A Whole Half Year Has Just Leaped By

16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today: 

Friday, July 1, 1911:

A whole half year has just leaped by,

And all can now witness the approach of July.

With all its plenty of frolic and fuss,

But beware and be cautious of the sun.

I worked so hard today out in the hay field a heaping hay. Oh happy day. Mother hasn’t finished my dress yet. I really need it.

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:

Whew, it’s hard to believe ‘a whole half year has just leaped by’ since I began posting the diary entries. Today, it seems appropriate to ponder the past 180 days and reflect a bit.

I’ve really enjoyed reconnecting with family and old friends as a result of the diary. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people.

To all of you have very generously shared family history, memories of Grandma, and information and materials about the history of central Pennsylvania— Thank you!!   I couldn’t do this blog without you!

I’ve been very surprised how many people enjoy reading about Grandma and her times. Over the past several months two newspapers contacted me about this blog and then wrote wonderful stories. Also the blog was featured on a genealogy website. If you haven’t seen the stories you can click on the links below:

Geneabloggers (June 6, 2011): May I Introduce . . . Sheryl Lazarus

Milton Standard Journal (May 21 2011) Blog Connects Former Resident to Central PA  (.pdf. Reprinted with permission)

Williamsport Sun Gazette (May 15, 2011): 100 Years Ago. .. Woman Creates McEwensville Blog to Honor Her Grandmother

I constantly see connections between what happened a hundred years ago and now. My husband and kids might occasionally roll their eyes when I begin a sentence with, “Well, a hundred years ago. . . “ but I think they enjoy learning about Grandma and her times almost as much as I do.

Some things haven’t changed—for example one hundred years ago Grandma worried about final exams; last spring my daughter also worried about finals.

Other things are incredibly different—a hundred years ago horses were used for farming, and the Muffly’s had neither electricity nor a telephone. (Grandma used a phone for the first time in her life during May 1911.)

When I started this blog last January I wasn’t sure if I’d still be doing it in July, but I still am and having a lot of fun researching the entries—and I now anticipate that I’ll still be posting entries on the day the diary ends: December 31, 1914 (or in current terms December 31, 2014).

Have a wonderful July!