Friday, December 25, 1936

Cloudy with rain this eve-
Stuffed chicken with celery & onion dressing-
Fine dinner
Harry & Clara got a cedar tree and decorated it and took pictures of it with Mother & Aunty-
We exchanged presents this eve-
Gib & Vera spent the evening with us-
We served cake & tea & port wine-
Wonderfull day-
*Got $20.00 check from Clara paid to Dec 30, 1936

December 1936 edition of Home Arts Magazine

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

Sunday, October 11, 1936

Sunday plesant day
Harry cleaned up horse chestnuts this forenoon-
I cooked chicken for dinner & made biscuits-
Clara called on Leroy Bower this forenoon and they went to Elmira to see Mr. Davis about the hay this afternoon-
Mr. & Mrs. Clayton Bower called
Harry, Mother, Aunty & I went to Auburn & Half Acre for a ride-
Leroy Bower took supper & spent evening with us-

Ludlowville, NY to Elmira, NY

Friday, September 11, 1936

plesant all day
canned two quarts Bartlett pears* made an apple pudding and cooked carrotts for dinner and made biscuits-
carried two pails of wheat from granery to chicken roost for Aunty-
Mother hid herself in brick house for about two hours this afternoon came out for dinner
Harry called this afternoon-

Bartlett (Williams) pears*

*Horticultural Society of London. (1822.) "Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London, Volume II, 3rd Edition". Printed by W. Nicol: London, color plate following page 250. Retrieved on 2007-10-03.

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-

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.

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.

Monday, June 8, 1936

Rainy this morning & cloudy all day-
very much needed-
Harry made Aunty a chicken coop today- and took Aunty to Myers to ask about the coal & got a few groceries-
Mother & I stayed home-
She has been very nervous all day.
I set out petunia plants and done regular work-
Aunty rec'd letter from Lloyd and house dress from Clara
Dress too big- Aunty does not like it.
*Harry went home this eve-


*This line was written up the outer, left-hand side of the entry.

Sunday, June 7, 1936

Showers this afternoon
Harry and Aunty went to the funeral of Will Hall in Ludlowville Methodist Church*.
Mother & I stayedhome.
I fixed Aunty all up & put on her false wig- and black dress.
My cold is getting better but stay hoarse in my throat-
Iliff came this eve-
His brooder stove is giving trouble- smoking up-
Mother good all day

Ludlowville Methodist Society church*

*According to the Tompkins County Historian's website, "The Ludlowville Methodist Society was formed in 1822 and built its first church, Zion's Chapel, in 1825. During 1867-1868 the congregation moved the chapel to Ludlowville. The last service was held in 1962." (image from website cited)


^A brooder stove is a stove used in a chicken (turkey, duck, etc.) house to keep the flock warm during the winter months. I found an interesting article from the Oregon State University Library talking about how creosote from these stoves was causing "mild burn and dermatitis" on turkey poults in 1946.

Saturday, May 30, 1936

Cloudy and damp all day
Sprinkled rain this morning-
Harry took Mother & Clara to the cemetery and to the hot house gardens (Lockwoods) for flowers and came home for dinner and Aunty went with them to the cemetery again after dinner-
They called on Vera
I made a cake and stewed rubarb and made strawberry shortcake* and fried fish for dinner-
dressed a chicken this afternoon for tomorrow
Mother good all day-



*I don't know about you, but I was getting worried that Irene hadn't baked in a while. LOL

Thursday, May 28, 1936

Rained all night but plesant today with cold wind
Cut wood for two stoves and got meals and regular work
Iliff came this eve and took me over home to see the baby chicks and the work he and Mr. Smith are doing on the barn-
He has oats and corn all drilled-
oats are up green
Mother good today-
*Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Hayers have baby boy Leland Cameron-

*This line was written up the outer, left-hand side of the entry.

Friday, April 10, 1936

damp and cloudy
cooked chicken dinner with strawberry shortcake
Clara done up carpet and old clothing to send to Olsen Rug Co*-
to make a rug for front south room-
Harry took Mother and Clara to Ithaca this afternoon and Harry and Clara went to movie of Cecil Rhoodes^ this eve-
Mother was good

Ad for Olson Rug Co making recycled rugs*

*"Olson Rug Company was established in 1874. The manufacturing mill was located in Chicago at Diversey Ave. and Pulaski. During the war era, when raw material was scarce, people would send in their old wool rugs, rags, clothing etc. and Olson Rug would turn them into a beautiful area rug." (Quote & above image from History of Olson Rug of Chicago)


^Cecil RHODES was British businessman involved in the diamond mines in Africa. In 1936, a biopic came out about him called Rhodes of Africa starring Walter Huston as Rhodes. Presumably, this is the movie Harry & Clara went to see.

