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

Wednesday, July 12, 1911:  Mother finished my dress today. Now I will have at least one suitable gown for this season. My wardrobe is rather limited, no silks or satins or velvets.

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

Grandma sounds really pleased that the dress is finally finished. It must have turned out well.

It took Grandma’s mother two and one-half weeks to make the dress. On Saturday, June 24 Grandma had written:

Mother cut my lawn dress out this afternoon. Am going to see how long it takes her to finish it. I give her till next Sat.

Grandma hoped that her mother would finish making the dress in one week, but on Saturday, July 1 she wrote:

 . . . Mother hasn’t finished my dress yet. I really need it.

I wasn’t sure what lawn cloth was, so I googled it. Lawn is a light fabric made with a very fine weave. A hundred years ago lawn cloth was generally made using linen; today it is often cotton.

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

Friday, July 7, 1911: Nothing much at all to write about.

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

Four days ago, I posted the high temperature in 25 cities for July 3, 1911. At that time I wondered which cities were the largest cities in the US in 1911. Since Grandma didn’t have much to say a hundred years ago today, I’ll tell you what I found.

The 25 largest cities in 1911 were:

And, then I wondered which cities are the largest now—and what their rank had been in 1911:

One thing that really surprised me about these lists is that the rank of Detroit was about the same in both 1911 and 2011 (9th in 1911 and 11th in 2011), so I looked at the rank in some of the intervening years. Detroit apparently grew rapidly as the auto industry took off—and it was the 4th largest city in the US by 1920.

For those who care about the details: I used US Census Bureau data for the ranks. The 1911 numbers are based on the 1910 census; the 2011 ranks are based on 2009 estimates. There may be some minor changes in the rank when detailed data become available from the 2010 census.

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

Monday, July 3, 1911: My, but I’m so roasted, worse than yesterday, I guess. Made an errand up to McEwensville this evening in behalf of my popper.

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

A hundred years ago today the horrible heat wave continued across most of the country. The effects were devastating in this era before electric fans or air conditioning. This is the second day in a row that Grandma said she was roasted.

The Minneapolis Morning Tribune reported the July 3, 1911 temperatures for 25 cities across the nation

HOT WAVE CONTINUES TO EXACT HEAVY TOLL

Scores Throughout Country Succumb and Hundreds Are Overcome

Mercury Officially Climbs to 104 in Four Places Far Apart.

People Seeking Relief in Big Cities Sleep in Parks and Roofs.

High Temperatures in Many Cities on Monday

Louisville, Ky . . . 104

St. Joseph, Mo . . . 104

Davenport, IA . . . 104

Yuma, Ariz. . . . 104

Boston . . . 102

Albany. . .102

Kansas City. . .102

Columbus, O. . . .102

Dubuque, Ia. . . . 102

Fresno, Cal. . . 102

Chicago. .  .100

Harrisburg . . . 100

Fort Wayne . . . 100

Cincinnati. . . 100

Springfield . . . 100

St. Louis . . . 100

Indianapolis . . .100

Wash’ton, D.C. . .  99

New York City . . . 98

Philadelphia. . . 98

Northfield, Vt. . . 98

Pittsburg. . . 98

Lynchburg, Va. . . 98

Wichita, Kan.  . . 98

Minneapolis Morning Tribune (July 4, 1911)

An aside: It’s interesting to see which cities were included in the list, as well  which cities were considered to be so major that they didn’t need state names after them. It’s also interesting to see how some state names were abbreviated in 1911. For example, Ohio was abbreviated with an O.  (I wonder what the abbreviation was for Oklahoma in 1911.)

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

Sunday, July 2, 1911: Almost roasted today. Went to Sunday school this afternoon. We had company this evening. One of Ruthie’s future pupil’s and parents.

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

July 2, 1911 was an extremely hot day across the Eastern and Midwestern US. The New York Times reported that on July 2 in  New York City it was:

 . . . the hottest day here in twelve years. Mercury up to 94.5, with 72 per cent. humidity, and next to no breeze.

