The Play and Related Rambling Thoughts

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

Friday, April 5, 1913: Tonight expect to stand before an audience and make them smile. I caught a fish this afternoon, and I didn’t’ go a fishing either.

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Our play went off pretty well, although we did make some slight mistakes. I cut quite a splash after I was all fixed up. We made over twenty dollars, but our expenses come out of that.

This is the stage in the McEwensville Community Center that Grandma would have stood on a hundred years ago today. Back then the stage was deeper and had curtains. In recent years, the back part of the stage was converted into a storage area.

I can almost picture the room filled with an attentive audience sitting on rows of chairs.

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

Yeah!—the class play went well. $20 from ticket sales doesn’t sound like much—but in 2013 dollars it would be the equivalent of about $500 today.

I bet Grandma in blackface, playing the role of Chloe the servant, made quite a splash—and that she enjoyed every moment of it.

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Thank you all for your thoughtful comments yesterday. They really help me think about the issues.

When I read the diary, I was surprised that Grandma had once played a role in blackface. I was especially shocked because it brought back another very vivid memory. Let me tell you a personal story—

About ten years ago, right after I got my Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Administration, I interviewed for a faculty position at a university located in a rural area. If I had gotten the job, I would have worked closely with school districts in that area.

During the interview I was told that a nearby rural school district had recently held a school play where some of the white cast members had played the role of Blacks wearing blackface.

I was then asked, “If you worked with this district, what would you do?”

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I wish Grandma was still around so that together we could grapple with complex topics and issues. . .

Wore Blackface

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

Friday, April 4, 1913: We practiced for the last time tonight. Am glad it is over. This certainly has been a late to get to bed week for me and I am beginning to feel the effects of it. They blackened me up tonight. I had an awful time a-getting it off my face afterwards.

The play was held in the McEwensville Community Hall

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

Whew, I find diary entries like this one really difficult—and hope that you can help me figure out the best way to think about it.

I want to feel happy that the dress rehearsal for the class play went well—but I also want to look at this entry within the larger context of social history. Let me try to explain–

Grandma played the role of Chloe the servant in the class play. This entry confirms what I think many of us suspected—Grandma wore blackface when she played this role.

According to Wikipedia, blackface was a type of makeup that performers used in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century to “create a stereotyped caricature of a Black person.” It is very controversial; and “played a significant role in cementing and proliferating racist images, attitudes and perceptions worldwide, but also in popularizing black culture.”

A hundred years ago, blackface was accepted and audiences thought that blackface characters were funny. Grandma probably enjoyed hamming it up as she played the role of Chloe. (Back in January when the play was cast, she’d written, “I am Chloe the negro servant. That was the part I really wanted.)

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The civil rights movement in the 1960s brought about so many positive changes. At that time Grandma would have been in her 60s and 70s. Did she ever think back to when she was a teen who played Chloe in blackface?. . .

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You may enjoy reading a previous post that I did on a related topic:

How Should Offensive Language in Diaries be Handled?

Recalling Past Events to Improve the Future: Let’s Make, Alter, and Repair Our Own Clothes

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

Wednesday, April 2, 1913: About the same as the other days.

Triangle Shirt Factory Fire--March 25, 1911 (photographer unknown) — Triangle Shirt Factory Fire–March 25, 1911 (photographer unknown)

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

I’d like to thank Kristin at Finding Eliza for sharing a link with me that I found fascinating and provided the inspiration for this post.

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Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today I’m going to write about an important issue both a hundred years ago and today: poor working conditions for garment workers.

On March 25, 2011 I wrote a post about the hundredth anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City that killed many workers. The public outrage over that fire led to many safety and labor improvements in the garment industry (and other industries).

To commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25, The Sewing Rebellion website included a downloadable pattern for the shirtwaist that was made by the Triangle Factory.

The Sewing Rebellion points out that many garment workers in other countries still work under very poor conditions, and encourages people to emancipate themselves from the global garment industry by learning how to alter, mend and make their own garments and accessories.

What goes around, comes around. It’s intriguing to think that instead of buying new clothes each season, maybe we could again learn how to make and alter our clothes.

