Thursday, April 9, 1936

plesant all day but rain this evening-
Clara came 9-30 last eve and brought an Azalia tree and a Hydrangia for Easter-
brought curtains for front south room and material for kitchen curtains and Mothers chair-
Harry came 2 P.M. after lunch and brought Easter lillies and Hyacinth* and strawberries
Mother has been happy all day

Azaleas in bloom- summer

*That's a whole lot of plants. How about looking at the "meaning" behind these flowers- Language of Flowers

• Azalea: Temperance
• Hyacinth: Sport, Game, Play
• Hyacinth, Blue: Constancy
• Hyacinth, White: Unobtrusive loveliness
• Hydrangea (Hortensia): A boaster, Heartlessness, You are cold
• Lily: Beauty, Elegance, Sweetness 

 

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, April 7, 1936

Calm and plesant this forenoon changing to north wind and snow this afternoon-
Iliff came and worked 6 hrs. burning bush and part of orchard grass-
I made apple pudding and macaroni & cheese* and roast beef for dinner with asparagas
Mother was fairly good today

Baked macaroni and cheese*

*While doing a bit of internet research for this post, I found a recipe I liked, but the information on the blog was erroneous. Seriously people, just take a few seconds & look things up if you don't know. I found this article by the Smithsonian which came out 1 1/2 years before the blog post I referenced. Anyway, who knew Thomas Jefferson served mac & cheese when he was president in 1802? I think that is cool. Irene wouldn't have been serving Kraft Macaroni & Cheese on this day because it didn't come out until the following year.I opted for this recipe seen below, because it calls for making a cheese sauce & includes mustard like my mom's. (Image from Moms Who Think website.)

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

4 cups whole milk
5 Tablespoons butter
4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups grated mild cheddar cheese
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat the milk (do not boil).
3. Add the butter. When butter is melted into the milk, add the flour while whisking. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture is smooth.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, dry mustard, black pepper, 2 1/2 cups of the mild cheddar cheese and 2 1/2 cups of the sharp cheddar cheese. Set cheese sauce aside.
5. Bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add the macaroni, cook for the time specified on the package, making sure not to overcook it. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water. Drain well.
6. Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
7. Pour the mixture into a 3 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup mild cheddar and 1/2 cup sharp cheddar on top.
8. Bake until browned on top, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Monday, April 6, 1936

Monday rainy and cold and damp-
Harry fixed lock on garage door and grubbed out wild stuff from the front yard and stopped at 4-30 p.M. and took Mother and I to Ithaca with 7 doz eggs @18 [cents]*-
Mother has been fine all day
I combed her hair and washed her neck and ears etc.

Notice the cost of eggs*

*I found an interesting source to verify the cost of eggs- The Central Virginia Electric Cooperative.

Sunday, April 5, 1936

Sunday-
cold and coudy with rain this eve-
Harry Baker came this morning-
went for a ride this afternoon-
called at Searles' to see Iliff and went to Groton-
called on Bertha Suley on the way back.
Had strawberry shortcake for dinner and asparagas*-
Mother has been unhappy today



*Interesting combination. I guess Irene lives by the motto "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." by Ernestine Ulmer.

Saturday, April 4, 1936

Cold and plesant all day-
Sap from the broken maple limbs hung in icicles* all day-
Made molasses cookies and done usual Saturday cleaning
Mother has been fine today-

Nuthatch samples frozen sap in Litchfield, CT*

*Image from Litchfield.com

Friday, April 3, 1936

Snow squalls and cold wind all day-
Iliff came and cut plum trees and trimmed around the garden-
worked 5 hours-
Mother has been unhappy all day but has not made trouble-
I mended on Mothers sweater-
Today was my mothers birthday- born April 3- 1848*

Ophelia A. Smith's grave (image by BJH*)

*Here is the first bit of proof that "Mother" is in fact NOT Irene's mother, which I knew. Irene's mother was Ophelia Anne Smith (nee Gilbert). Ophelia was born, as Irene stated, on April 3, 1848, to Washington B. Gilbert (1821-1898) & Hannah E. Gilbert (nee Bullock 1819-1906). Ophelia married Irvin W. Smith in 1870. After Ophelia's death in 1894 (she is buried in McGraw, Cortland County, NY with her parents), Irvin remarried & had more children. My mother believes Clara is the daughter of one of Irene's half-sisters from her father's second wife. We believe "Mother" may be the second wife. (Image by BJH & posted on FindAGrave.)

Happy Birthday Ophelia!

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.

Wednesday, April 1, 1936

Cold but plesant but changing to rain 8-30 P.M.
Aunty and Florence Searles both Fooled me*-
I made two elderberry pies and a molasses cake-
combed Mothers hair etc-
Mother got mad at dinner time and Iliff took her in car to brick house-
Iliff and I went to Ithaca and got groceries and then got Mother-
Robert Bower called this eve to see Clara

April Fools' Day is often portrayed with a jester^

*Darn! I wish Irene recorded what the pranks/ jokes were. For a taste of the kind of April Fools' Day joke the media was playing in 1936, check out this hoax from the Honolulu Star- Bulletin.

