Winter Break Over

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.

Looking Forward to School Starting Again

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. The photo was taken at dusk on a December day. — 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!

What’s a Dollar a Hundred Years Ago Worth Now?

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.

Source: Kimball's Dairy Farmer Magazine (June 15, 1911) — Source: Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (June 15, 1911)

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.

According to an online Inflation Calculator website, a dollar a hundred years ago is worth about $23.40 today.

So in real dollars Grandma sold the calf for the equivalent of $240 now. And if she had $14 in her purse, she’d have $328 today.

Got the Christmas Tree

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.

Doll Clothes A Hundred Years Ago

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.

Went Christmas Shopping

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

Tuesday, December 17, 1912: Carrie went with me to Watsontown this afternoon. I did my Christmas shopping. I didn’t take as much money as I thought I would. Jimmie wants to know what I got him. He wants a gun so awful bad. Got him one.

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

Carrie Stout was a friend of Grandma’s and Jimmie was Grandma’s 7-year-old brother. Given the recent very tragic event in Connecticut, it’s hard to know what to write today. My thoughts and prayers go out those affected by the tragedy in Newtown.

Injured Thumb While Butchering Hogs

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

Monday, December 16, 1912: Our dearest Ruth left for Sunbury this morning and my heart is rather sad. We killed some pigs and I took a slice off the end of my thumb. Oh sad the day, for I don’t care anything about having a sore thumb.

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

Butchering hogs is a lot of work. A hundred years ago today, the yard between the house and barn on the Muffly farm was probably filled with scalding troughs and large wooden tripods with hog carcasses hanging from them.

I wonder how bad Grandma’s cut was. A “slice off the end” of her thumb doesn’t sound good. (Click here to read a previous post on how they treated cuts and wounds a hundred years ago.)

Did Grandma miss her sister Ruth or was she being sarcastic? (Personally I might be annoyed if I had a sister who didn’t have to help with the butchering.)

I think that Ruth went to a teachers’ institute. She was a teacher at a one-room school-house near McEwensville. Winter break for the schools began the previous Friday, and I think that teacher institutes were held over the breaks to provide professional development and training for the rural school teachers.

Sunbury is the county seat of Northumberland County and is about twenty miles from McEwensville.