16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, October 12, 1911: Nothing much at all.
Cy Young (Photo source: Wikipedia)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Since Grandma didn’t write much today, I’ll tell you a bit of sports history.
Cy Young played his last game in October, 1911 at the age of 44. He is generally considered one of the all-time top pitchers, and had 511 wins over a 22-year career.
Young played the last two months of his career as a Boston Rustler. His last game was a 3-13 loss to Brooklyn. He’d previously played for four other professional teams including the St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Naps.
After his last game Young retired to his farm in Ohio where he lived until he died in 1955.
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, October 10, 1911: Wound up with our examinations today. Don’t think I made a good mark in algebra. I have such a sore thumb! Mighty.
Grandma may have used a wood pencil to take written exams. Wood pencils with erasers have been around since the late 1800s. (Photo source: Wikimedia Commons)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
The previous day’s entry also indicated that Grandma was taking exams. And, diary entries the preceding winter and spring mentioned exams on consecutive days.
These entries imply that students at McEwensville High School took periodic exams in all subject areas on successive days. The school only had one teacher—so it seems as if the multiple exams spread over two days were by design.
Whew, I’m glad that I wasn’t a student a hundred years ago. I remember when I was a high school student how much I hated it when several teachers gave tests close together. (I did learn how to successfully take multiple exams one after the other for college finals—but never liked it.)
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, October 8, 1911: Ruth and I went down to Aunt Lizzie’s near Montandon. Such a time as we had this afternoon a hunting chestnuts and walking around. We went down on the train and came home that way. Tuu (??) took us to the depot on the return trip. Such a pain as I had a coming home. I guess I ate too much dinner.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sounds like a fun Sunday. Montandon is about 10 miles south of the Muffly farm. Grandma and her sister Ruth would have taken the train that ran from Watsontown to Milton and then on to Montandon.
I’m not sure whether Aunt Lizzie (Elizabeth) was a good cook or a poor one since Grandma ended up with a stomach ache—though the entry seems to indicate that Grandma must have enjoyed the food.
Aunt Lizzie was a sister of Grandma’s father, Albert Muffly. I’m not sure who she married—and can’t quite read Grandma’s handwriting in the diary to figure out who took them to the train station.
Albert Muffly was the fourth child of Samuel K. and Charlotte Muffly. He was born in 1857. Lizzie was born in 1862 and was the seventh child in the family. Samuel K. and Charlotte had eleven children.
For more on the Muffly family genealogy see these previous postings:
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, October 5, 1911: Besse was out a little while this afternoon. Brought some chestnuts. Didn’t have any before. Such an extraordinary occurrence. Ruth’s cow had twin calves. Both are white, rather good lookers. Ruth and I carried one down out of the field and out to the barn. Then we put him in the express wagon and he tumbled out.
Chestnuts (Source: Wikimedia)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
This entry befuddles me. I’m surprised that Grandma considered chestnuts a treat when her married sister Besse brought them, and that she’d never previously eaten any.
I would have guessed that chestnut trees were very common in central Pennsylvania in 1911—and my research supports that impression. Here’s what I found:
Chestnut trees were once more popular in the US than they are today—but many died due to a chestnut blight.
According t o Wikipedia, the blight was first identified on Long Island, New York in 1904—and chestnut trees largely died out in the US over the next 40 years. Wikipedia also says:
In some places, such as the Appalachian Mountains and others, one quarter of hardwoods were chestnuts. Mature trees often grew straight and branch-free for 50 feet (15 m), up to 100 feet, averaging up to 5 feet in diameter. For three centuries, most barns and homes east of the Mississippi River were made from it.
Bottom line—I still think that chestnut trees were common in 1911, so I’m still confused by this entry.
Twin Calves
It’s relatively rare for a cow to have twins. When I was growing up on a farm in the 1960’s we had a herd of 40 cows—and about one set of twins was born per year. I’m not sure how many cows the Muffly’s had, but it probably was in the range of 5 to 10 cows—so years probably went by between the birth of twins.
I can almost picture Grandma and her sister Ruth chatting and laughing as they collaboratively worked to bring one of the calves down to the barn.
For a discussion of how the Muffly children owned their own cows see the previous post on this topic.
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, October 4, 1911: Had a clash with Ma this morning. I guess she thinks I am one terrible kid! I must bring about a reform if possible.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I wonder what Grandma did. This entry seems to indicate that Grandma believed that she was in the wrong—and that if she will had enough willpower that she might be able to “reform” herself.
In 1911 willpower was considered an important precursor of good behavior:
The Power of the Will or Inhibition
The conduct of mankind is chiefly governed by the emotions, instincts, and impulses. . . .
“I am, I ought, I can, I will” are the only firm foundation-stones upon which we can base our attempts to climb into a higher sphere of existence. The first impulse a faculty of introspection, the second a moral judgment, the third a consciousness of the freedom to act, the fourth a determination to exercise that power.
Physical Hygiene and Physical Training for Women (1911) by Anna Galbraith
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, October 2, 1911: It is beginning to get cold. Am thinking about my hat and coat, which are in the store as yet, but it doesn’t do very much good anyway.
Photo source: Practical Cold Storage (1905)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
A hundred years ago people sometimes took their winter coats, and other wool and fur garments, to a cold storage facility. This was done to help ensure that the clothes won’t be damaged by moths during the warm weather months.
I don’t understand exactly how cold storage rooms were kept cold, but the rooms probably were cooled by pipes filled with brine or ammonia. Compression machines may have been used. There were a number of different methods described in a 1905 book, but a common method is described below:
In this system, the ammonia gas is driven off from aqua ammonia under pressure, by heating; the gas is liquefied by cooling, and the refrigerating effect obtained by expanding the liquid ammonia thus obtained though pipes surrounded by the medium to be cooled.
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, October 1, 1911:
Can the beauty of October be rivaled,
And the glories of summer outvie,
And the scenes of the Autumn forgotten,
Because they are doomed to die.
Oh you dreary days of autumn. It rained almost all afternoon. Papa and Ma went away visiting this morning. Took Jimmie along to be sure. Went to Sunday School this morning. Carrie was over this afternoon.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
On the first day in each month Grandma included a poem. This poem suggests that summer must be a better time of the year than October (autumn).
Today I learned a new vocabulary word. Outvie means to be more of a rival than another.
Some words that were commonly used a hundred years ago are now seldom used or in some cases are even archaic.
