Trying to Red Up the House

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

Saturday, August 17, 1912: We had to keep house today because Ma and Pa and the kid went to a reunion up at Muncy. Was working all morning a trying to get house red up somewhat.

DSC02315.crop — Recent photo of the house that Grandma lived in when she was writing the diary.

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

Grandma and her sister Ruth would have been home alone. The probably had to do both household and farm chores.

The kid refers to their 7-year-old brother, Jimmie

I think that “red up” is an old rural Pennsylvania (probably Pennsylvania Dutch) term that means tidy up.

When things are scattered around my house, I’ll say to my family, “We need to red up the house.”

Since my husband and I both grew up in central Pennsylvania he’d know exactly what I meant—though our children would roll their eyes.

Worked in the Field

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

Friday, August 16, 1912: Was out in the field a while this forenoon. Didn’t fancy my job any too well. They had a lot of things to do today.

gathering potatoes — Early 20th century picture of harvesting potatoes. (The farm in the picture looks like it was much larger than the Muffly farm.) Photo source: Wikipedia.

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

What was Grandma doing out in the field? . . . and why didn’t she like her job?

Maybe she was still leading horses that were pulling a roller over a recently plowed field.

. . . or maybe she was helping harvest the third cutting of hay.

. . . or maybe she was helping to dig and gather potatoes.

(I vote that she was helping harvest potatoes. It would have been dirty, backbreaking wok. It those days families raised lots of potatoes—both for eating and for selling — so the Muffly’s probably had an entire field of potatoes. I’m guessing that potato harvesting was not very mechanized in 1912, and that a lot of labor was needed to turn the soil over, sort through the dirt to find the potatoes, and then gather them .)

Crab Apple Chutney Recipe

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

Thursday, August 15, 1912: My store of thoughts doesn’t amount to very much today.

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

What did Grandma (and the other members of her family do) on days when she couldn’t think of anything worthwhile to record?

Might they have canned food to eat during the upcoming winter months?

Earlier this week I made Crab Apple Chutney using an old recipe that I imagine was similar to recipes used a hundred years ago.

Crab Apple Chutney

3 pounds crab apples

1 orange

1 box (15 oz.) raisins

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly pressed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Core and dice crab apples. Peel and dice orange.

Combine all ingredients in large pan. Bring to a boil; then simmer, covered until the crab apples are tender (about 30 minutes).

Immediately ladle the hot mixture into 4 pint jars (or 8 half-pint jelly jars); cover with syrup, filling to within 1/4 inch of jar top. Wipe jar rim, and put lids on. .

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

This recipe is excellent—and I make it whenever I have crab apples. The chutney really brings out the taste of pork or beef.

If you are looking for crab apple recipes, check out a post I did last year:

Old Spiced Crab Apples (Pickled Crab Apples) Recipe

A Victor Victrola Machine!

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

Wednesday, August 14, 1912: Ruth and I went up to Oakes’ this evening. We were treated to the pleasure of hearing a Victor Victrola. I enjoyed it very much. It being the first time I had ever heard one play.

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

The Oakes family lived on a farm near the Muffly’s. They had several children who were close in age to Grandma and her sister Ruth.

What a fun evening! I can almost picture 4 or 5 teen-agers and young adults gathered around the Victor Victrola machine listening to very scratchy music—while thinking that it was absolutely the most awesome thing ever.

The first Victor Victrola machine was produced in 1906—so the technology must have spread relatively rapidly if a farm family in rural Pennsylvania owned one by 1912.

According to Wikipedia:

Soon an extensive line of Victrolas was marketed, ranging from small tabletop models selling for $15, through many sizes and designs of cabinets intended to go with the decor of middle-class homes in the $100 to $250 range, up to $600 Chippendale and Queen Anne-style cabinets of fine wood with gold trim designed to look at home in elegant mansions.

Source: Wikipedia

One of the things that I’ve really enjoyed about Grandma’s diary is when Grandma mentions the first time she experiences various new technologies.

In May, 1912 Grandma rode in an automobile for the first time.

And, in 1911, Grandma used a telephone for the first time and also rode a ferris wheel for the first time;

Had to Do Sister’s Chores

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

Tuesday, August 13, 1912: Yes sir,, and I did do the ironing this forenoon. All except two collars. Ruth went up to McEwensville this morning and was a long time coming home. I thought it wasn’t very nice.

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

Yes sir?? . . . Sounds like Grandma was mad at someone (her mother??).

Since Grandma’s sister Ruth didn’t get home in a timely manner, she apparently was ordered to do her sister’s chore (the ironing).

Why did Ruth go to McEwenville? Was it an errand? . . . to visit a friend?

Took Umbrella, But Didn’t Need It

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

Monday, August 12, 1912: Went to Watsontown this afternoon to do some shopping, if such you may call it. Took my umbrella along, but it didn’t rain.

umbrellas — Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

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

The previous day Grandma didn’t have her umbrella when she needed it:

. . . .got a dunking in the rain. Took an umbrella along part way, so it happened that I didn’t have it when I needed it the most.

And this day, she was prepared and carried an umbrella, but didn’t need it. Umbrellas didn’t fold as compactly back than as many do today. It probably was a real nuisance the entire time she was shopping.

Sometimes you just can’t win when guessing about the weather. . .

Summer Apples

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

Sunday, August 11, 1912:Went to Sunday School this afternoon. Went for some apples after I came home and got a dunking in the rain. Took an umbrella along part way, so it happened that I didn’t have it when I needed it the most.

Yellow transparent apples — Yellow Transparent Apples (Photo source: Wikipedia)

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

I hope that Grandma was able to pick a few apples before it started raining. The first summer apples to ripen each year were special in those days.

Today we have apples year-round (sometimes from thousands of miles away), but in Grandma’s day the last of the apples from the previous year had probably been eaten in March or April—and after so many months in storage those last apples probably had been soft and mealy.

When I was a child, Yellow Transparent apples were the first to ripen each year. They made a wonderfully tart apple sauce. I haven’t seen a Yellow Transparent apple in years—there used to be so many apple varieties, each with a wonderfully unique taste and texture.

Here’s the link to the recipe I use:

Old-fashioned Apple Sauce