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

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-

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 >

Saturday, December 12, 1936

Cloudy but plesant day
Mildred, Florence & Delbert came for me at 11 A.M.-
to go to Ithaca to Xmas shop-
Went to Victoria Hotel for dinner-
Met Howard & Ida Ammack in Hotel too
Iliff did not get home as he had Saturday work-
Telegraphed to Mildred
Had a nice afternoon-
but what a crowd-

Monday, December 7, 1936

plesant but cold
10 [degrees] above zero this morning and again this eve-
Harry and I went to Ithaca this forenoon-
He got Xmas^ present for Clara and arties and ash pan for Auntie-
He went back and changed Arties this afternoon-
Had a fine time
Mother was good all day-
*Met Edna Holmes- She lives in Cortland-



^"Xmas" is not a non-religious shorthand for Christmas. The "X" is actually an abbreviation of the Greek word for Christ. For more info check out these 2 links. The Origin of Xmas. & The "X" in "Xmas" Doesn't Take the "Christ" out of "Christmas".

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

Saturday, December 5, 1936

Saturday-
plesant but cloudy & cold-
Made a rice pudding-
Harry and I went to Ithaca this afternoon-
Went to the  Temple Theater and see George O'Brian in "Daniel Boone"*.
It was fine-
Mother very good today-

*Daniel Boone (1936) with George O'Brien, Heather Angel, & John Carradine.

Wednesday, November 25, 1936

plesant & thawed
I made a pumpkin pie & a shell and a layer cake with lemon filling
Harry came for dinner & Mother & I went to Ithaca with him for supplies-
I got me some stockings-
I rec'd a nice letter from Iliff today-

Saturday, October 31, 1936

plesant & cold-
Clara, Mother, & I went to Ithaca this afternoon-
I withdrew my application for a job from the Ithaca Service Bureau.
Clara tore up my last check and will send me another-
Harry has painted the putty and sills of the windows and put weather strip on west door to south room-
Leroy Bower called this eve-

Tuesday, October 27, 1936

plesant but cold
Made chocolate custard for dinner-
cleaned out the reservoir to the to the kitchen stove-
Harry took Mother and I to Ithaca-
I made application to the Ithaca Service Bureau for another place*-
got my shoes half soled and a new corset and slip-
Wrote to Clara this eve-
Vera & Gibb called
Harry bought clams for soup.


*Is Irene looking for another job?

Saturday, October 10, 1936

rainy forenoon-
plesant afternon-
Harry, Clara, Mother & Aunty went to Ithaca this forenoon-
I made 3 pumpkin pies and a plain cake and a pigeon pie and dressed a rooster for tomorrows dinner-
Susie Haring and Flora Sperry called to see Clara this afternoon-
Clara & Mother called on Leroy & Anna this eve
*Clara gave me a pair of nice silk stockings

Pigeon pie

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

^A nice pigeon pie can be made by following the recipe from the Jane Austen Cookbook founf on the BBC- Radio 4 website.

Friday, September 4, 1936

plesant & cool-
Clara & Aunty went to Ithaca
Aunty went to Ella Millers-
Clara got her a new hat-
Mother nervous this early morning but calmed down by noon-
Harry took Mother and I for a ride to Ithaca this afternoon-
Had a very plesant day-
Rec'd a letter from Iliff.

Thursday, September 3, 1936

misty morning but cleared away before noon-
beautiful afternoon-
Made macaroni & cheese for dinner-
and finished ironing
Harry came after dinner and took Clara to Ithaca was back for supper and Harry stays all night-
I put down the carpet in Aunty's north living room this afternoon-

Thursday, August 27, 1936

plesant all day
I mowed the lawn today and stayed alone with Mother-
Clara & Aunty went to Ithaca-
I sent a card to Iliff & Mildred and a note to Harry-
Everything has run smoothly and Mother was very good-

Tuesday, August 25, 1936

plesant all day with a little shower this eve-
Christine done the ironing of my clothes and Harrys' _
I made an elderberry pie and a shell and Harry, Christine, & I went to Ithaca for afternoon-
Harry bought a tire-
Iliff, Mildred, Harry & I took Christine home to McGraw for supper and spent the eve-
The Fowler family & Harry Messenger gave us a concert-
wonderfull time
*Iliff and Mildred home to stay


*This statement is written up the inner left hand side of the diary entry.

Monday, August 24, 1936

plesant all day
Done the washing today
Christine made a chocolate cake fine-
Harry carried the water for me-
Harry, christine, and I went to Taughannock Falls^ and T'Burg,* & Mecklenburg back to Ithaca-
Iliff and Mildred came home-
reporting a fine time at Thousand Islands-

Map showing potential route for the trip stated above in 1936

^Taughannock Falls is a NY Sate Park named after the waterfall. It is located on the western side of Cayuga Lake. See above map.

*This is Irene's abbreviation for Trumansburg, NY. See above map.

Post card Iliff sent his mother while on honeymoon 1936

Contents of the post card Iliff sent Irene on Aug. 24, 1936

Dear Mother,
We have arrived to our first stopping place near Sacketts Harbor, 12 miles from Watertown.
Had a nice trip. Enjoyed every second of it.
        Love,
                  Iliff & Mildred-

Friday, August 14, 1936

plesant all day Hot
I dusted off things and worked all forenoon and Harry and I went to town this afternoon and got our groceries and then went to Buttermilk Falls State Park* and went up the glen to Pinnacle Rock and across foot bridge and came back the other side-
Had a wonderfull time-
Iliff pressed hay for John Hill-
Geo. Rankin called this eve-

Pinnacle Rock postcard

*Buttermilk Fall State Park is part of the NY Stat Parks system. There are a few other waterfalls called "Buttermilk", this one is located on Buttermilk Creek in the Ithaca area at the tip of Cayuga Lake.

Tuesday, August 11, 1936

Cool & plesant after rain
Harry, Clara & Mother arrived home 4-35 A.M. in the morning-
I got breakfast and Clara went to bed for forenoon
Harry laid on the couch-
They did not use their births on the train last night-
Clara took me to Ithaca with her to have a talk before I went home-
Iliff came for me after supper and Harry came too-
We went to show to see "Green Pastures"*

*Released on August 1, 1936 by Warner Brothers, "The Green Pastures" is a spiritual movie based on stories from the Old Testament, & features an all-black cast. The gospel choir is very good. See movie review at IMDb.

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 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.

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-