No Mail: No Valentine

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

Saturday, February 14, 1914: Looked forward to a valentine this morning, but no mail carrier came as the roads were rendered impassable from the snow storm. The snow lies 18 in. deep on the ground.

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

Oh dear, no mail. . . and since it was a Saturday it will be two days until Grandma gets her valentine. Who was Grandma expecting to get it from?

This diary entry makes me realize that times have changed. . . and not changed . . . in some unexpected ways over the past century.

In 2014, like 1914, due to the snow emergencies in many locations across the United States, lots of mail carriers probably are unable to deliver the mail . . . however, most young people today probably don’t care that it isn’t getting through since they already got their valentines via Facebook, email, or texting.

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Played Joke on Sister at Box Social

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

Friday, February 13, 1914: Went to town this afternoon to get some things for a box social. Besse gave me two doggies to slip in Ruth’s box when she wasn’t looking. Almost froze my right hand or rather it got pretty cold coming home.

Well, while Ruthie was eating her supper, I slipped upstairs with her box, undid the wrapping, lifted the lid, and in went the doggies, and brought the box back without arousing suspicions.

The box social and entertainment which we attended was out at her school. There wasn’t much of a crowd there, as it was snowing.

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

Good grief, Grandma. . . How could you????

—

Who got Ruth’s box? And, whose face turned redder when they opened it?. . . Ruth’s or the guy’s?

Box socials always make me think of the musical Oklahoma. The girls prepared beautiful box lunches with enough food for two that were then auctioned off to raise funds for the school or some charity.

Grandma’s sister Ruth was a teacher at a one-room school house near McEwensville. Grandma’s older sister Besse was married to a butcher, and Besse must have given her two hot dogs. (Did they have hot dogs a hundred years ago?)

1914 Carbolated Vaseline Advertisement

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

Thursday, February 12, 1914: Cut a gash an inch long, while drying the dishes, in my hand.

Picked out nuts for a cake. Ruthie made it. It got most too stiff. Could hear her rumbling and grumbling about it for half an hour afterwards at least.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (February, 1914)

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

How the heck did Grandma get a one-inch gash while drying dishes? I don’t think that I’ve ever been injured while drying dishes.

Maybe Grandma treated her injury with Carbolated Vaseline. It was a popular ointment a hundred years ago.

Nuts and Nut Cake

What kind of nuts was Grandma picking out—black walnuts? . . .butternuts? . . hickory nuts?

Several previous posts that you might find interesting include:

Old-Time Black Walnut Cake Recipe

What is the Difference Between Butternuts and Black Walnuts?

Hulling Black Walnuts

How to Crack Black Walnuts

Did an Errand for Sister

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

Wednesday, February 11, 1914: Spent the afternoon doing some walking. One of Ruthie’s important errands.

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

What errand did Grandma run for her sister Ruth? . . . shopping? . . . returning a borrowed item? . . .

Ruth was a teacher at a one-room school house near McEwensville, so she probably was at work—and needed her sister (who worked at home on the farm) to run the errand.

“Move to Montana” Advertisement

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

Tuesday, February 10, 1914: Nothing doing.

Kimball's Dairy Farmer Magazine (February 1, 1914) — Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (February 1, 1914)

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

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share a fun ad that encouraged families to homestead to Montana.

Whew, it’s hard to believe that there still was “unbroken” land a hundred years ago that could be had for very little money. At least the people were able to get there in relative comfort via train, and didn’t need the covered wagons that were used in prior years.

1914 Books That Have Stood the Test of Time

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

Monday, February 9, 1914: Finished reading two books today. Retired later than my usual hour.

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

Which books was Grandma reading?

Goodreads lists two hundred books published in 1913 that are still in widely read. They probably were not the most popular books at the time, but rather they are the books that have endured –and whose message apparently continues to resonate a hundred years later.

Ten books on the list that I recognized the title or author are listed below:

1. The Dubliners by James Joyce

2. Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories by Bram Stoker

3. The Beasts of Tarzan (Tarzan #3) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (magazine serial)

4. Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt

5. The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton W. Burgess

6. Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook by Marie Montessori

7. Tom Swift and his Photo Telephone or the Picture that Saved a Fortune (Tom Swift #17) by Victor Appleton

8. Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde

9. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God by Albert Schweitzer

10. The Social History of Smoking by George Latimer Apperson

You may also enjoy similar posts that I did for books published in 1911 – 1913: