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.

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

Sunday, June 25, 1911: Went to Sunday school this morning. Didn’t go any place this afternoon. Had to entertain myself.

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

Hmm—I wonder what Grandma did on this quiet Sunday afternoon a hundred years ago. Did she go for a walk, play solitaire, read . . or . . .?

Maybe she read a popular magazine. As transportation improved and consumer culture began to grow and develop in the early years of the 20th century, magazines became very popular. For example, the circulation of the Saturday Evening Post grew from 200,000 in 1900 to 1.75 million in 1911. And during the same period the circulation of the Ladies Home Journal went from 800,000 to 1.4 million.

Ladies Home Journal was aimed at working class women—Saturday Evening Post at the working class of both genders. Curtis Publishing, the publisher of both magazines, was an early user of market research; and in 1911 the company created a Market Research Department  to get information about their customers. They then provided the information to their advertisers to help them target goods to specific demographics and successfully gauge public opinion.

These magazines reflected the predominate culture of the time while simultaneously creating a more commercialized consumer culture than had previously existed.

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

Tuesday, June 20, 1911: Had a task I didn’t like very well for this morning. Was going to make an apron this afternoon for myself, but Bisser took pity on me and did it herself, so you see I was saved all the bother.

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

I’m not sure who Bisser referred to—but it may have been Grandma’s oldest sister Besse. Besse was married, but lived nearby.

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

Monday, June 19, 1911: I worked so very hard this forenoon, but made up for it by retiring early. Ruth is having Mr. J. Oakes down on the front porch this evening.

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

I bet the real reason Grandma retired early was because she was jealous that a beau was visiting her sister. Ruth has been seeing Jim Oakes for almost three months. In the March 26 diary entry it sounded as if he was a new boyfriend. He was also mentioned in the May 25 entry.

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

Saturday, June 17, 1911: There is a festival up town tonight. Didn’t go because I was too stingy, and I didn’t think it probable that one of my many beaus would be there. Rufus went though.

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

Many beaus?? Sounds like a bit of sarcasm in today’s entry. . .

Though I bet that Grandma’s sister Ruth—who is referred to as Rufus in the diary entry— saw a beau at the festival (or at least Grandma thought that she would).