April Fooled Some People

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

Tuesday, March 25, 1913:

The beginning of April or the time to be fooled.

To make people mad and make people gay

It’s the time of the year which we all must fear.

So be very careful about what others say.

April fooled some people today. And got fooled some myself. We had quite a row tonight while practicing.

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

On the first day of each month Grandma began the diary entry with a poem.

I knew my elderly Grandmother. Her diary provides a window into what she was like as a teen. It’s fun to see how remnants of the fun, quirky teen in this diary were part of Grandma’s personality throughout her life.

Awhile ago several relatives wrote guest posts about their memories of Grandma. My cousin Anne Marie wrote about an April’s Fools day when Grandma was in her late 60’s or early 70’s.

One April Fools Day Grandma took an old newspaper from her basement and carefully glued all of the pages together and quietly placed it in our newspaper box. I can still hear Mom laughing when she tried to read the paper that day and it didn’t take her long to figure out who the prankster was.

Photo of the house that Grandma lived in during her later years.

See more guest posts with relative’s memories of Grandma by clicking on the Family Memories category.

(This comment is a repeat of the comment that I made last year on April Fools Day. I apologize for being repetitive–but it seemed so appropriate and relevant for this diary entry.)

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The class play is on April 5. It sounds like the cast was getting really stressed out as the big day approached. The previous day Grandma wrote that they almost decided not to have the play–but decided to persevere.

Still Struggling to Complete Homework

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

Sunday, March 30, 1913: Went to Sunday School this morning. Went to Carrie’s this afternoon and went to church with Rufus this evening. Just got home a while ago. Don’t have my lessons out very well for tomorrow, but anyhow, I’m not going to get them out tonight.

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

I guess the week-end didn’t cure Grandma’s case of “senioritis”.

The previous Thursday she wrote:

Didn’t get home from practice till about half past eleven. So you see I didn’t get my lessons out either.

March 25, 1913

And, on Wednesday she wrote:

Teacher gave the school a lecture, but it was really meant for me. I don’t think what I did was so bad, but I guess I won’t do it again. I might catch it right there.

March 26, 1913

And, she was ready for the week-end on Friday:

Am glad this is the last school day for this week. I guess, I’ll be glad when school stops. Am counting the days.

March 28. 1913

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Grandma sometimes referred to her sister Ruth as Rufus in the diary—especially when she was annoyed with her (though Grandma doesn’t seem annoyed in this entry, so I’m not sure why she wrote Rufus).

Carrie referred to Carrie Stout. She was a friend of Grandma’s and lived on a nearby farm.

Thank God It’s Friday!

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

Friday, March 28, 1913: Am glad this is the last school day for this week. I guess, I’ll be glad when school stops. Am counting the days.

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

Sounds like Grandma had “senioritis.” She was counting the days until graduation, and two days prior to this diary entry her teacher lectured her on her behavior:

Teacher gave the school a lecture, but it was really meant for me. I don’t think what I did was so bad, but I guess I won’t do it again. I might catch it right there.

Grandma—I have you have a relaxing week-end.

Rainy Morning and Flooded Creek

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

Thurday, March 27, 1913: There was quite a flood here today. Had to go a different way to get to school.

Ruth’s school stopped today. Had to help carry some stuff over there this morning. I got rather tired with carrying it and got my dress all wet in the bargain.

Recent photo of the stream that flows through the farm Grandma grew up on. The old Muffly barn is in the background--and the cows were probably pastured in this field. — Recent photos of the stream that flows through the farm Grandma grew up on. The old Muffly barn is in the background. It would have looked very different when the road was flooded a hundred years ago today,

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

It sounds like a miserable morning. Rain. . .cold, wet clothes. . . and a flooded creek that cut off the normal route between the Muffly farm and McEwensville.

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Grandma’s sister Ruth was a teacher at one of the small rural schools near McEwensville. Why did Grandma need to carry things over to Ruth’s school?

Does “Ruth’s school stopped today” mean that school was cancelled due to high water? . . or was it the last day of the school year? (School years were shorter back then, but it seems really early for it to be ending.)