Monday, November 23, 1936

plesant day & cold
Rec'd letter from Iliff and also Clara with check for $20.00 paid to Dec- 2-
I got parsnips from gardens for dinner-
I erupted ashes in south room stove and laid kindling for fire in both stoves and swept up etc.getting ready for Thanks giving- Mother good

Letter from Clara to Irene dated Nov. 21, 1936

Pages 2 & 3 of the Nov. 21 letter to Irene

Page 4 of Clara's letter to Irene

Envelope showing Nov. 21, 1936 Newburgh, NY postmark

Thursday, October 29, 1936

plesant & cool
full moon this eve-
I made ginger bread and put parafine on the jelly and put it away-
I dug the onions in the garden this afternoon and went to Mrs. Evans and got butter
Harry dug potatoes and Aunty picked them up this forenoon and he dug carots & beets this P.M and gor water from Evans'
He went to Half Acre 5 o'clock-
Rec'd letter & check $20.00 from Clara^-
paid to Nov. 4-
*Sent card to Iliff-

Envelope with Newburgh postmark Oct 27, 1936

First page of Clara's letter to Irene

Page 2 & 3 of Clara's October 1936 letter to Irene

Final page of the letter

^Clara's letter to Irene:
         P.S. I'm a great one, forgot to thank you for my pietuner. 
That was so nice of you to remember me.                                                  10/27/36
Dear Irene,
         I was glad to get your letter saying that you felt better. It must have been something we ate.
         I hate to wish time away but I'll certainly be glad when I can get home again.
         Auntie said you had a lovely cake for mother- and I do appreciate it so. Just don't know how we could manage without you. Did Mother like her flowers and was she awfully disappointed because I wasn't home? She may have forgotten that I usually did spend the day with her.
         I finally decided to go to Hudson. Anne Crawford was taken ill while I was there and had a doctor. It seemed to be a severe cold. Cousin Anne Meigs tells me she came within one of having pneumonia. There is an awful lot of it around. The more I think about it the more convinced I am that Mother should not go down to vote. It might be bad for both of them. Standing around waiting in the cold is not good for young people- and certainly not for old ones.
You have taken such good care of them Irene that I would hate to see them start off wrong this winter. If they can only be well and reasonably happy.
        I'll bet you miss your boy. How is he getting on?
        Had a letter from Harry- said he planned to dig your potatoes- no matter what we said.
        As soon as I mail this I'm taking off old ironsides (breaking in a new girdle)
        My little plant is full of green leaves. Sending a check for $20.00
                                              Lots of love
                                                                 Clara.

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

Friday, September 18, 1936

plesant all day cool-
Harry came this morning to spend the day-
worked all day pulling weeds in the garden-
Aunty helped cut the corn for me to can-
Canned 12 pts-
Iliff can store furniture & farm tools in Bob Bailors farm house if he goes to Buffalo
Mother has been better today
Recd card from Clara today.
Harry drove to Auburn this eve-

Sunday, September 13, 1936

Sunday & plesant-
Ellen Galagar Townsend called this forenoon to buy a stove-
Clayton Townsend has hardening of the arteries of the brain and is loosing his mind-
I combed Mothers hair etc-
and took my bath after dinner-
I was so lonesome I went out and pulled weeds in the garden
Iliff did not come this eve either-

Wednesday, August 5, 1936

plesant all day
Washed windows out side and carried baskets and boxes over to little house in orchard for Aunty, for storage-
Have not felt very well all day-
Aunty made green applesauce and I stewed prunes-
We had our first ripe tomatoes from the garden for supper

Tomato from my fridge

Thursday, July 23, 1936

plesant & warm with a real shower all evening
Aunty and I have tried to work but had interuptions all day-
Bardo grocery, the meat cart and Charles came after a bag of wheat and the truck driver came for hay and I had to take tallys for Leroy-
I gathered string beans for dinner and cleaned doors in Mothers room
*Aunty Rec'd letter from Clara.



*This sentence runs vertically up the left hand side of the diary entry.

Monday, July 20, 1936

plesant & cool
Picked lettuce and string beans enough for 5 pints canned-
4 pints in pressure canner-
Sprinkled down the rest of ironing to do in morning-
filled wood box as I thought it might rain-
Aunty had gas pains in bowells and did not feel well all day-

Saturday, July 18, 1936

plesant but had a sunshiny sprinkle this afternoon about a dozen drops
Made elderberry pie and layer cake and worked in garden this afternoon
hoed tomatoes, cabbages and onions.
Mrs. Evans & Elnora called this eve-
A skunk ate Aunty's setting eggs-
A dog got in Leroy's sheep killed one bit 2-
*Rec'd telegram from Clara of safe arrival-


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

Friday, July 17, 1936

plesant and cool
Ironed the starch clothes this afternoon-
hoes part of the tomatoes and sprayed five rows of potatoes with arsenate of lead*
used all I had-
Aunty knocked the bugs off the rest.
We have not seen anyone but each other all day.

