The Finale

Happy New Year! This is the final entry of the 1936 Diary of Irene Smith Dolton blog. Thank you to all who have stepped back in time with me; the devotees, & casual observers alike. I appreciate everyone who has taken time out of their crazy modern lives to read a little about a 55 year old widow trying to make it through the Great Depression. She baked like crazy. Maybe that's where me & my sister's get it from. It's in our genes!

Irene Smith Dolton lived to see her only grandchild, my father (Iliff W. Dolton, Jr.), get married & have 2 children of his own. Unfortunately, she died on January 28, 1969, & never got to meet me & my younger sister. She lived with my father & his parents, Iliff Sr. & Mildred for a time. When she didn't live with them, Dad would visit her in the summer for weeks, & she would bake him oat flake cookies! Iliff Sr. always called his mother "sauerkraut", because she was always ready. She just took off her apron, and grabbed her cardigan & purse.

For those of you who find your way to this blog in the future, feel free to comment. I will keep this active & will respond to all comments. To start at the beginning, click HERE.

Irene Smith Dolton c. 1945

Thank you for coming along on this journey.

Thursday, December 31, 1936

Last day of old year
what will the next bring to us-
Made a squash pie-
Clara & Harry hunted stove lids Jim Seeley came & got the stove from the stable-
Harry took Mother & Clara for a ride
I got supper-
Clara & I had indigestion-
We watched the old year out & new year in and drank toasts in Creme de Minthe & orange juice^-
at midnight
*Taught Clara to crochet this eve-

Aussie Mozzie cocktail^

^Maybe this is the cocktail Irene made- Aussie Mozzie: 1 oz green creme de menthe, 5 oz orange juice- Pour the orange juice into a highball glass filled with ice cubes. Add green creme de menthe, and serve in Highball Glass. http://www.scooking.net/cocktail/aussie-mozzie#.VI0VmXtWWh0


*This is written up the left hand, inside margin of the diary entry.

Wednesday, December 30, 1936

windy-
I made a baked custard for dinner-
Mr. John Nobles tuned the piano* this morning-
Harry took Clara to town to get her hair curled-
Rec'd a letter from Iliff-

John Noble, piano tuner*

*John Noble was indeed a piano tuner in Ithaca, NY. http://tcpl.org/local-history/documents/IthacaDirectories/ICD_1936L-Z.pdf

Tuesday, December 29, 1936

Cloudy & plesant, colder
Made tapioca custard
Harry took Mother & Clara to the Dr. Price and had her foot fixed and Dr. Moore for her heart condition-
Better, thank God-
Clara & I had another conferance-
Mush and milk supper-

Monday, December 28, 1936

plesant all day
Made oatflake cookies
Mother has been upset all day-
Clara has indigestion and I had nervous headache
Going to bed at nine o'clock-
Harry & Clara hiked to the woods and then Harry went to Auburn and got his own car-
Rec'd letter & card from Florence Beebee-
Aunt Em has grippe-

Sunday, December 27, 1936

Sunday-
Made a banana cream pie for dinner-
Harry took Clara & Mother to call on the Bristol sisters and then took us all for a ride-
Had a very nice ride-
Aunty & Clara on their high horse all day-
I have felt like a worm-
Mother good all day-
Midnight

Saturday, December 26, 1936

plesant day-
Made lemon pie and got dinner
Harry, Clara & Mother went to Ithaca-
Clara talked on phone to Dr. Moore-
about Mother's condition-
She may not recover-
must be kept quiet as much as possible-
Iliff and Mildred spent the evening with us-
Gave Iliff $15.00 for Mr. Booth-

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.

Thursday, December 24, 1936

plesant s wind
Made a layer cake with date filling and cherry pie and 2 shells and apple turn over for dinner-
Mopped the kitchen and dustedthrough the two living rooms & kitchen-
Clara & Harry came about four o'clock this afternoon-
Iliff came and took me over to the Searles' tree
Had a wonderfull evening-

My Christmas Tree from 2009

Wednesday, December 23, 1936

plesant S. wind
Dusted the kitchen and tidied generally-
Harry came for late dinner-
his car gone bad-
He had to be towed back by Claude Berdoff-
Claude called and told us Harry was back to Scotts all right-
Harry killed a rooster and I dressed him this afternoon-
Mother good today-

Tuesday, December 22, 1936

Frosty and cold N.W. wind-
Done the ironing today-
Sent packages to McGraw and letter to Iliff-
Rec'd Xmass card from Lloyd Bower- Montana-
James Bristol called on Aunty this forenoon-
Mother has been very good all day-

Monday, December 21, 1936

plesant but cloudy
Done the washing and got it all dry and sprinkled down to iron-
Mother did not trouble at all-
been very good all day-
I wrapped Xmas packages* all evening-
Sent all Xmas cards this morning-
Rec'd a card from Annabel and Matty today-

Tin soldier from wrapping paper c. 1935

*According to the Woolworths Museum UK website, "[b]y the 1930s a wide range of brightly coloured wrapping paper and ribbons was offered as Woolworths became established as the destination for Christmas."

Sunday, December 20, 1936

Stormy day west wind
rainy morning getting colder, after dinner and snowflurries this eve-
Made a rice pudding for dinner
Combed Mothers hair and washed her neck and ears
Addressed 40 Christmas cards* for Aunty and I-

Romantic Christmas card from 1936*

*I'm sure Irene would have given her husband a similar Christmas card if he had been alive in 1936. < image from a blog called Forgotten Buffalo in NY: http://www.forgottenbuffalo.com/forgottenbflofeatures/vintagexmascards.html >

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-

Friday, December 18, 1936

Snowy & north wind
Cold 12 [degrees] above zero this A.M.
Made jello and whipped cream of evap. milk-
and oatflake cookies
Harry came this afternoon to stay all night-
I stretched pillow cases this afternoon-
Sent letters to Iliff and Alice and a card to Ida Ammack and to Lloyd Bower for the ladies
Mother good today-

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-

Wednesday, December 16, 1936

plesant all day-
Made tapioca custard for dinner and 3 pt cans of beet and cabbage rellish-
Harry done the chores and fixed the weights on the coal box etc. etc and left us for Half Acre 3 P.M.
I rec'd new roll of films from the Agfa Ansco Corporation* Binghamton
Wrote leter to Iliff this eve-
Mother good today with no bad results from her fall-

Agfa Karat c. 1935-1955*

*This is film for her camera. For more information check out Ansco on Camerapedia. <Image from http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Agfa_Karat >

Tuesday, December 15, 1936

plesant all day
Went to Mrs. Evans' for 2#* Butter
Rec'd letter from Iliff
Harry came this afternoon and took Mother and I to Ithaca-
Had a nice time
Harry treated me to a banana split-
Mother good all day-
but fell in the wood house this eve
did not hurt her so she said-

Cabot's Ice Cream in Newtonville, MA-  Banana Boat

*No, Irene didn't mess up her hashtag. This means 2# = two pounds.

^The banana split was invented in 1904 by apprentice pharmacist David Evans Strickler in Latrobe, PA. See the article HERE. < Image from Wikipedia http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Traditional_Banana_Boat.jpg >

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-

Sunday, December 13, 1936

Sunday-
freezing & cool-
Made a banana cream pie-
Combed Mothers hair & washed her neck-
and got the dinner and cleared it away and Aunty washed the dishes for me-
Iliff and Mildred came for me to spend the afternoon at Searles'
Charles and Marcia was there also-
Iliff left for Buffalo 5-15 P.M. and Mildred and Florence brought me back-
Had a wonderfull time-