17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, January 19, 1913: A bright and beautiful dawn welcomed the approach of day. Ruth and I walked to Turbotville this morning to attend a family reunion. All of ‘em weren’t there. Had quite a pleasant time, but it would have been nicer if some more of the cousins had been there. We had our pictures taken out on the lawn. That walk home didn’t do me up, but I did get a terrific head-ache anyway.
Recent photos of the road between McEwesnville and Turbotille. This picture was taken at the point where the road leaves McEwesnville.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Whew, it is probably about a five-mile walk—10 miles round trip– from the Muffly farm to Turbotville. Even on the nicest of days—in January or any other month– this sounds like a long, exhausting walk for Grandma and her sister Ruth.
This picture was taken midway between McEwensville and Turbotville.
Grandma’s maternal grandparents lived in Turbotville. Why didn’t Grandma’s mother go to the reunion to see her parents and siblings?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, January 18, 1913: Fixed some of my clothes today. Didn’t do much work because I didn’t feel very energetic.
Source: Ladies Home Journal (March, 1913)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I bet Grandma wasn’t very energetic fixing her clothes because she wished that she had new clothes. Did Grandma dream of having the outfits featured in Ladies Home Journal?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, January 17, 1913: We had patrons’ day at school this afternoon. Everything went off pretty good. We had quite a few visitors.
Recent photo of building that once housed McEwensville Schools.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
A patron is someone who provides financial support. In 1912, the McEwensville Schools were public schools, so I’m not exactly sure who attended Patron’s Day.
The school often had financial difficulty, so perhaps community members made donations to help ensure that the students got an adequate education.
Thomas Kramm in The History of the McEwensville Schools included highlights from the school board minutes. The 1913 highlight was:
04-13: The Board borrowed money from the Watsontown Bank.
Hopefully, the school’s patrons were very generous. . .
Related previous posts that you might enjoy include:
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, January 16, 1913:We had an examination in Geometry this morning. I think I will make a better mark than what I did the other time.
Source: Kimball’s Commercial Arithmetic (1911)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
What was the Geometry test about—proofs? . . . angles? . . . shapes? . . . capacities?
The directions for doing capacity problems in a hundred-year-old textbook (I think it was called volume by the time I was in school. Is capacity the same thing as volume?) seem very different from what I remember doing when I was a student:
The method of finding the contents of any regular vessel in gallons, bushels, barrels, etc. is called gauging.
The capacity of tanks, cisterns, etc. is usually expressed in gallons or barrels. In every liquid gallon there are 231 cu. in.
To find the exact number of gallons in any vessel, divide the number of cubic inches in the vessel by 231.
To find the number of gallons in a cylindrical vessel, multiply the square of the diameter by the height, and this product by 5 7/8.
To find the approximate number of gallons in a cistern, multiply the number of cubic feet by 7 1/2 and from the product, subtract 1/400 of the product.
The capacity of bins, etc. is usually expressed in bushels. The standard bushel in the United States is a measure 8 inches deep, 18 1/2 inches in diameter, and contains 2150.42 cubic inches. Hence, to find the number of bushels in any bin, divide the number of cubic inches in the bin by 2140.42.
Kimball’s Commercial Arithmetic (1911)
Got that? Want to try some problems?
Find the contents in gallons of a tank 4 ft. square and 5 ft. deep.
The water in a cistern 8 ft. square is 2 ft. deep, how many gallons does it contain?
A bin 8 ft. by 4 ft. by (?) contains 90 bushels of grain. Find the missing dimension.
How many tons of water will fill a tank 11 ft. 8 in. by 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 3 in., if the weight of a cubic foot of water is 1,000 ounces?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, January 15, 1913: Don’t know hardly what to write today.
Source: Good Housekeeping (December, 1912)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’m going to go off on a tangent.
Sometimes I read a magazine article from a hundred years ago—and I’m absolutely floored by how it could have been written in 2013 instead of so long ago
For example, I recently came across an article in the December 1912 issue of Good Housekeeping titled “The Food Value of a Peanut.” <<Yawn>>.
Then I read,
As a result of the growing popularity of vegetarianism, the demand for nuts is increasing.
Really? . . . There were vegetarians a hundred years ago?
And, I continued reading:
Another reason for the increasing demand for nuts, and more especially for peanuts, is their relative cheapness as sources of nourishment and energy. Even compared with such staple foods as bread and beans, peanuts supply protein and energy very cheaply.
Sounds about like today. Both then and now people worry about the high cost of food–though I don’t think that peanuts are particularly inexpensive now.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, January 14, 1913:Haven’t spent much time on my studies this evening. At present I am waiting for Ruth to get through with a paper so I can read it.
Alexei Nikolaevich, Heir to the Russian Throne (Source: Wikipedia)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
What was in the headlines a hundred years ago today? I’m not sure what was in the newspaper that Grandma and her sister Ruth were reading, but I was surprised to discover that the New York Times had an article about the son of Russian Tsar Nicholas II.
Whew, a hundred years ago Russia was still ruled by a Tsar! Grandma was writing before the beginning of the Soviet Union . . . and before the Russian Revolution.
CZAREVITCH IS ILL AGAIN
Heir to the Throne is Again Confined to His Bed
London, Tuesday, Jan. 14—The correspondent in St. Petersburg telegraphs:
After being present at the Christmas festivities of the garrison at the palace of Tsarskoe Selo, the Czarevitch, who was mysteriously ill in the autumn is again confined to his bed.
The Dowager Empress, who has been suffering from lumbago, is obliged to keep to her bed.
Owing to the unfavorable impression caused by the cancellation of the New Year’s reception, which was to have been held at the Winter Palace today, the Czar with receive the Diplomatic Corps at the palace of Tsarskoe Selo.
New York Times (January 14, 1913)
Alexei, the oldest son of the Tsar had hemophilia –and that’s probably why he was ill a hundred years ago today. His mother Alexandra believed that a monk named Rasputin was the only person who knew how to cure him. As a result Rasputin became extremely powerful. This was seen as scandalous by many in Russia, and helped bring about the Russian Revolution and the end of the Tsars.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, January 13, 1913: Nothing much for today.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Something must have happened a hundred years ago today. I wonder what the Muffly’s ate on that mid-January day.
The dishes they ate probably were made with local ingredients that were available in January. I’ve been enjoying trying old fritter recipes, and have warm, fuzzy, memories of eating apple fritters on cold winter days.
Old-fashioned Apple Fritters
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 medium apples chopped
approximately 1/3 cup shortening or lard
powdered sugar
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, egg, and milk. Beat until smooth. Stir in apples.
Heat shortening until hot in large frying pan. Drop spoonfuls of batter into hot shortening. Flip fritters and fry until golden brown on all sides. The fritters may need to be flipped several times to completely cook due to the thickness of the batter.
