16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, February 17, 1912: Uncle Ben and Aunt Annie were here today. I was very anxious to see Uncle Ben as I hadn’t seen him since I was a little kid, so you see I really wanted to see what he looked like. He is a great tease, but doesn’t look like it at all. Puts him arms around you and strokes your hair. Really, I was surprised.
Annie (Derr) Van Sant (circa 1900)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
This diary entry refers to Benjamin and Annie Van Sant. Annie was the youngest sister of Grandma’s mother. Ben was a physician in Turbotville which is located about 6 miles northeast of the Muffly farm.
In February 1912, Ben was 48 years old and Annie was 35. They did not have any children.
Since they lived so near the Muffley’s it is amazing that Grandma had not seen her uncle in many years.
That said, I’m not exactly sure what to make of this entry. . .
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, February 16, 1912: And this is the last day of that wonderful teacher of ours. I wonder how he felt this afternoon. I expected he would give some kind of an address, but he didn’t. Oh well, I don’t think I’ll be sorry of his leaving if the next one comes up to the average.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I learned a little more about the mid-year change in teachers in the History of the McEwensville Schools by Thomas Kramm:
. . . The high teacher turnover rate, especially in the high school prior to 1916, resulted in a new teacher almost every year. At least one teacher, and perhaps more, would not return to teach the following school year because the school board refused to increase the teacher’s salary. Although it did not occur often, when a teacher resigned in mid-term it was sometimes a challenge to find a replacement. During the 1911-12 school year, when high school teacher Howard Northrop wanted to resign mid-term, his resignation was not permitted until he personally recruited his own replacement.
Whew, it doesn’t sound like the school board did much vetting of teachers. Hopefully the new teacher will be good.
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Thursday, February 15, 1912: I believe I have forgotten what I did today. Nothing unusual any way.Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Since Grandma didn’t write much today, I’ll give you an old-time candy recipe for Sour Cream Fudge.
Sour Cream Fudge
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts
Combine sugar and sour cream. Stir while heating over a low temperature until the sugar is dissolved. Add butter and continue stirring until it is melted. Quit stirring and bring to a slow boil. Continue boiling until candy reaches the soft ball stage (235-240 degrees F.). Remove from heat, beating it while it cools. Add vanilla and nuts. Pour into greased pan.
Sour Cream Fudge has a rich, buttery flavor.
Patience is key to successfully making Sour Cream Fudge. I was surprised how long I needed to cook this candy. It takes a long time to reach the soft ball stage—I think that it took more than an hour.
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, February 14, 1912: I didn’t get any valentines today, although they would have been accepted if I had. Our future teacher arrived at school this morning, but he isn’t going to commence until next Monday. Gee whiz, but he is tall. I wonder if I will like him, but I think I will.
Grandma didn't get any, but here is an example of a nice 1912 valentine postcard.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma sounds kind of sad that she didn’t get any valentines. Though getting nothing was probably better than she deserved since she only sent ugly, vinegar valentines.
Is it worse to be ignored than to get a vinegar valentine?
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, February 13, 1912: We had an inspector up at school this morning. You can bet I was glad when he had gone. Ruth and I went up to Oakes this evening. I took my Algebra along and Rachel helped me with it some.
Click on the picture to enlarge the words.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
The previous Friday Grandma wrote that this would be the last week for her teacher and that she’d then get a new teacher.
I suppose that the school inspector visited McEwensville High School to make sure that all was on-course and to prepare for the transition to the new teacher.
A hundred years ago there were many schools scattered across the county. A county superintendent was responsible for making sure that they followed state requirements.
The state, then as now, was responsible for providing public education. In a 1912 book I found the language in the Pennsylvania constitution:
The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public schools, wherein all the children of this Commonwealth above the age of six years may be educated, and shall appropriate at least one million dollars each year for that purpose.
Source: Pennsylvania Constitution as quoted in The Status of the Teacher by Arthur Perry, Jr. (1912)
Over the years this provision has been shortened. It now says:
The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.
I guess there no longer is a need to indicate that at least a million dollars of state money will be spent on public education. According to Wikipedia the state of Pennsylvania allocated more than $11.4 billion for education-related programs for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. 🙂
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, February 12, 1912: Got my valentines in preparation. They’re all ugly ones. I thought one was most too much to send as it was rather mean looking. But I got it ready, so it has to go.
DON’T sit up nights admiring yourself.
The best that can be said of you
Is that you might pass in a crowd.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
What could the valentine have possibly said that was almost too bad to send? And, who was Grandma sending it to? . . . . .a classmate?. . . her teacher? . . . her sister?
16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, February 11, 1912: Went to Sunday School this afternoon. A lawyer from Sunbury was there. He was an excellent speaker. Ruth had some unusual news to impart after she arrived. Carrie was over a little while this afternoon. Gave her one of my pictures. Also gave my Sunday School teacher one.
Recent photo of McEwensville
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sunbury is the county seat of Northumberland County. It is about 20 miles from McEwensville.
The lawyer may have spoken about the leadership.
As I mentioned last week, in 1912 the Country Life Movement was actively working to revitalize rural communities since many youth were leaving for jobs in the cities.
We’ll never know what the lawyer said, but I can tell you what was written in a magazine published in 1912 about the leadership skills needed to revitalize rural communities.
A well-organized personality reflects its efficiency in the organization in which it dominates, and vice versa.
Such are the qualifications of leadership and the organizing capacity which may be described as the ability to build and operate human machinery. It has its roots in tact and skill in dealing with men, in tenacity and in a certain instinct for construction.
One who possesses it sees a new person as social material and is likely to know what can be made of him better than he knows himself.
This type of ability was never in any such demand as it now is, particularly in the rapid rise of the Country Life Movement.
Rural Manhood (January 1912) (A Magazine Published by the YMCA)
Pictures
Carrie Stout was a friend of Grandma’s. Grandma had her photo taken by a professional photographer in January.
