Youth’s Companion Advertisement

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

Monday, October 23, 1911: Subscribed for the Youth’s Companion today. Beginning to get cold. I mean the weather not me.

Advertisement for The Youth’s Companion on the back cover of Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (November 1, 1911)

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

The Youth’s Companion was a popular magazine in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

According to the Collecting Old Magazines website the magazine began as a children magazine, but was aimed at the entire family by the time that Grandma wrote this diary entry:

 . . .  an audience limited to children only gave The Youth’s Companion only so many years in the life of a subscriber. The magazine expanded its offerings to include the entire family, and by doing so expanded its own lifetime to the lifetime of the subscriber. . . The typical issue would include “outdoor adventure stories, historical articles, anecdotes, contests, travel articles, and editorials.

“The Children’s Page” was there for the youth in its title, but by 1897 The Youths Companion also touted itself as “An Illustrated Family Paper,” which throughout that decade and into the new century would publish work from notables such as Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, Booker T. Washington, Helen Keller, as well as literary notables such as Kate Chopin, Edith Wharton, Jack London and Emily Dickinson.

Magazine History and Collecting Tips, Collecting Old Magazines

Last Lynching in Pennsylvania

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

Sunday, October 22, 1911: While walking to Sunday School this afternoon, I saw three men taking a man and n_____  woman to jail. Anyway that’s very likely where they’ll land before long. It’s raining tonight real hard.

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

Whew, this diary entry upsets me. Grandma spelled out n___  in her handwritten entry in the diary, and her attitude bothers me a lot.

Grandma would have walked a mile or so on country roads to get to Sunday School in McEwensville.

Central Pennsylvania was not very diverse a hundred years ago, but a few Blacks lived in the area. C.V. Clark, in a presentation to the Northumberland County Historical Society, mentioned that in the late 1800’s a freed slave named Eliza lived in McEwensville–and her descendents probably were still living in the area in 1911.

I know that times were different back then, but the bottom line is that Blacks were often treated terribly a hundred years ago. To help better understand what things were like in 1911 I’d like to share some disturbing information that I recently discovered.

The last lynching in Pennsylvania occurred  on August 13, 1911. Zachariah Walker was lynched in Coatesville which is near Philadelphia.

Historic marker in Coatesville. Used with Permission: HMdb.org (Historic Marker Data Base); photographer: Kevin W. of Stafford VA

The inscription on the historic maker about the lynching says:

LYNCHING OF ZACHARIAH WALKER

An African American steelworker, Walker was burned to death by a mob near here on August 13, 1911. He was accused of killing Edgar Rice, a white security guard and a former borough policeman. Fifteen local men and teenage boys were indicted for their involvement in Walker’s death but were acquitted of all charges. Nationwide outrage led to the NAACP’s national anti-lynching campaign and inspired Pennsylvania’s 1923 anti-lynching law.

Even though Grandma lived more than a hundred miles from Coatesville, she probably was aware of the lynching. The local paper, The Milton Evening Standard periodically ran stories about it.

Milton Evening Standard, August 22, 1911

It’s the Style, Not Shoe, That Costs

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

Saturday, October 21, 1911: Rufus and Ma went to Milton today. Ruth got a jacket suit and Ma bought me a pair of shoes. They’re for school so you see I didn’t care so much if I wasn’t there to try them on.

It’s the style, not shoe, that costs.

Quote from The News About Shoes (Good Housekeeping Magazine, October, 1911)

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

To clarify this entry—Grandma’s sister Ruth and her mother went shopping.  Sometimes in the diary Grandma referred to Ruth as Rufus—and in this entry she co-mingled two names for the same person.

I’m surprised that Grandma’s mother didn’t take her along to buy shoes, and that Grandma was only slightly annoyed.  . . Or . . . [another scenario, based on my second read through of this diary entry] maybe Grandma was really angry when she wrote it and was trying to convince herself that it really was okay.

Shoe sizes must have been very standardized way back then if someone could buy shoes for another person; or maybe Grandma wore the same size shoe as her mother or sister.

Milking Cows: 1911 and 2011

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

Thursday, October 20, 1911:Got out of school early this afternoon. I gathered some walnuts after I got home. Mollie gave me a kick in the back while milking another cow this evening. I’ve named Ruth’s twin calves, one Brutus and the other Caesar, but I can’t tell which is which.

1911: Probability of being kicked = high (photo source: Kimball's Dairy Farmer Magazine, December 15, 1911)
2011: Robot milker--Probability of being kicked = almost zero

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

Ouch! It sounds like the kick hurt. Grandma’s cow Mollie had her first calf in August. And, Grandma had been pleased with how well Mollie adjusted to being milked, For example on September 27 she wrote:

“Was in doubts and fears as to how Mollie would act when I commenced to milk her. Pop milked her last night, but I had to do it after that, so I got up early this morning, resolving to come off conquering and I did. Hurrah. She didn’t kick.”