Wednesday, April 8, 1936

plesant today but too windy this forenoon to burn brush-
Harry grubbed out wild sprouts from the yard and killed a rooster for us-
I made oat flake cookies and a layer cake and dressed the rooster-
Harry went to Auburn this afternoon -
to come back tomorrow-
Mother has been fine today-
Expect Clara tonight for Easter vacation*-


*Clara was a school teacher. Easter Sunday fell on April 12th in 1936.
1936 Easter

Tuesday, March 31, 1936

Cold north wind with little snow flurries-
Iliff came and trimmed up all the broken limbs* in orchard and piled the brush-
worked 6 1/2 hrs
I done all the chores and stewed prunes and used the remnants of the chicken for a pie and bisciuts
Finished the ironing this P.M.
Mother has been fine to day-

Peach tree pruning techniques Virginia Tech guide pg. 4*

*Like father like son. My father is quite skilled at pruning trees, fruit trees in particular. Looks like the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Pun intended. Based on this pruning guide from Virginia Tech, peach trees should not be pruned before February because is can "reduce their cold hardiness." So, it is a good thing this storm happened so late in winter. Hopefully the trees will recover quickly. (Above image is from page 4 of the Virginia Tech guide referenced.)

Saturday, March 28, 1936

plesant all day-
Cooked the rooster mopped the kitchen and done usual Saturday work-
Harry worked in yard and burned burdocks* and brush in peach orchard^-
Mother got nervous and Harry was going to take her for a ride and the car would not start-
Aunty & Harry went to brick house-

Burdock burrs*

*I remember when we lived for a few months with the family in Cato, NY in the fall of 1981. My younger sister, Heather, & I made Barbie furniture out of green burdock burrs. When the burrs are green they aren't as difficult to detach. We used them like you would Bristle Blocks. Apparently burdock, or arctium, are not native to North or South America, but were introduced by Europeans. Plus, they were an inspiration for the invention of Velcro (The Big Idea: How Business Innovators Get Great Ideas to Market by Steven D. Strauss). (Image from Cherry Gal.)

^It's interesting to me that there is a peach orchard. I don't believe Irene has baked anything with peaches yet. Maybe the fruit will show up later in the year at harvest time, for NY that would be late July through early September.

Wednesday, March 18, 1936

Ice all over trees and broken limbs all over the yard
Stayed on all day- rained too
Electric light wires tore off the house so had to light kerosene lamp-
We have all been nervous and uneasy all day-
Iliff came this afternoon and told us of Johnstown flood* & Binghamton & Johnson City-
Chas brought us kerosene-
Iliff got a bag of grain from barn for chickens-


*Apparently the infamous 1889 Johnstown Flood was not the only one. There was a nasty one in 1936 as Irene mentions here, plus one in 1977. For more information, check out the Johnstown Flood Museum website.

Wednesday, March 11, 1936

Misty and damp all day-
Raining hard this eve-
Done all the chores today
Let the hens out doors-
Made butterscotch pudding*
Sent Lloyd birthday cards for Mother and Aunty-
Rec'd a letter from Emily Parsons
Mother rec'd letter from Clara
Mother has been fine^ all day-
Iliff called this eve-



*More butterscotch pudding. It must be someone's favorite.

^One of my friends who has been following this blog on Facebook said this regarding the March 9 entry: "Ah ha! Now we know what 'fine' means -- NOT quiet and peaceable!" So today Mother was just fine...


 

Thursday, February 20, 1936

Cold and plesant
Chas came over and shovelled out driveway and caught the four hens at the woodhouse and we took them to the barn with the others-
I washed out my underwear and hose* and mended three dresses and hose and made butterscotch pudding-
Rec'd a letter from May Phelps-
Mother has been fine-

Woman draping stockings 1936*

*I find it interesting that my great-grandmother felt compelled to mention washing her underwear & stockings out. (Image from the National Archives. Titled: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Hosiery. Minnesac Mills. [Woman draping stockings.], 1936 - 1937 by Lewis Hine- National Archives Identifier: 518687 Local Identifier: 69-RP-500

Tuesday, February 18, 1936

Cold and windy
10 [degrees] below zero this eve-
paths blowed full-
Shovelled them out and done all the chores-
got three eggs* today-
Rec'd letter from Alice^-
Mother has been fine all day-

Chicken eggs (Taken or created by Fir0002)*

*I believe this is the 1st mention of eggs in all the times Irene has discussed (or implied about) the chickens. The days are getting longer, so more sunlight may be helping the girls along in their laying. The low temperatures are not helping. I found an great article on chickens & laying eggs in winter on a website called Local Harvest if you are interested. (Above image from Wikipedia.)


^Alice Fletcher. You can find an image of Alice on the Jan. 5, 1936 post.