"Colorado potato beetle" by Scott Bauer, USDA ARS - This image was released by the Agricultural Research Service, the research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, with the ID k4978-5 (next). This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information. English | français | македонски | +/− http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/graphics/photos/dec97/k4978-5.htm. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.


*Lead arsenate, or lead hydrogen arsenate, was a popular inorganic insecticide made by farmers by mixing soluable lead salts & sodium arsenate (Yes, that is arsenic folks). Irene & Aunty were most likely using it to kill potato beetles. 

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.

Sunday, July 5, 1936

Sunday plesant & cool
Mr & Mrs Albert Hall & 3 kids called also Mary Brong Miles & daughter & husband-
Iliff came & spent the evening with me-
Harry took the Aunties and Clara fo a ride-
Mother was good all day
Clara worked in garden & done ironing-
I picked swiss chard for dinner

Thursday, June 25, 1936

plesant all day
Aunty has a bad spell today did not eat any supper-
was lying down all afternoon-
Clara unpacked her car and bags & trunk-
Harry worked in garden and cleaned up the two cars-
Mother was pretty good today
I done some ironing and got meals etc-

Wednesday, June 24, 1936

plesant all day
Harry came 10-30 this morning
brought plants to set in garden
Mr. Curran came with truck for hay-
He kissed the Blarney Stone for sure*-
Aunty rec'd her mirror-
Clara came 9-40 this eve-
12-30 ^now and just going to bed-
Mother has been restless and cross to all of us today-

Tisha Dolton (me) kissing the Blarney Stone October 1997*

*This made me laugh so hard, I just had to include the photo of me kissing the Blarney Stone when I studied a semester at the University of Limerick, Ireland. I love you Irene!

Sunday, June 21, 1936

Sunday, plesant but cool-
Harry hoed the potatoes and made cucumber hills and sowed the seed-
Has been busy nearly all day & evening-
I made some Hyer's Root Beer*-
Iliff called this evening-
Mother has been pretty good all day-
I combed her hair etc-

Hires' Rootbeer ad 1894^

*From Wikipedia: "Hires Root Beer kits, available in the United States and Canada from the early 1900s through the 1980s allowed consumers to mix an extract with water, sugar and yeast to brew their own root beer. However, most consumption was of pre-bottled root beer."

^Image from the 19th Century American Trade Cards collection at the Boston Public Library. View digitized copy here.

Thursday, June 18, 1936

plesant all day but shower during the night and a good one again this evening and how the garden grows-
I stewed prunes and carrotts and made butterscotch pudding and worked in cellar this afternoon-
We returned the coat to Clara
Aunty won't have it and she wrote to Clara-
Mother pretty good today-

Wednesday, June 17, 1936

South wind and threatens rain all day
Sowed lettuce and beet seed in garden and hoed the peas & corn
Aunty got a letter from Clara
Iliff & Mildred came this eve and got two bushels of wheat.
Mother a little better today than yesterday but told me she could get along without me if I wanted to go-
I need not wait for Clara to come
Aunty rec'd letter & coat from Clara

Monday, June 15, 1936

plesant all day
made rubarb pie & stewed rubarb for sauce & made macaroni & cheese for dinner-
Hoed from the corn all the small vegetables and 2/3 of tomatoes
Harry hoed the potatoes and berries & painted the sawed off limb to maple tree & nailed a piece of tin over it-
He went home this eve-
Lizzie Hughes spent afternoon & evening-

Saturday, June 13, 1936

plesant all day
made ginger bread and done usual Saturday cleaning and mopped south porch this forenoon and weeded all the small vegetables in the garden this afternoon-
Susie Haring called at tea time and showed us her moths
Luna Moth and the Peacock Moth-
Harry came this eve and brought us pink & white peonys beautifull

White and pink peonies from my mother's garden

Friday, June 12, 1936

plesant but cool
worked in the yard weeding flower beds and cutting grass with shears & weeded the row of lettuce & hung the map & fixed a window shade in porch for Aunty-
Mother has been very nervous & cross all day-
Made a rice pudding  for dinner & gathered milkweed stalks-

Thursday, June 11, 1936

rainy forenoon
Finished the ironing this forenoon-
sewed my shoes and done some mending and hoed the onions & swiss chard etc- this afternoon-
Mother was good all day-
wrote a letter to Clara-