17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, January 4, 1913: Took down the Christmas tree this morning. It made such an awful mess. Ran an errand to McEwensville after dinner, and was home in three shakes of a lamb’s tail.
Photo source: Wikimedia Commons
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma’s right—it makes an awful mess when the Christmas tree is taken down.
My Christmas decorations are still up—they will come down tomorrow. I’m trying to delay taking them down for as long as possible, but it’s starting to feel like I’m ready for my house to return to normal.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, January 2, 1913:I’m so sleepy for I’m keeping later hours with my books Perhaps the thing will work all right after all. Hope it does.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma’s New Year’s resolution was to study more in 1913. I can picture a teen-aged Grandma sitting by a gas lamp huddled over her books long after everyone else went to bed. In my mind, the wind was howling and there was a chill in the room, but Grandma persevered–at least for this one day.
I’m still trying to keep my Yew Year’s resolutions. I hope they work out all right, too.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, December 30, 1912: Went back to school today after a two weeks rest. Had such a time carrying my books. I had brought so many home, and it was raining in the bargain.
The road that Grandma would have walked down to go home from school on a recent rainy day.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma had to walk about a mile and a half to get to school. Nothing’s worse than a cold December rain.
Did Grandma read all the books over the break that she brought home? What were they about?
A hundred years ago, the Christmas break was really long. And, it’s Interesting that school began prior to New Year’s Day—today schools don’t generally resume until January 2.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, December 28, 1912: We had visitors a little while this morning. Everything seemed so dull to me this awful Saturday. Guess I’ll welcome going to school next week as a change. After all my vacation lacked the enjoyment that sometimes comes to others.
Recent photo of the house Grandma lived in.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Who were the visitors? Grandma didn’t seem very excited about their visit.
Perhaps the visitors were old friends of her parents or distant relatives, who, from Grandma’s perspective, were very uninteresting and boring.
Based on the previous diary entries—it seems like Grandma enjoyed her Christmas break, but I suppose that she was starting to get tired of being at home. The last day of school before the break was December 13—so she hadn’t been to school for two weeks!
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, December 27, 1912: Sold Mollie’s calf today. It wasn’t a very big one and I rather feared my fortune would be pretty small, but after all it weighed one hundred and forty-four lbs. Received a neat sum of $11.56. I am real proud over what my purse that Ruth gave me contains. Over fourteen dollars.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Mollie was Grandma’s cow, and it had a calf on November 15.
Grandma’s parents apparently taught their children the value of money by giving each child a cow. I think that if the cow had a male calf, the child got the money from the sale of the calf—and their personal herd grew if a female calf was born. (See previous post on teaching farm kids that value of money.)
And, we now know that Grandma’s sister Ruth was the person who gave her the purse. I bet it was stylish—and that it looked great filled with cash. Grandma was in the money. I hope she spent it wisely.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, December 23, 1912: I got the Christmas tree this afternoon, nor did it take me long. Pass it along, Ruth has the pink eye, and now tis my turn to laugh. She looks so terrible funny. I know what it’s like, but I can’t keep from thinking what a joke it is on her.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Did Grandma go out into the woods on the farm by herself and cut a tree? I always picture tree cutting as a family project—but I guess that one person could do it by herself.
Interesting how people waited until the last-minute to get their tree a hundred years ago. They put candles on trees back then—and there was a real fire risk. So I suppose that they wanted a very fresh tree on Christmas day that might be less likely to catch fire.
Poor Ruth—she was Grandma’s older sister. It’s no fun to be sick during the holidays. Pink eye was going through the family. Grandma had it on December 10 and their brother Jimmie had it on December 15.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, December 22, 1912: Went to Sunday School this morning. Ruth and I went up to hear the Xmas services this evening. Twas tonight moonlit.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sounds like a lovely day—and a walk home in the moonlight sounds like a nice way to end it .
Between Sunday School and the evening service did Grandma manage to find time to finish making last-minute gifts? . . perhaps some quickly made doll clothes for young people on her gift list.
Both then and now, there’s a mad dash at the end to finish making gifts. I found an article in the December, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal called “Quickly Made Doll Clothes” which featured outfits made from some patterns that the magazine sold.
These quickly and easily made doll clothes should be especially welcome at this busy season, when the dressing of the children’s dolls is generally a last and hurried task.
All the little clothes both for the girl and boy dolls have been cut from one piece or kimono shaping, thus eliminating the difficult making and adjusting of little sleeves, and each garment has few seams and may be cut from a very small piece of material.
