17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, December 6, 1912: This morning arose feeling quite miserable for I believe I have the sore throat. Had an awful day of it at school, nor did I do much studying. Our last year’s teacher Mr. Northrop visited us this afternoon.
Building that once housed the McEwensville School.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Poor Grandma, it’s sad that she felt bad on the day her old teacher visited.
Grandma always really liked Mr. Northrop—though she often gave him a hard time. For example, she once got into trouble for snooping at his desk. She found a drawing of a ring on his desk, and wrote “My Diamond” beneath it.
I think that Mr. Northrop was a very young teacher and that he often socialized with the students. For example, one evening he fell through the ice while skating with students.
Mr. Northrop’s first name was Howard, but Grandma always referred to him in the diary as Jake or Jakie, which I never could figure out. He must seem a little older now to her, and deserving of the title “Mr.”
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, December 4, 1912: Will be glad I think when vacation is here. Have ever too many things to do then.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I can read this diary entry two ways.
There’s so much that needs to be done in December, and sometimes I feel like I’m being pulled in a thousand directions –so it seems like Grandma must have felt the same way. When I first read the diary entry, I thought that Grandma was very busy with school and looking forward to her upcoming Christmas vacation.
But. . . when I read carefully, I don’t think that is exactly what she meant.
It almost sounds like she was bored now, and was looking forward to her vacation when she’d be busier. . . with shopping? . . . with holiday baking? . . with Christmas parties?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, December 3, 1912: Nothing much to write.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’m going to share an old recipe for Oyster Fritters with you.
Oysters were a very popular late fall food in central Pennsylvania years ago. Even though the area is about 150 miles from the Chesapeake Bay—it is within a day’s train trip from the Bay; and shellfish, even a hundred years ago, were regularly transported into the area.
I have wonderful memories of eating Oyster Fritters when I was a child—and still make them once or twice each year whenever I’m able to find oysters for sale in my local supermarket.
Oyster Fritters
1 pint oysters, drained and coarsely chopped
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shortening or lard
Mix all ingredients except shortening together. Melt shortening in a skillet. Drop oyster mixture by tablespoonfuls into the hot shortening. Fry until lightly browned; flip and cook other side. Drain on paper towels.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, December 2, 1912: Wasn’t feeling very well today. Think cold is improving.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Did people get sick more a hundred years ago than they do now? This was Grandma’s four cold since the beginning of September. And, her mother and brother Jimmie also were sick.
Here’s a summary of the Muffly family ailments during Fall 1912:
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, November 30, 1912:
It often seems the best comes last,
And so it must be with December.
As the end of the year recedes into the Past,
We see her last holiday, Remember.
Wanted to go to McEwensville tonight but Ruth won’t, so I didn’t. Made me feel sore for awhile.
McEwensville at dusk on a December evening
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
The first day of each month, Grandma began the diary entry with a poem. I’m still trying to figure out if she wrote them herself or copied them from somewhere. This month it almost seems like Grandma struggled to find a word to rhyme with December—so I’m leaning towards her writing the poems herself.
Why did Grandma want to do in McEwensville on a Sunday evening? . . to visit friends? . . . to attend an evening church service ? (Though, based on the diary, I don’t think that there generally were evening church services.)
And, (I guess I have more questions than answers) why did Grandma feel like she couldn’t go if her sister Ruth won’t go with her?
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, November 30, 1912: Ruth and I washed this morning. Went to Watsontown this afternoon.
Click on graph to enlarge.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sounds like a nice way for Grandma to spend a Saturday—doing a little work in the morning with her sister Ruth, and then rewarding herself by going to town in the afternoon. Maybe Grandma started her Christmas shopping.
There are three towns regularly mentioned in this diary—all small in the big scheme of things, but within Grandma’s world there was a small town (McEwensville), a medium-sized town (Watsontown), and a large town (Milton).
Today none of the three would be much of a shopping destination—but a hundred years ago transportation was so much more difficult and each had stores.
McEwensville was the small town, but the one Grandma went to the most frequently . It also was where she attended school. McEwensville was about 1 1/2 miles east of the Muffly farm. It had a general store, a pharmacy, a restaurant, and a few other businesses.
McEwensville
Watsontown was the medium sized town and where Grandma went a hundred years ago today. It was also about 1 1/2 miles from the Muffly farm, but in the opposite direction from McEwensville. Grandma often walked to Watsontown. It was to the west and is located along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. It had a small downtown with a full range of stores where clothes, housewares, etc. could be purchased.
Watsontown
Milton was considered the “big city” in Grandma’s day—even though the population was only about 7,500 people. At the time, it was a considered a glamorous shopping destination with glittery department stores, women’s clothing shops, shoe stores, and restaurants. It was about 5 miles from the Muffly farm. Grandma would have either ridden in a buggy to get there—or she could have walked into Watsontown and then taken the trolley from Watsontown to Milton.
Milton
Since all three towns seem very sleepy today, I decided to see it they’d lost a lot of population across the years (see graph above). I was surprised to discover that the population had changed less than I expected between 1910 and 2010. Milton and Watsontown have lost a lot of factories since the 1970s—and many people moved away. It’s nice to see that the population trends have turned and that the population is increasing.
Links to Census Data Sets
I used data from US censuses to make the tables. There is an awesome amount of census data available for every town in the US. Here are the links to the Census population data for each of the years.
