Easy Paper Fish Directions

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

Thursday, July 24, 1913: This afternoon seemed so long to me because it rained for a long while.

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

Grandma—I know that the afternoon seemed long, but you must have done something. What did you do?

I want to imagine that you played with your 7-year-old brother Jimmie on this rainy afternoon. Did you ever make crafts with him?

I love some of the very simple—but fun– paper crafts that people made years ago. Often the crafts were very creative and used very basic techniques.

For example, here are easy directions for making a paper fish.

Draw a fish on a piece of paper. The body of the fish should be very long.

Cut the fish out. About one-third of the way back from the head cut a slit in the paper.

Put the tail through the slit. (You may need to gently fold the tail to get it through the hole). Decorate as desired.

If you like this craft, here are some previous posts with other paper crafts:

Swimming Frog

Patterns for Making Paper Birds

Paper Doll Girl and Her Swimming Ducks

Paper Horse Directions

Paper Cow Directions

Did Some Sewing

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

Wednesday, July 24, 1913: Did some sewing today.

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

Hmm. . . “Sewing” is such a general term. Did Grandma do it by hand or did she use a treadle sewing machine? What kind of sewing did she do?

Mending? . . . or Patching?

patch-01.crop — Source; The Dressmaker (Butterick Publishing Company, 1911)

Sewing a new dress?

wils36335.crop.A.J — Source: Ladies Home Journal (June, 1912)

Embroidery?

Why Do Children Toil?

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

Tuesday, July 22, 1913: Nothing much going.

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

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’m going to loop back to a couple posts that I made in early July.

A few weeks ago the diary entry indicated that Grandma’s father hired a “little boy” to help with the farm work—and a few days later the boy ran away. At the time, I wondered how old the boy was.

I recently was browsing through some 1913 issues of Good Housekeeping, and came across an article titled, “Why Do Children Toil?” Since a boy helping with farm work is very different from a child working in a factory, the article really isn’t very relevant to this conversation, but I still found it interesting and thought that I’d share a few quotes and pictures.

Neither beasts of the filed nor birds of the forest impose the burdens of existence upon their young. Only man lives upon his offspring. Why is it?

Involuntary poverty underlies child labor. . .

Poverty drives many a child into the factory.

Good Housekeeping (July, 1913)

Photo caption: Midnight workers in a glass-factory. To the company, it is just a question of getting the work done at the lowest cost, and youth is ever cheaper than age. Some states have forbidden this.

Blackberries on July Menus

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

Monday, July 21, 1913: Picked blackberries this morning and rather enjoyed it. My time seems very much occupied these days. I help load hay, which I really don’t mind so very much and then there is my music to keep me busy and some other things.

1913 July menus — Source: Good Housekeeping (July, 1913)

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

Mmm, blackberries. . . A hundred years ago, berries and other fruits were only available for a few weeks a year when they were in season. The July, 1913 issue of Good Housekeeping provided menus for the month.

Two of the July menus included blackberries. Note how blackberries are served for both breakfast and dinner on the Thursday menu.

Even in the mid-1900s people still primarily ate seasonal foods. I can remember being so excited when I was a child when the first blackberries . . . or strawberries. . . or raspberries came into season. And, then we’d have a plethora of berries, and we’d eat them two or three times a day for the next week or two. By the end of the season, I never wanted to see another berry again—but by the time the next year rolled around I’d again be anxiously anticipating the ripening of the first berries.

Which Name? Ruth, Ruther, Rufus, or Ruthie

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

Sunday, July 20, 1913: Went to Sunday School this morning. Ruther and I went up to church this evening.

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

Hmm. . . Ruther. . . That’s a new nickname for Ruth.

Was Grandma annoyed with her sister Ruth. . . or feeling kindly toward her? Throughout the diary Grandma called her Rufus when she was annoyed with her. When the sisters were getting along well, Grandma generally called her Ruth. . . though she occasionally referred to her as Ruthie.

Not Presentable

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

Saturday, July 19, 1913: Had company again, but I didn’t make my appearance, since I did not consider myself presentable.

Picture of a bedroom in the April, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal. Did Grandma go to her bedroom to avoid the company?

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

Wow, it’s amazing that the Muffly’s had company two days in a row. Visitors are seldom mentioned in the diary, but the previous day, Grandma wrote, “We had company this evening.”

Who were the visitors? Was it the same people as the preceding day or different people?

And, why was Grandma worried about whether she looked presentable? If the guests were friends of her parents, I won’t think that she would care how she looked.

Grandma was having a difficult July, and often felt down. For example, on July 14 she wrote that she was “sick at heart”. Maybe the guests were older people whose conversation didn’t interest her so she didn’t want to see them—but it also seems like the company might have included someone about her age (and maybe male), and but that her unhappiness unfortunately kept her from joining the group.

Visitors on a Summer Evening

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

Friday, July 18, 1913: We had company this evening.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (July, 1912)

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

Sometimes it’s nice not to have too much detail—because it allows me to create my own mind pictures.

If I squint my eyes I can almost see Grandma, her sister Ruth, and their parents sitting on the porch entertaining guests on a hot summer evening—and maybe serving cookies and iced tea—while her little brother Jimmie chases fireflies as dusk falls over the farm.

DSC06034.crop — Source: Ladies Home Journal (July, 1912)