The paper also reported that:

HARRISBURG, Penn, July 2—The temperature today reached 98.2, the hottest recorded since July 1, 1901, when 100 was the maximum. The intense heat caused much sickness.

New York Times (July 3, 1911)

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

Friday, July 1, 1911:

A whole half year has just leaped by,

And all can now witness the approach of July.

With all its plenty of frolic and fuss,

But beware and be cautious of the sun.

I worked so hard today out in the hay field a heaping hay. Oh happy day. Mother hasn’t finished my dress yet. I really need it.

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

Whew, it’s hard to believe ‘a whole half year has just leaped by’ since I began posting the diary entries. Today, it seems appropriate to ponder the past 180 days and reflect a bit.

I’ve really enjoyed reconnecting with family and old friends as a result of the diary. I’ve also had the opportunity to meet some wonderful new people.

To all of you have very generously shared family history, memories of Grandma, and information and materials about the history of central Pennsylvania— Thank you!!   I couldn’t do this blog without you!

I’ve been very surprised how many people enjoy reading about Grandma and her times. Over the past several months two newspapers contacted me about this blog and then wrote wonderful stories. Also the blog was featured on a genealogy website. If you haven’t seen the stories you can click on the links below:

Geneabloggers (June 6, 2011): May I Introduce . . . Sheryl Lazarus

Milton Standard Journal (May 21 2011) Blog Connects Former Resident to Central PA  (.pdf. Reprinted with permission)

Williamsport Sun Gazette (May 15, 2011): 100 Years Ago. .. Woman Creates McEwensville Blog to Honor Her Grandmother

I constantly see connections between what happened a hundred years ago and now. My husband and kids might occasionally roll their eyes when I begin a sentence with, “Well, a hundred years ago. . . “ but I think they enjoy learning about Grandma and her times almost as much as I do.

Some things haven’t changed—for example one hundred years ago Grandma worried about final exams; last spring my daughter also worried about finals.

Other things are incredibly different—a hundred years ago horses were used for farming, and the Muffly’s had neither electricity nor a telephone. (Grandma used a phone for the first time in her life during May 1911.)

When I started this blog last January I wasn’t sure if I’d still be doing it in July, but I still am and having a lot of fun researching the entries—and I now anticipate that I’ll still be posting entries on the day the diary ends: December 31, 1914 (or in current terms December 31, 2014).

Have a wonderful July!

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

Thursday, June 29, 1911:  I moved Ruthie’s belongings into another apartment and she herself is going to occupy that room for a time. Don’t know how long it will be though. I’m so tired now, I can hardly stand upright.

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

The meaning of this entry isn’t real clear, but my best guess is that Grandma and her sister Ruth normally shared a bedroom—but that for some reason (maybe a disagreement between the two) her sister moved to another room.  Old farmhouses often had lots of bedrooms so there probably was a spare (or guest) room available.

I’m surprised that this entry uses the pronoun “I”. I would have thought that carrying things to the other room would have been a joint effort (or that maybe Ruth would have moved herself). Instead it sounds as if Grandma was upset, so she moved her sister’s possessions when Ruth wasn’t there. It’s amazing that Ruth accepted the situation and didn’t immediately start moving things back.

Reading between the lines, I think that Grandma was pleased with the outcome and how she’d handled the situation.

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

Thursday, June 27, 1911: We had a thrilling search for Jimmie this afternoon who had hid himself in a chicken coop just before a rainstorm to escape getting wet.

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

Grandma’s brother Jimmie would have been 5-years-old.

This entry make me think of Aunt Em searching for Dorothy right before the storm at the beginning of the Wizard of Oz. A lot of things have changed over the last 100 years—but some things never change. A missing child then and now sets off so many emotions and fears—and then there is the utter sense of relief, mixed with anger at the child for hiding or wandering off,  when he or she is found.