winnie
start next Friday night the last day of July-
Iliff took me to Ithaca and I bought a pair of silk stockings-
Mr Palmer drawed 6 load of hay-
Chas' wife and baby was here this afternoon-
*Fay Smith & Floyd Fenner called



*This statement is written vertically along the left hand side of the diary entry. 

(I apologize! I originally posted the July 25, 1936 entry here. This is now the actual July 24, 1936 diary entry.)






Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Thursday, July 23, 1936

plesant & warm with a real shower all evening
Aunty and I have tried to work but had interuptions all day-
Bardo grocery, the meat cart and Charles came after a bag of wheat and the truck driver came for hay and I had to take tallys for Leroy-
I gathered string beans for dinner and cleaned doors in Mothers room
*Aunty Rec'd letter from Clara.



*This sentence runs vertically up the left hand side of the diary entry.



Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Wednesday, July 22, 1936

plesant & warm with a little shower this afternoon.
A hard storm seemed to be west side of the lake and Ithaca & on south
I cleaned in Mothers room today
did not get all done-
Mr. W.J. Emerson of Poplar Ridge came with Tea this afternoon-
He was in Canada all winter with his sister-
Had a nice chat-
Leroy sold old hay  for $8.00 to Elmira ^M...*



*I can not make out what this says. It is written very small down the right had side of the diary entry.



Monday, July 21, 2014

Tuesday, July 21, 1936

plesant & cool
made a lemon pie and finished the ironing-
Made two sheets for Aunty and she gave me one this afternoon-
Listened to the Radio this eve-
Heard Edgar A Guest recite a poem on the Drouth* and also on the passing of the art of the man who carves the roast at the dinner table-
good

A copy of The Waste Land


*I believe the poem being referenced here is T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land from 1922. The critic Edmund Wilson wrote an article about the poem called "The Poetry of Drouth." If you would like to read either, I have provided the links.


Sunday, July 20, 2014

Monday, July 20, 1936

plesant & cool
Picked lettuce and string beans enough for 5 pints canned-
4 pints in pressure canner-
Sprinkled down the rest of ironing to do in morning-
filled wood box as I thought it might rain-
Aunty had gas pains in bowells and did not feel well all day-


Saturday, July 19, 2014

Sunday, July 19, 1936

Sunday-
plesant & cool
Dusted through both living rooms and took my bath-
Had a quiet day-
Iliff came this eve & took Aunty & I to Ithaca for a ride & brought home a quart of ice cream-
Had a fine time-



Saturday, July 18, 1936

plesant but had a sunshiny sprinkle this afternoon about a dozen drops
Made elderberry pie and layer cake and worked in garden this afternoon
hoed tomatoes, cabbages and onions.
Mrs. Evans & Elnora called this eve-
A skunk ate Aunty's setting eggs-
A dog got in Leroy's sheep killed one bit 2-
*Rec'd telegram from Clara of safe arrival-


*This was written vertically up the left hand side of the diary entry.


Thursday, July 17, 2014

Friday, July 17, 1936

plesant and cool
Ironed the starch clothes this afternoon-
hoes part of the tomatoes and sprayed five rows of potatoes with arsenate of lead*
used all I had-
Aunty knocked the bugs off the rest.
We have not seen anyone but each other all day.


Colorado potato beetle.jpg

"Colorado potato beetle" by Scott Bauer, USDA ARS - This image was released by the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, with the ID k4978-5 (next). This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information. English | français | македонски | +/− http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/dec97/k4978-5.htm. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.



*Lead arsenate, or lead hydrogen arsenate, was a popular inorganic insecticide made by farmers by mixing soluable lead salts & sodium arsenate (Yes, that is arsenic folks). Irene & Aunty were most likely using it to kill potato beetles. 


