Saturday, December 19, 1936

Cold south wind all day with snow flurries changing to rain this eve-
Harry brought a spare rib and I made dressing and baked it today-
was it good-
Harry went back to Half Acre this afternoon-
Mildred called for me to go to town but I did not need to go-
Mother good all day-
Finished two pair pillow cases-

Thursday, December 17, 1936

Cloudy & colder-
No wind
Washed two sweaters and a wool skirt for Mother-
Empted the reservoir and washed it out
Basted ends and hems of two pair of pillow cases this P.M.
Rec'd letter and postage stamps from Iliff-
Mother good all day-

Monday, December 14, 1936

plesant all day
warmer this evening-
Done every day general work
stewed apples for supper-
wrote a letter to Clara with Aunty writing too-
Sent birthday card to Delbert-
Mended Mothers dress and made new button hole-
Harry called about an hour this afternoon-

Monday, November 30, 1936

Blizzard & cold 5 [degrees]
I washed out four pair of stockings and mended them and button holed Mothers slippers-
Milk bottles frozen hard*-
We have all been tired today
Mother has been good-
but a little difficult toward Aunty about the kitchen-
this evening-
Sent letters to Chester and Hattie Morey-

Frozen milk bottles and kitten- Chicago, 1947*

*Image from the Chicago Tribune. < http://galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-140207-classic-cold-chicago-pictures/ >

Monday, November 16, 1936

regular blizzard all day-
windy & cold 20 [degrees] above zero this eve-
snow covers everything
I made tapioca custard for dinner and washed off the porch furniture and carried it up stairs this forenoon-
mended two dresses this afternoon-
Mother is difficult this eve and hugs the stove and wont go to bed-

Friday, November 6, 1936

plesant day snow melting-
I pumped about a quart of water from the well
canned 3 pints of cauliflower pickle
wrote a letter to Clara-
Sewed a little more on princes slips-
Have one all made-
Snow sliding off the roof broke the bulb to the Electric light over the well-
Mother good all day-
no letter from Iliff yet this week-

Thursday, November 5, 1936

Snow 4 inches deep
wet and heavy hanging to trees
Shoveled paths all around
Made tapioca custard, cottage cheese and cooked cauliflower for dinner-
Sewed on my princess slips this afternoon
Rec'd card from Christine
Mother good all day-
Aunty helped shovel snow-

Cauliflower

Wednesday, September 23, 1936

plesant all day very warm-
Leroy Bower finished cutting the field of corn today-
no frost yet-
very hard to pump a pail of water from the well-
Canned 7 qts of tomatoes this morning-
Mended my dress this afternoon-
Water shortage in Trumansburg and Dryden is serious-

Wednesday, September 2, 1936

cloudy, & rainy all day-
I made tapioca custard for dinner-
I ironed all afternoon-
Clara & Mother sit up stairs and sewed nearly all day-
Mother has been very quiet all day-
I mended my dress this eve-

Wednesday, August 19, 1936

plesant & hot with thundershowers this eve-
I ironed some and mended sheets-
Iliff drilled holes in an iron for Alvord Baker and help start the team again for Delbert-
then went to town with Mildred this afternoon-
Harry went over to the Howell home* this afternoon and eve-
Alvord Baker and Bob Bailor called-


*This means that he went over to the house where Mother & Aunty live.

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-

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.

Friday, April 17, 1936

Cold and windy with rain this evening-
Done all the chores and regular work-
Mended stockings and petticoats* today-
Mother has been fairly good all day but is difficult this evening-



*Petticoats, or underskirts, were not overly common in the 1920s & 1930s for everyday wear, so maybe Irene is talking more about slips. But she does actually mentions making a slip on March 17, 1936.

Thursday, April 2, 1936

Rained
Done chores and pressed and mended Mothers wool dress-
Mr. Harvey Allbright from Lansingville called selling religious books*-
very interesting man-
Mother has been good today
Wrote a letter to Clara-



* Irene was visited by a traveling salesman!  Sounds like she had a good chat with him. That must be where my dad gets it from.

Tuesday, March 17, 1936

Trees covered with snow all day and rained too-
Charles and Jay came and drove out the skunk from the feed box in the stable and shot it-
I done the chores and washed the kitchen windows-
cut out two slips* this afternoon-
Mother has been fine all day-
I rec'd letter and check $15.00 from Clara
See Blue birds and robins in the snow-

Magic Bias Slip 1931*

*I found a great pattern for a 1930s era slip. I'm not sure if it is the kind Irene. Mother, or Aunty would have worn, but here you are- Dress Making Research website. The slip on this page is from the Fashion Service Magazine- August 1931, pg. 14. (Copyright © 2002 Dressmakingresearch.com
Last modified: March 25, 2010)

Monday, March 16, 1936

Rained all day turning to snow about 3 this afternoon
Aunty made a custard for us-
I done all the chores and got meals and all the regular everyday work-
Too dark and gloomy to see to sew much or anything else-
Mother has been fine all day-

Tuesday, March 10, 1936

Cloudy and fog
Thawed all day but colder this eve
nearly finished an apron when I broke a machine needle*, the last one-
Sent a letter to Lloyd in Montana this morning-
Mother has been quiet and good all day-

1935 Sears catalog showing a Singer Sewing Machine

*I was under the assumption that Irene was hand sewing these aprons. This would be number 6 I believe. I wonder what machine she had? The above Singer is similar to one we found in my grandmother's house in Cato, NY the 1990s.

Tuesday, March 3, 1936

Soft snow this morning
Cloudy and dull all day-
Swept the walks and done all the chores-
Made tapioca custard this morning-
Iliff came and we went to Ithaca-
Sent Emily her pillowslips*-
Mother has been fine today.

Twin kittens pillowcase from 123stitch*

*Pillowslips are simply pillowcases. I'm an embroiderer so I thought I would share a  place where you can get some traditional pillowcase kits to stitch.

Wednesday, February 26, 1936

Thawed but snowed some-
got grain from upper barn and done all the chores-
Washed kitchen windows out and inside too-
Finished apron* for Aunty and started one for myself.
Mother has been fine
Sent letter to Clara.
Rec'd letter from Christine
Iliff called this eve-


*OK. I've counted. Irene has finished 5 aprons; 4 for Mother, one for Aunty. Now she is working on one for herself.

Monday, February 24, 1936

South wind and thaws-
Cloudy and dull-
Done all the chores and got 2 bushels of corn from corn house-
Finished the 4th apron* for Mother and have one well started for Aunty-
Mother has been fine all day

Aprons for the March 1931 issue of Needlecraft magazine*

*Since Irene has made about 10 aprons in less than 2 months, I thought I would look around the internet & see what I could find. I found this great blog called Apron History where I found the above image. The blogger (Heidi) even has vintage 1930s aprons in her collection. She has some great images, tutorials, & vintage aprons.

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