Category: Other

What is History? A Hundred Year Old Definition

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

Thursday, November 21, 1912: Nothing doing for today except that I got rather sad.

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

Maybe Grandma was sad because she got her General History test back and was unhappy about the grade. The previous day, she’d written:

Had an exam in General History and although I looked over it some last evening, I got some questions that I was unable to answer correctly.

I’m still browsing through the hundred-year-old history book that I quoted yesterday.  Here’s how the book defines history:

What History Is—History is an ordered account of the growth of human societies. It treats principally of political events, and must  tell also about many other things which have influenced the progress of nations. Religion, science, art, literature, education and commerce are important in the history of every country.

Outlines of General History (1909) by V.A. Renouf

I wonder how a historian today would define history. . . and how the modern definition would differ (or not differ) from the hundred-year-old definition.

Little Brother Sick

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

Tuesday, November 19, 1912:  Poor little Jimmie got sick last night and had to miss his first day of school.

Jimmie Muffly

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

Poor Jimmie— He was Grandma’s 7-year-old brother. It’s no fun to be sick—especially when you’re little. I wonder what was wrong. It sounds like whatever it was came on suddenly.  I’m leaning towards him having the stomach flu.

And, poor Grandma’s mother—

Grandma had written in her diary the previous day:

. . . I was afraid I’d have to miss school when Pa had his threshing done. They started today . . .

November 18, 1912

This suggest that the threshers were still there. Grandma’s mother was probably trying to prepare food and serve it to a threshing crew—while also taking care of a sick (vomiting?)  child.

Fixing the Stove

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

Sunday, November 17, 1912:  Went to Sunday School this afternoon. The house was simply topsy-turvy today. Such a mess. Pa and Ma were fixing the stove.

This isn’t a very good picture, but you can see what a stove in a kitchen looked like a hundred years ago. (Source: Good Housekeeping, May, 1911)

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

I don’t know much about wood/coal stoves. What might go wrong that would require immediate repairs on a Sunday in November? How long was the stove out of commission?

What was the weather like? Was the house cold while they were fixing it? . . . Or did the house have two stoves—one in the kitchen and one in the living room?

What did they eat if they were unable to cook hot foods?

Feels Funny When You Have Nothing to Do

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

Saturday, November 16, 1912:  Didn’t have much at all to do this afternoon. I think you feel so funny when you have nothing at all to do.

Recent view of the field across the road from the house that Grandma lived in.

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

Many days when I read what Grandma wrote, I am surprised how similar teens a hundred years ago are to teens today.

But occasionally, like today, I’m amazed how astute Grandma was—even though she was only 17. I don’t think that I learned until I was well into my 40s that it feels funny when I have nothing to do—and that I’m happier when I’m busy doing things that are meaningful to me.

A Busy Day

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

Friday, November 15, 1912:  Today we had the first meeting of our Literary Society. Everything went off pretty well. But all the same I’ve been having a terrible head-ache today. It is a little better at present.

And now what do you think?  Why when I come home, and had gone to the barn to gather eggs, I saw Mollie out there with a little calf, hers it was. Was rather surprised you see, I had waited so long for my ship to come in that I didn’t mind waiting.

Source: Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (October 1, 1911)

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

Lots happened in Grandma’s life  a hundred years ago today. . . and this is one of her longer diary entries.

Grandma’s school started  the Literary Society and Grandma has been very involved in planning  for this meeting. She’s  been really excited about this club—and seemed to enjoy getting ready for the meeting, but she’s also seemed stressed. I’m glad that it went well.

Mollie was Grandma’s cow. The previous year, she also was excited when Mollie had a calf—and eventually got some cash when the male calf was sold.

I think that Grandma’s parents gave (or sold) each of their children  one calf. When the calf grew up and had its own calves—the child’s personal herd grew if it was a female, and the child got some money when the calf was sold if it was male.

For more on how farm children owned their own cows, see my post from last year when Mollie’s calf was sold:

Teaching Farm Kids the Value of Money

Kids Won’t Practice Their Dialogue

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

Wednesday, November 14, 1912:  We are having such an awful time at school a getting the kids to practice their dialogue. I didn’t think it would be so hard.

Building that once housed the McEwensville School.

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

I’m always excited when a diary entry has lots of information; but then sometimes , like today, I end up  being frustrated because I can’t put the pieces together.

Hmm—Obviously Grandma is having difficulty getting some group of students or children to memorize their parts for some sort of presentation.

Many recent diary entries have discussed the new Literary Society that was started at Grandma’s school in late October. She was very excited to be a committee member—and several recent entries have discussed how busy she’d  been reading books and preparing for the Literary Society meeting. I’m not really sure what the Literary Society did—and, in past entries, I’ve leaned towards it being a book club. But, maybe the members really were supposed  orally present parts of famous works .

. . . or maybe I’m headed in totally the wrong direction. . .

Maybe Grandma was helping  downstairs in the primary school (the high school was on the second floor of the school building and the primary school was on the first)  and working with the younger children to prepare for some sort of show or presentation.

or. . .

In any case—I can empathize with Grandma. It’s frustrating when people won’t do what you want them to do.

Not Studying Very Hard

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

Tuesday, November 12, 1912:  It seems to me that I’m not studying very hard these days.

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

Was the schoolwork easy or did Grandma have senioritis?

Recent photo of the building that once housed the McEwenville School. The high school was on the second floor.

Recent photo of the room that once was the high school classroom. The old slate chalkboard still sits along the wall. I can picture Grandma sitting in this room struggling to concentrate on her lessons.  Click here for more about the school building today.