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Thursday, July 16, 1936

plesant and cooler
Done a big* washing today and saved all the water for the garden and mopped the south porch-
Mended Harry's shirt-
We rec'd a letter from Clara from "Palmer House" in Chicago^-
She says Mother is fine-
Aunty helped carry some water to the garden to water tomatoe plants
**Mildred & Iliff  came & brought sprayer-

Palmer House (7184381863)
The Palmer House that Clara, Harry, & Mother stayed in^



*This word is underlined twice in the diary entry.

^The Palmer House is an historic hotel in Chicago. The first one burnt in the Great Chicago Fire (1871) shortly after it was built. The second one (1875-1923) was replaced by this third, & final edifice (1925). <Image attribution: By Teemu008 from Palatine, Illinois (Palmer House  Uploaded by AlbertHerring) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons>

**This line is written vertically up the left hand side of the diary entry.


Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Wednesday, July 15, 1936

plesant and cooler with northwest wind-
Wrote letter to Clara and sent Harry his glasses-
Made 6 more glasses of jelly and parafined and put it all away*-
Cooked over and wiped off all last years and took care of it-
The left over salmon I ate for dinner made me feel a little sick this afternoon
Aunty has been fine today


Don't even have to remove stems. Just cook down & strain

*Irene is making (red) currant jelly, if you have not been reading all along. I found a straightforward recipe the WinterWoman blog. (Oh, & for those who don't can, "parafined" means Irene put the wax on the top of the jelly to preserve it before covering the jar with a lid.)
I use my largest pot and fill it to the brim with [red currants] – which doesn’t take long if I don’t bother to stem them.  I just pull off clusters and put them in the pot!
Put them over a burner for about an hour until the juice is running out and the berries start to lose their color.  Watch it though!  You’ll have to turn the heat down at some point or they will bubble all over the top of your stove.
Strain the berries through cheese cloth and reserve the juice.
Measure 4 cups of juice into a deep pot.  Boil hard for 5 minutes.  Add 3 cups of sugar and boil hard for another 5 minutes.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 12-20 minutes.  You don’t need pectin, because currants contain so much pectin naturally.
Pour into sterilized jelly jars.  Cap with new lids (old rims are OK).  Screw lids on tightly.  Listen for the popping as the jars cool.


Monday, July 14, 2014

Tuesday, July 14, 1936

plesant and hot but coller breeze-
Aunty and I alone all day
Rec'd card from Clara mailed from Syracuse station 11-30 last night*-
found Harry's glasses in his coat pocket-
Made 12 glasses of currant jelly
picked the currants in the garden
and spread out on the grass Aunty's north bedroom carpet-


Front of the postcard Clara sent Irene

Back of above postcard. Postmark was stamped at 2:30 am on July 14, 1936


*"11:30 A.M. Dear Irene, Will you please look in Harry's coat and see if you can find the [glasses]. He thinks they are in the lining. Mother is fine All Aboard. Love to Auntie & you Clara" If anyone can tell me what Clara wrote instead of glasses, I would be very grateful.





Sunday, July 13, 2014

Monday, June 13, 1936

plesant but Hot
Aunty went to Vera's to pick currants and Clara went on to Ithaca to do last shopping
Mother was bad-
Clara finished her packing this afternoon and I got the currants picked over-
Harry came for supper and left for Lloyds in Montana about 9 o'clock taking the 11-43 train from Syracuse-
*Aunty and I are all alone-

Red currants are my favorite, not sure about Irene.


*This line is written vertically up the left hand side of the diary entry.


Saturday, July 12, 2014

Sunday, July 12, 1936

plesant but Hot
Mr and Mrs. Wm. Hamilton and Ed Emmons called this afternoon
Harry left us this eve and Iliff came for evening also Gib and Vera and Leroy Lobdell and Ella Miller-
Iliff has 28 acres of buckwheat all in and his 5 acres of beans and 6 acres of corn all cultivated



Friday, July 11, 2014

Saturday, July 11, 1936

Saturday plesant but Hot
Quiet day at home for all of us
Harry and Clara packed and Clara wrote letters-
I mopped the kitchen and got meals and took my bath this afternoon-
Mother has been quiet all day-



