19-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, August 14, 1914: We are getting ready for the reunion. Ruthie made two cakes today. Was busy washing Daddy’s wagon down along the run this afternoon.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I wonder why the wagon needed to be washed. Warrior Run (sometimes called Warrior Run Creek) flowed along the edge of the Muffly farm. In central Pennsylvania small creeks are often called runs—though my sense is that the term is not used in many parts of the US.
In a previous post I mentioned Warrior Run, and Jim in IA commented on the regional variation in terminology used to describe creeks and other geological features. He provided a link to several very interesting Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) maps that show which parts of the US use various terms—brook/creek/branch/run, gulch/hollow, gap/pass/notch/saddle, etc.
A Hundred Years Ago 
Did I miss an entry about a reunion? Perhaps Grandma’s dad’s wagon was going to be used to transport some folks, and the family wanted it all spiffied up?
Yes, they are preparing to go to a reunion. I think that they went by train–but it does make sense that they may have wanted a clean wagon to go to the reunion. . . It’s similar to how we wash our cars before special events.
Oh cool. I hope it was a grand day and they all had a wonderful time. 🙂
I agree. . . I hope that they had a wonderful time.
I’ve heard about the Battle of Bull Run, of course, but I never thought much about the name. I guess I imagined a bunch of bulls, running. I don’t remember ever knowing that “run” could refer to a waterway. The maps are interesting. I’m in the middle of ponds, bayous, and canals, and i live at the edges of Clear Lake, which isn’t clear and isn’t much of a lake. 😉
I hadn’t thought of that battle–but now that you mention it, that is a famous example of a waterway that is called a run.
I love reunions! Two cakes? Wow! I imagine they wanted everything to look shiny and new and they all dressed in their very best for this lovely occasion. ❤
Diana xo
So do I. It is fun to see relatives at reunions.
I was also impressed by two cakes. I wonder if it is a family reunion?
I think so. It must have been a large reunion.
She’s talkative today, so it must have felt like a big deal!
She’s been talkative lately. August, 1914 seems like it was a good month for her.
Yes, over here in Wyoming County, PA we have a “Beaver Run” which is a tributary of Bowman’s Creek which runs north.
I tend to think of runs as being smaller than creeks–and it sounds like whomever named these waterways also thought that runs were smaller than creeks.
Around here runs are smaller, about half the size/width. Although there is a Toby’s Creek in neighboring Luzerne Co. which looks like a run to me.
Bowman’s/Bowman Creek runs into the Susquehanna River.
In Wyoming County is the river generally referred to as the North Branch or the Susquehanna River? In Northumberland County people often refer to the West Branch and the North Branch since the two branches come together in the county.
Well it’s called the Susquehanna in Wyoming County.
We have a creek at the bottom of the property – Buffalo Creek. There are also hollows around here too (referred to as “hollers.”). No runs.
We have valleys–but no hollows. 🙂
After leaving central PA, I had to drop a few PA Dutch works from my vocabulary, including crick and redd. As if turns out, they are words from middle English (the people who taught the Germans English) and now I can proudly say them again.
Thanks for the info. I don’t think that I’ll ever drop some of the PA Dutch phases.