Doll Clothes A Hundred Years Ago

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

Sunday, December 22, 1912: Went to Sunday School this morning. Ruth and I went up to hear the Xmas services this evening. Twas tonight moonlit.

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

Sounds like a lovely day—and a walk home in the moonlight sounds like a nice way to end it .

Between Sunday School and the evening service did Grandma manage to find time to finish making last-minute gifts? . . perhaps some quickly made doll clothes for young people on her gift list.

Both then and now, there’s a mad dash at the end to finish making gifts. I found an article in the December, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal called “Quickly Made Doll Clothes” which featured outfits made from some patterns that the magazine sold.

These quickly and easily made doll clothes should be especially welcome at this busy season, when the dressing of the children’s dolls is generally a last and hurried task.

All the little clothes both for the girl and boy dolls have been cut from one piece or kimono shaping, thus eliminating the difficult making and adjusting of little sleeves, and each garment has few seams and may be cut from a very small piece of material.

Old-fashioned Coffee Candy Recipe

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

Saturday, December 21, 1912: Had quite a time putting things in order this morning, but how long they will stay that way I can’t tell. Ruth made some Christmas candy this afternoon.

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

What kind of candy did Grandma’s sister Ruth make? . . .Maybe old-fashioned Coffee Candy? . . . Dare I suggest it? . . . I tried making Coffee Candy last December and it was a disaster that crumbled into tiny pieces. (See Interpreting Old Recipes: The Case of Coffee Candy.)

Usually when I have a cooking failure I never make the recipe again. But, bolstered by everyone’s comments and suggestions last year, I decided to give it another try.

I made some adaptations to the recipe I used last year. Here’s what I did:

Old-fashioned Coffee Candy

Boil together over moderate heat, without stirring, one-half cup strong coffee, two tablespoons butter, and two cups sugar. Boil to soft ball stage (238 degrees). Remove the pan from stove. Beat rapidly until it creams. Stir in a cup of chopped walnuts, press firmly into a buttered pan and cut into squares. (I used a 6 1/2-inch square pan.)

This Coffee Candy turned out much better this year. It had a nice coffee flavor, and a texture similar to pralines. It still had a slight tendency to crumble when I cut it, but most pieces came out of the pan just fine.

1912 Slipper Advertisement

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

Friday, December 20, 1912: Ruth came home this afternoon. Wonder if she has a fine and dandy present for me.

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

Ruth had been in Sunbury since the 16th. I think that she was attending a teachers’ training institute over winter break. What Christmas present did she buy for Grandma? Maybe Ruth bought Grandma some slippers. They would have been a fine and dandy present.

Source: An advertisement by the Daniel Green Felt Shoe Company in the December, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal

1912 Aprons

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

Thursday, December 19, 1912: Ma went to town this afternoon to do her Xmas shopping. Wonder what she got me for a present. Perhaps nothing much.

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

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Grandma’s mother got her some wonderful gifts.

A hundred years ago people often made homemade gifts. Aprons were a really popular handmade gift back then. Did Grandma’s mother purchase fabric to make one?

Picture Source: Ladies Home Journal (December, 1912)

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy the post that I did on aprons last year.

Old-Fashioned Black Walnut Cookie Recipe

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

Wednesday, December 18, 1912: Am beginning to get ready for Christmas. Picked out some walnut bits.

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

What was Grandma going to make with the walnuts? Maybe she made cookies . Here’s an old recipe for Black Walnut Cookies.

Old-Fashioned Black Walnut Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vinegar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup coarsely chopped black walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix butter, brown sugar, and eggs together. Stir in milk and vinegar. Then, stir in baking soda and salt. Add flour and stir until combined. Stir in black walnuts. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour. Drop rounded teaspoons about 2 inches apart on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 8 – 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Yield: approximately 3 dozen cookies

I love these cookies. They are an old-fashioned soft cookie with the robust, rich taste of black walnuts.

Here are several previous posts about Black Walnuts that you might enjoy:

How to Crack Black Walnuts

Hulling Black Walnuts

Old-Time Black Walnut Cake Recipe

Went Christmas Shopping

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

Tuesday, December 17, 1912: Carrie went with me to Watsontown this afternoon. I did my Christmas shopping. I didn’t take as much money as I thought I would. Jimmie wants to know what I got him. He wants a gun so awful bad. Got him one.

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

Carrie Stout was a friend of Grandma’s and Jimmie was Grandma’s 7-year-old brother. Given the recent very tragic event in Connecticut, it’s hard to know what to write today. My thoughts and prayers go out those affected by the tragedy in Newtown.

Injured Thumb While Butchering Hogs

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

Monday, December 16, 1912: Our dearest Ruth left for Sunbury this morning and my heart is rather sad. We killed some pigs and I took a slice off the end of my thumb. Oh sad the day, for I don’t care anything about having a sore thumb.

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

Butchering hogs is a lot of work. A hundred years ago today, the yard between the house and barn on the Muffly farm was probably filled with scalding troughs and large wooden tripods with hog carcasses hanging from them.

I wonder how bad Grandma’s cut was. A “slice off the end” of her thumb doesn’t sound good. (Click here to read a previous post on how they treated cuts and wounds a hundred years ago.)

Did Grandma miss her sister Ruth or was she being sarcastic? (Personally I might be annoyed if I had a sister who didn’t have to help with the butchering.)

I think that Ruth went to a teachers’ institute. She was a teacher at a one-room school-house near McEwensville. Winter break for the schools began the previous Friday, and I think that teacher institutes were held over the breaks to provide professional development and training for the rural school teachers.

Sunbury is the county seat of Northumberland County and is about twenty miles from McEwensville.