Thursday, July 10, 2014

Friday, July 10, 1936

plesant but Hot
cooked chicken and made fruit jello, baking powder biscuits & cooked asparagus for dinner
Clara went to town-
did not have dinner untill 2-30
Harry came this eve all ready to go to Montana-
Harry, Clara & Mother went for a ride this eve brought back ice cream-
Mother not so good-


Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Thursday, July 9, 1936

plesant but Hot-
Clara washed & pressed two dresses etc. and packed her trunk to go to Montana tomorrow
I made cupcakes & iced them and picked the chicken-
Aunty has had a very hectic day-
fretted and worried all day-
Her little hen died left 8 little chicks motherless
Mother has been good all day
*Harry came & spent the evening-


*This line appears vertically along the left margin of the diary entry.


Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Wednesday, July 8, 1936

plesant but Hot
Clara tried to varnish-
color light oak but too dark to please Clara so she got varnish remover and toom it off again and I helped her straightened the rooms again-
She kept on her shorts all day and made Mother two lacy caps this p.M.
Mother has resented my presence all day-



Monday, July 7, 2014

Tuesday, July 7, 1936

plesant all day very warm
Clara & Mother went to town in forenoon and Clara and Aunty went back to town in afternoon-
I picked lettuce and black raspberries in forenoon and cleaned the tea kettles and got the dinner-
and entertained* Mother in the afternoon-


*Interesting phrase. Irene hasn't used this before. I wonder what her tone was as she was writing this.



Sunday, July 6, 2014

Monday, July 6, 1936

plesant all day very warm
Harry went home 9-30 A.M.
Clara upset the living rooms for Harry to varnish but the varnish was too dark-
So they left everything in upheavel and Harry went home and Clara finished Mothers dress, slip & coat
Mother & Clara went for a ride this eve-
I finished the ironing & made a chocolate pudding-



Saturday, July 5, 2014

Sunday, July 5, 1936

Sunday plesant & cool
Mr & Mrs Albert Hall & 3 kids called also Mary Brong Miles & daughter & husband-
Iliff came & spent the evening with me-
Harry took the Aunties and Clara fo a ride-
Mother was good all day
Clara worked in garden & done ironing-
I picked swiss chard for dinner


Friday, July 4, 2014

Saturday, July 4, 1936

plesant all day
Harry came this morning
I made a jelly layer cake and strawberry short cake and macaroni & cheese and green peas for dinner-
Had deviled eggs for supper-
Harry took us for a ride this afternoon to Geo. Junior Republic* and called on Maggie King Dedrich and also Iliff-
Mother very nervous


*The George Junior Republic was founded in Freeville, NY around 1890 by William Reuben George which, eventually, turned into a colony to assist wayward children to become better citizens. The organization was revamped, & in 2006 became The William George Agency for Children's Services.




Friday, July 3, 1936

Had a little shower about noon
Shot a wood chuck today
Alice Bristol called this A.M.
Mrs. Evans called this P.M. and Genie Hall stayed to supper-
Clara went to Ithaca
Leroy Hall cultivated the corn.
Mother has been good today.



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Thursday, July 2, 1936

plesant all day
Raining at 10-30 this evening
Done up the washing while Clara took  Mother to Ithaca
Shot at^ woodchucks this P.M.
Harry hoed the potatoes & fixed a little run for Aunty's chickens and put chickens wire in garden to keep woodchucks from beans and they bothered all afternoon-
Harry left for home 11-30 A.M.
Iliff and Mildred came to pay Aunty for wheat.
*Mother bad all day.



^This is double underlined in the diary entry. Must be Irene was trying to scare the woodchucks away, rather than kill them.

*This line is written vertically up the left hand side of the diary entry.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Wednesday, July 1, 1936

plesant all day-
Harry and Clara straightened the two living rooms this forenoon-
Iliff came and got about 12 bushels of wheat on the truck-
I made butterscotch pudding for dinner and done the general work-
Harry got Rye bread and Linberger cheese for sandwiches and two bottles of beer-
I ate two sandwiches-
Mother good today-