17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, February 11, 1913: We are trying to get a program in sway for our next meeting.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Hmm…How do you get a “program in sway”? What were they trying to do?
On February 7, 1913 Grandma wrote that she was elected president of the Literary Society. I think that she and the other officers were trying to pull together the program for the next meeting.
According to the Free Online Dictionary, sway can be either a verb or a noun. One meaning for the noun is “control”. So in other words, they were trying to get the program under control.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, February 9, 1913: Went to Sunday School this afternoon. I forget to study my catechize lesson, so I didn’t know it very well.
The McEwensville Baptist Church was torn down many years ago, but Grandma would have walked down this road to go to church.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma occasionally mentioned catechism classes in the diary. The first time she mentioned it was on the very first day of the diary—January 1, 1911:
. . . This afternoon I went to Sunday school and attended catechize after church. On my way home I received a charming new year’s gift. (Thanks to the donor.) The first day of the new year is almost spent and I feel rather sad.
Went to S.S. this afternoon and attended Catechize.
Whew, Grandma’s been taking catechism classes for more than two years. That seems like a really long time. And, she also seems really old to be taking them. She’s 17—almost 18 years old. I believe that Grandma attended the McEwensville Baptist Church.
I wonder:
How many years did young people need to attend catechism classes before they could join the church a hundred years ago?
What was the typical age when people joined the church back then?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, February 8, 1913: Went to Watsontown this morning to get some stuff for a box social. Ruth and I went up to McEwensville this evening. I did not spend a very enjoyable evening since the person I wanted to get my box didn’t get it and the person I didn’t want to get it got it. Rode home with Ruth and her friend. He’s one of the bald-headed types.
Ruth Muffly
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I think this is the first box social that Grandma’s gone to since she began the diary—though her sister Ruth went to one in February, 1912.
Box socials always seem like something out of story books. The girls prepared beautiful box lunches with enough food for two that were then auctioned off to raise funds for the school or some charity.
The winning bidder would eat the food with the girl who made the box.
It sounds like the box social turned into a disaster for Grandma.
Ruth was 21—the guy she was with sounds older. How old was he?. . . 30??. . . older??
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, February 7, 1913: We had our literary meeting this afternoon and also elected officers to take the place of the old ones. They had to go and elect me president.
Building that once houses McEwensville School.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Way to go Grandma!—You’ve put so much energy into the Literary Society and it’s awesome that you’re now the president.
We organized a Literary Society at school this afternoon. I am one of the committee. Just what I wanted to be.
Why was there an election just three months after the society was organized? Were there problems with the previous officers. . .or had they always planned to have elections every couple of months?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, February 2, 1913: It was a very tight fit. The girls slept with me. It was very nice, especially where one must cling to the very edge for fear
Went to Sunday School this morning. Besse was out. We had ice cream today. Second time. Rufus took Helen home this evening, that is they both went to Christian Endeavor, but I stayed to studying General History. It’s awfully cold here, so I’m going to be. Good-night.
Picture source: National Food Magazine (June, 1910)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Based on the diary, I think that Grandma and her sister Ruth (called Rufus in this entry) shared a double bed during the winter months since the second floor of homes were cold back in the days of wood and coal stoves.
The previous day Grandma wrote that a friend, Tweet (Helen) Wesner, came to visit. Probably the three girls squeezed into the double bed.
A hundred years ago making homemade ice cream was often winter activity rather than a summer one. The Muffly’s did not have electricity and lived on a farm. Ice was more readily available in the winter—and it would be easier to store the ice cream.
Here are the directions in a hundred-year-old cookbook for making ice cream:
Directions for Freezing
Select a reliable freezer and one which runs easily. Keep the gearing well oiled.
Adjust the freezing can in the freezer, making sure that all parts fit and that the crank turns readily. Place ice in bag made of ticking or strong sacking, and with a wooden mallet, pound until very fine. Surround the freezing can with ice and rock salt, using three measures of ice and one of salt, for ice cream and sherbets; two measures of ice and one of salt for sorbets, frappes, etc.; equal measures of ice and of salt for molding and for freezing mousses, bombes, and parfaits.
For freezing ice cream, when the freezing can is cold, pour in mixture to be frozen, let stand five minutes, then turn the crank slowly for eight or ten minutes, then more rapidly until mixture is frozen. Remove dasher, scrape cream from sides of freezing can to the middle and press down so as to have the cream one solid mass; let stand to season, or if to be molded, pack in the mold.
