19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, June 22, 1914: Had quite a time at rubbing and washing today, and it wasn’t here at home either. We are going to have the church fixed over, and it was necessary to wash off the walls. One girl upset her bucket of water off a step ladder. Had to laugh. I was up near the ceiling, and my laughing made me dizzy. Came down off that ladder and staid down. Didn’t want a fate like the bucket.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
What fun. . . and what a mess! Did they use an O-Cedar Mop to clean it up?
A Hundred Years Ago 
I’m glad grandma has been giving a little more information lately. And I love the advertisement!
I’m also glad that she’s writing more.It definitely gives me more to go on when I write my posts. 🙂
I agree with Elle so nice to have more of Grandma’s words.
For some reason, the harder she was working and the busier she was, the more she seemed to write. 🙂
Well I am hoping she keeps busy. I haven’t asked for awhile. Any thoughts about what happens to the blog when the diary ends? I’m hoping for an ongoing blog 🙂
You have a good memory. Thanks for asking. I’m still trying to decide what to do next. I have a recipe book and miscellaneous memorabilia of a great aunt (on the other side of the family) who joined the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) during World War II. She had an 8th grade education and cared for her parents until they died, and then became a WAC for the next 18 years of her life. Since she never married or had children she’s pretty much vanished from everyone’s memory–but I think that she could be an interesting person to learn more about. That said, I’m having a difficult time getting my head around exactly what that would look like in blog format and may go in a totally different direction.
Well great to hear that you are thinking about it Sheryl. I’m sure you have realized it wouldn’t have to be daily so that gives one some breathing room for research and such. I admire how you keep it up every single day!
That’s a good point. I really do need to give some thought to the frequency since my sense is that this would take more research than what I’m currently doing.
What! $1 size not sold in Canada?? Hmpff! 🙂
Diana xo
You’re just out of luck. 🙂
Helena was wise to get off the step ladder!
I agree! They’re easy to tip over–even when not laughing.
I can just see a bunch of young women, working together and acting silly!
It sounds like so much fun!
Sounds like they made fun of a not so fun job washing down the walls. The advertisement brought back memories. My mom bought an O-Cedar mop when I was about 12. Hugs!
Work is so much easier and more fun when done with friends. 🙂 I’m glad you like the ad.
Nice community activities!
Both then and now, many rural communities have wonderful community activities and events that many people participate in.
I love her dry humor (sorry for the pun).
🙂 (I love the pun.)
I use an o-cedar.
Sometimes I’m surprised how many currently available brands, including O-Cedar, have been around for more than a hundred years.
I can imagine that upset bucket of water 🙂
Yikes. . . I don’t even want to think about how much of a mess it must have made. 🙂
Grandma was unusually “wordy” today!
It seems like she was energized by washing the church walls with friends, and the bucket accident. I suppose that she felt like she had a good story to record in her diary.
O-my! And O-Cedar mops still exist–I have one (albeit red metal with plastic & sponge). Sounds like she had fun while she was working. She seems positively giddy here!
Great to feel Helena enjoying herself.
I agree!
Helena seems to have thrived on group activities. This diary entry reflects her joy in working with other people to get something positive done.
I agree–She seems so isolated on the farm most days, and it’s fun to see how much she enjoys doing things collaboratively with a group.
I enjoy how she describes things. I am glad too that she did not fall off tthe ladder like that bucke of water… 🙂
I also like the vivid and fun way she described things.
she must have been a card!