^Free coloring page can be found on Kids Coloring.

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.)

Monday, March 30, 1936

plesant but rained this afternoon-
thunder rumbled
Washed Mothers dress and sweater and our stockings and ironed aprons and dresses-
Mother wanted to run away to brick house but was mad when I insisted on going along-
Hay buyer came with Leroy Bower-
Aunty worked in yard-

Sunday, March 29, 1936

Cloudy all day-
Charles came over and used the crank* on Harry's car and it started right off-
so Harry went to Auburn-
I made a lemon pie and done the usual work-
Took my bath this afternoon-
Iliff came this eve
Mother has been some restless today but not bad-

Google map of Ludlowville to Auburn, NY

*I'm not quite sure why Harry didn't have his own crank for the car, but I'm glad Charles was able to start his car. Above is the present day trip from Ludowville, north to Auburn.

 

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.

Friday, March 27, 1936

Rained this early morning but faired away so Harry worked in the yard most of day
I made a crabapple pie* and oat flake cookies^ and dressed a rooster and helped some in the yard this afternoon-
Rec'd a letter from Christine and Bertha-
Mother has been wonderfull today-



*Crab Apple Pie recipe is on the post for February 17, 1936. 

^My Oatmeal Cookies on the post for January 21, 1936.

Thursday, March 26, 1936

Plesant all day
Harry worked on the broken limbs in the yard and took Mother and I to Ithaca* this afternoon-
He bought us a quart of ice cream and we called on the Malones-
I made a square cake with chocolate icing and a black raspberry pie this A.M.
Mother has been pretty good-

Google map of the trip from Ludlowville to Ithaca- 2014

*One of my readers on Facebook wondered how long it would take them to get to Ithaca from Ludlowville. With modern roads & current traffic, it's about 9 miles to Ithaca & would take 15-20 minutes to get there. I'm unsure what the roads were like in 1936. I'll have to do some research. Unfortunately, the GIS maps on the Tompkins County website don't seem to have any historical map layers. The trips seem to be short, going in the afternoon, so I'm thinking under an hour one way.

Wednesday, March 25, 1936

plesant and warm
Harry Baker came and trimed limbs in door yard all day-
Brought us milk and cream and horseradish-
Iliff came this eve-
brought us home made bread for supper- was good-
Mother has bee pretty good-
was a little upset about Harry clearing the yard*-



*The implication here is that Mother was upset about Harry clearing the limbs, not Irene.

Tuesday, March 24, 1936

Cloudy but plesant untill 4-30 P.M. it begins to rain-
Made a chocolate pie and cup custard* for Mother and stewed prunes and apples for supper-
Lizzie Hughes came for the afternoon-
brought me some parsnips-
Mother rec'd a picture of Skippy dog from Clara-
Mother has been quiet-

Cup Custard baked in ramakin

 

 

*Irene is really fond on making custards. Cup custard is another baked, egg custard. 

 

CUP CUSTARD

from COOKS.COM

---

• 2 cups milk
• 1/3-1/2 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
• pinch nutmeg

 

Have ready 5 individual serving custard cups. Place in a shallow baking pan filled with tepid water.Stir sugar and salt into milk. Over very low heat, bring milk to the scalding point until it just begins to form a thin skin. Do not boil milk.
Beat eggs slightly; add a small amount of hot milk to the eggs, then stir the eggs back into the milk, whisking continuously.
Remove from heat.
Bake at 350F degrees until a knife inserted in center comes out nearly clean.
When cool, cover each cup with a thin coating of caramel.

Monday, March 23, 1936

South wind and cloudy but plesant-
Done the washing and the chores-
The wash dried nicely-
Mother has been pretty good all day-
Vera and Gib with Stephen called this eve-
Sent card and papers to Clara
Will Hall came to Leroy Bowers from hospital Saturday.

Sunday, March 22, 1936

Sunday
Plesant all day North wind-
The electric line men* fixed the wires so we have lights tonight-
Iliff called this eve-
brought me his make of doughnuts and Florence^ sent me a bowl of ice cream-
both gifts were wonderfull-
Mother has been quiet all day-
We are all tired from lack of sleep and nerves caused by the storm and lack of lights.



*Now I have "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell stuck in my head. 

^Irene's friend Florence Searles, mother of Mildred Searles.

Saturday, March 21, 1936

North wind and rain and snow and nasty all day
Done all the chores and made a tapioca custard and a marble layer cake-
combed Mothers hair ect-
Mother rec'd letters from Clara and Lloyd.
Mother never slept much all night but stayed downstairs but I did not sleep
was so afraid she would carry the kerosene lamp-
Been quiet all day-