But apparently something upset Mollie while Grandma was milking the next cow—and she gave Grandma a kick.

There have been huge changes in how cows are milked over the last hundred years. In 1911 most farmers had just a few cows that were milked by hand. Today most cows are milked by machines in milking parlors (and some are even milked by robots.)

Traditional Apple Betty Recipe

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

Thursday, October 19, 1911: That’s all.

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

Since Grandma didn’t write anything of substance a hundred years ago today, I’m going to share another very old recipe.

We often ate Apple Betty during the fall and winter when I was a child. It always seemed very old-fashioned and I’d guess that Grandma ate similar dishes when she was young.

When I was small, we’d save bread crusts and tear them into small pieces. We’d put the torn bread into an open canister to dry. Whenever we got enough for Apple Betty, we’d make it.

Farmers always had lots of apples in those days from their orchards, and I guess this was a way to use both the apples and the leftover bread crusts.

We’d eat Apple Betty as a side dish during the main meal–though it could be eaten as a dessert. After I got older. I guess our family felt more prosperous and we generally threw bread crusts out—and we no longer made this recipe.

 Apple Betty

2 cups coarse dry bread crumbs

4 cups, sliced, peeled tart apples (5 to 7 medium apples)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 1/3 of the bread crumbs into the bottom of a buttered 6 to 8 cup casserole dish, then cover with half of the apples. Mix the sugar, cinnamon, and salt together, and sprinkle half the mixture over the apples. Add another layer of bread crumbs and another of apples, and sprinkle with the rest of the sugar mixture. Top with remaining crumbs, pour lemon juice and water all over, and dot with butter. Cover and bake for 25 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

When I recently made this recipe, rather than sitting the bread crumbs out to dry, I tore several slices of fresh  bread into pieces and put them on a cookie sheet. I then dried the very coarse crumbs for about one-half  hour in a 175 degree oven.

My husband Bill said that the Apple Betty reminded him of bread pudding—though the bread is definitely drier with this recipe than is typical of a bread pudding.

The dish can be eaten either hot or cold.  I prefer it hot, but Bill ate cold left-over Apple Betty and in no time it was gone. This historic recipe is a keeper.

Missed the Visitors

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

Wednesday, October 18, 1911: Grandma and Aunt Alice were here today, but I didn’t get to see them because they had gone when I got home from school. We had a review in Latin today. An easy examination it was.

John and Sarah Derr Family. Taken about 1900. L to R. Front Row: John, Annie (Derr) Van Sant, Sarah. Back Row: Miles, Fuller, Alice (Derr) Krumm, Elmer, Phoebe (Derr) Muffly, Judson, Homer.

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

Grandma’s Aunt Alice was her mother’s (Phoebe Derr Muffly) sister. She was married to John Krumm and lived in Turbotville.

Alice is referred to as Mary Alice in official records, so she apparently went by her middle name. Based on information in the 1910 census on the Family Search website, she would have been 54-years-old in 1911 and was 5 years older than Phoebe.

Alice’s and Phoebe’s mother –and Grandma’s grandmother– was Sarah Derr. Sarah also lived in Turbotville, and was 70-years-old in 1911.

Turbotville is located about 4 miles northeast of the Muffly farm. The women may have come by horse and buggy—or may have taken the train.  The Susquehanna, Bloomsburg, and Berwick Railroad provided passenger service to Turbotville—and there was a flag stop at a feed mill near the Muffly’s.

Old Fried Winter Squash Recipe

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

Tuesday, October 17, 1911: Not so very much to write about. It is raining tonight.

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

On days when Grandma wrote little, I often wish that she’d somehow known that someone would be reading the diary a hundred years later who wanted to know more about the mundane, routine aspects of her life—like what did her family eat for supper on a rainy evening in October?

Since she didn’t tell us what they ate, I’ll take a guess–

When I was growing up we often ate fried winter squash during the fall and winter. My sense is that this is a very traditional Pennsylvania food that Grandma would have eaten when she was young:

Fried Winter Squash

3/4  pound winter squash (butternut, hubbard, etc.), peeled and thinly sliced (approximate)

Lard or other shortening

salt and pepper

Melt shortening in skillet. It should be about 1/4 inch deep. Put 1 layer of squash in pan. Cook for about 5 minutes; turn squash with a fork. Cook  another 5 – 8 minutes; or until squash is tender. Remove squash from pan and drain on paper towels. Put on serving plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Yield: 2 servings

My husband and I really enjoy this recipe. It is very simple—and it really brings out the wonderful taste of the squash. The amounts are very flexible for this recipe. I usually slice enough squash to cover the bottom of the skillet.

In Grandma’s day they would have fried the squash in lard, but shortening works just fine.

I use butternut squash when I make this recipe—but butternut squash (somewhat surprisingly to me, since it’s so ubiquitous today) was not widely available until the 1940s. A hundred years ago, they probably used hubbard squash, Long Island cheese squash (this is a white squash that looks sort of like a pumpkin), or other traditional variety.