In Pain Over Piano Lesson

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

Friday, June 12, 1914: My music teacher had a pain this morning. Must have sympathized deeply for her, since by the time she was ready to go I had one too.

Besse went home this afternoon. Miss her some.

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

Hmm. . . Has Grandma been practicing her piano lessons? Maybe her music teacher (and eventually Grandma) were in pain because of how poorly the lesson went.

Grandma might not be spending much time practicing. I don’t think that she mentioned her piano lessons since January.

Besse

Grandma’s married sister Besse came to visit June 9. It sounds like a fun and relaxing time for both sisters. It probably was just what Besse needed after the recent death of her infant daughter. . . and Grandma sounds like she enjoyed having her oldest sister around for a few days.

Learning to Tat

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

Thursday, June 11, 1914: Besse was trying to teach me tatting today. Am awful stupid about it, but still I persist in trying to make the stuff. It takes some patience.

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

Grandma’s married sister Besse was visiting for a few days. Even if it was it was difficult to learn how to make tatted lace, it sounds like a fun activity for the two sisters.

I’ve often wished that I knew how to tat, but it seems almost like a lost art. I remember seeing beautiful tatted doilies and handkerchiefs when I was a child—but both seem to have vanished from modern households.

According to Wikipedia:

A tatting shuttle facilitates tatting by holding a length of wound thread and guiding it through loops to make the requisite knots.

To make the lace, the tatter wraps the thread around one hand and manipulates the shuttle with the other hand.

Tatting Shuttles (Photo source: Wikipedia)

Cousins from up the Creek Came to Visit

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

Wednesday, June 10, 1914: Had company this afternoon. They were my cousins from up the creek.

This picture of Warrior Run Creek was taken from the bridge in McEwensville.

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

Hmm. . . I have no idea who these cousins were. Warrior Run Creek flows through the Muffly farm. Going upstream from the farm, it flows through McEwensville, through the Warrior Run High School property, and then up into the Muncy Hills where it originates. (Downstream it flows into the West Branch of the Susquehanna River south of Watsontown).

I don’t know of any aunts or uncles (who would have been the parents of the cousins) who lived near the creek. But, Grandma’s mother had 7 siblings and her father had 10. I have no idea where some of them lived.

It seems odd that Grandma refers to these cousins by where they lived along the creek. Warrior Run Creek is too small to be navigable, so the cousins would have come via a road. If I were describing where the cousins lived I think that I would have listed the town (or perhaps a landmark like a church) that they lived near.

High and Low Tempertures in US Cities, June 8, 1914

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

Monday, June 8, 1914: Guess most any kind of a person would imagine what I did today. If I could have kept cool, I would have called that something accomplished, but that was out of the question.

Temperatures in selected US cities, June 8, 1914 (Source: Washington Post, June 9, 1914) — Temperatures in selected US cities, June 8, 1914 (Source: *Washington Post*, June 9, 1914)

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

Grandma-

Whew, it sounds hot. Hope you didn’t have to help with any work out in the fields.

Did you try fanning yourself with a hand fan? . . . or sitting in the shade with a glass of lemonade?

—

According the June 9, 1914 issue of the Washington Post, the high on June 8 was 92 in Pittsburgh and 94 in Philadelphia—so it probably was also in the low 90s in central Pennsylvania.

Former Pastor Preached Sermon

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

Sunday, June 7, 1914: Our former pastor was back to preach this morning. Went for a walk this afternoon.

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

Grandma attended the Baptist Church in McEwensville. The church hadn’t had a minister since early January—so it must have been a real treat to have a visit from the former pastor.

On January 4, 1914 Grandma wrote:

Our minister is going to leave soon. He preached his farewell sermon today. I am so sorry to see him go. There were some misty eyes in church this afternoon.

And, on March 29, 1914, she wrote:

Went to Sunday school this afternoon. Attended church, which isn’t very often since we don’t have a regular preacher as yet. . .

And, in the weeks since then she only mentioned going to Sunday School, so the church probably still did not have a new minister.

The McEwensville Baptist Church is long gone. It probably shuttered its doors sometime during the 1920s. A hundred years ago there were many more small churches in rural hamlets than there are now. Many struggled financial and found it difficult to keep a minister because they were unable to pay very much.

Went to Town

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

Friday, June 5, 1914: Went to Watsontown this morning.

Recent photo of the view Grandma would have had as she walked into Watsontown. (Well, the isn't exactly the same because 100 years ago there would have been a bustling railroad station where the vacant lot with the yellow truck is in the photo. — Recent photo of the view Grandma would have had as she walked into Watsontown. (Well, the isn’t exactly the same because 100 years ago there would have been a bustling railroad station on the right.)

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

Hmm. . . Why did Grandma go to the nearby town of Watsontown? . . . Did she go shopping? . . . Run an errand for her mother or father?

Gossiping with a Friend

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

Tuesday, June 2, 1914: Carrie was over. We had some gossip and some other rare tidbits. Miss Ruthie, she spends the days away now.

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

Grandma—

Yeah! A friend managed to navigate her way into your lonely castle at the side of the brook!

What did you talk about? PLEASE tell us the gossip and the rare tidbits. We want ALL the juicy details.

—

Carrie Stump was a friend of Grandma’s who lived on a nearby farm.

—

Hmm. . . Miss Ruthie? . . . Was Grandma annoyed,? . . . Jealous? . . .Grandma had various nicknames for her sister Ruth. For example, she often called her Rufus when she was upset with her.

What was Ruth doing these days? Ruth was a teacher at a nearby one-room school house during the school year—and in past years she helped with the house and farm work during the summer months. Did Ruth have a job in Summer 1914? . . . or was she spending her days at friends’ homes? . . . or doing something else?