Mother’s 49th Birthday–She’s Getting Old

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

Tuesday, August 22, 1911: Mother was kind of mad this morning. It was her birthday, and I guess she realizes she is getting old and doesn’t like the idea. I’m busy watching cows these sunny August days. Wouldn’t you like to help me. I surely would appreciate it.

phoebe.muffly — Mother: Phoebe Muffly (Circa 1900--So she would have been about 11 years older than she is in the photo when this diary entry was written.)

Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years

Grandma’s mother, Phoebe Derr Muffly, was born on August 22, 1862 so it would have been her 49th birthday. It sounds like she was having a bit of a middle-age crisis. Her youngest child, Jimmie, was going to enter first grade in a few weeks–so I suppose that she felt like she was moving into the next stage in her life.

For almost a quarter of a century child-rearing had been the center of Phoebe’s life. Her oldest living child Besse was born in 1888. (There may have been an older one who died at an early age—see previous post.) Phoebe probably felt good to finally have her youngest child almost ready to start school—but it probably also was a bit scary and made her feel old.

In 1911 most women did not have jobs outside of the home and it often was even more traumatic for woman as they reached menopause than it is now.

A hundred years ago books and magazines encouraged women to develop new interests and become involved in new activities as their children grew up.

With a variety of valuable and permanent interests, the mind is well safeguarded against attacks of worry. A woman should increase her recreations, leave home for short intervals, travel . . .

Personal Hygiene and Physical Training for Women (1911) by Anna Galbraith

Calf’s Weak in his Legs

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

Monday, August 21, 1911: Had to go up to McEwensville early this morning on an errand for Dadda. I have decided to name Mollie’s calf Wobbly as he is rather weak in his legs, but he’ll get stronger bye and bye.

Calf_wikemedia — A calf that is "strong in the legs" (Source: Wikemedia Commons)

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

The calf was born Saturday morning. I’m surprised that it was still wobbly. Most calves stand up within an hour or two of birth—and would be sure-footed by the time they are two days old.

Was Going to be Mad. . . But Then Decided Not To

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

Sunday, August 20, 1911: Went to Sunday School this morning. Went over to see Miss Carolyn this afternoon, but she happened to be not at home. I was going to be mad at her for something she didn’t do, but then decided not to. That’s the best way I guess. It wasn’t very much anyway.

Diary.8.20.11 — Click on the photo to see a larger view of the diary entry.

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

This is the second time that Carolyn has been mentioned in the diary. She was previously mentioned six days earlier on August 14. I’ve not been able to figure out what her last name was.

We’ll never know what Carolyn didn’t do—and why it angered Grandma. But, I like the way Grandma worked her way through her anger at Carolyn as she wrote the entry.

. . . was going to be angry….but then decided not to…..that‘s they best way, I guess . . . .wasn’t very much, anyway.

I’m not a handwriting expert—but sometimes I can almost sense the emotion from the way certain words are written. It looks like Grandma pressed down very hard when she wrote the word “then”.

Grandma talks about being upset, but the bolded “then” (I think it was written with determination) suggests that Grandma was trying to mentally convince herself that she really wasn’t upset.

Old Beet Pulp Advertisement

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

Saturday, August 19, 1911: Such a pleasant surprise awaited me when I came down to breakfast this morning. Mollie, my cute little heifer had a calf this morning. Wasn’t that grand? But the unromantic part about it is that I have to break her. I tried it this afternoon and found that she kicked some but not nasty. Saw my name in today’s paper about that picnic.

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

Grandma must have owned one of the dairy cows on the Muffly farm. Mollie apparently had just had her first calf. Young cows that haven’t yet had their first calf are referred as heifers.

It can be a challenge to get young cows used to the milking process—and it sounds like Mollie was being really stubborn. At least she didn’t kick Grandma too hard.

I wonder if Mollie would be eating differently now that she’s a mother. When I was growing up on a farm many years after Grandma’s time, we often fed the milking cows a richer diet than the young stock.

DSC04174.crop — Advertisement in July, 1911 issue of Farm Journal

In the July 1911, issue of Farm Journal I found an advertisement for beet pulp. I would have guessed that a hundred years ago that dairy cows would have gotten most of their food during the summer by grazing on pastures—and that in the winter they would have eaten hay, silage, and grain raised on the farm.

I was surprised that at least some farmers were already supplementing their cows’ diets.

Name in Paper

In 1911 when people wanted to tell their friends about recent events they submitted them to the local newspaper. Apparently Grandma submitted an item about the August 16th picnic that she’d organized to the newspaper.

Next time I get into the Milton Library I’ll have to search the old microfilms of the Milton Evening Standard to see if I can find her name in the paper.

For more information about how newspapers reported even minor social events a hundred years ago, see a posting that I did last winter called Tweet ‘Tweeting’ in 1911.

Catching Minnows

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

Friday, August 18, 1911:The Frontz kids were here today. Had some quabbles down in the run about the minnies, which they were trying to catch. There was a boisterous wind storm this afternoon. Ruth went to a party tonight. I was invited, but didn’t care very much about going.

Minnow.wikepedia — Minnow (Photo source: Wikepedia--US Government Photo)

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

I’m not sure who the Frontz kids were—but the diary entry suggests that they were younger than Grandma. They probably came out to the Muffly farm from McEwensville to catch minnows in the creek. The minnows would then have be used as bait to catch larger fish (perhaps in the West Branch of the Susquehanna River at Watsontown.)

Grandma used lots of regional dialect in this entry. Minnows were referred to as minnies, the creek was called a run, and quabbles are similar to squabbles.

Had to Work

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

Thursday, August 17, 1911: Was so sorry I had to work today, when yesterday I didn’t have to do hardly anything. I guess it is a good thing not to have everything you want sometimes. I’m afraid I’d take all the play and not enough work.

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

The previous day lots of friends attended a picnic that Grandma held at her home. She’d spent more than a week planning it—and it was a huge success.

I suppose that she needed to clean up after the picnic—and that her parents had lots of chores for her to do now that the big event was over. Based on the diary entry, it appears that her parents have inculcated the value of work into their daughter.

Picnic Was a Success!

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

Wednesday, August 16, 1911: That picnic was a success after all, even if I did have doubts as to its number. They were all there, that were invited except Carrie, but I don’t care a snap. We had lots of fun, went in wading, and did so many things. Some of the girls put on trousers, and then they pretended they were our beaus, only we didn’t happen to bring any along with us, so we accepted the girls in their place. Had almost as much fun.

DSC04440.crop — Maybe the picnic had a watermelon theme--"A watermelon party in midsummer provides a good chance for pretty table decorations. " Ladies Home Journal (July 1911).

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

Yeah, the picnic was a success!

In a weird way, I’m relieved that it turned out well. I know that it makes no sense for me to care about how an event that occurred a hundred years ago went—but Grandma spent so much time planning it (it was first mentioned in the diary ten days ago) and was so worried that people won’t come.

It sounds like fun. Friends wading in the creek on the Muffly farm and doing many other fun things.

I wonder how fancy—or laid-back the picnic was. One moment I can picture 16-year-old Grandma making party favors and decorating tables for the picnic—then the next moment I think, no way and that it was a very informal pot luck picnic.

The previous day, Grandma went to town to buy nick-knacks for the picnic which suggests that she may have had a theme or at least did a little decorating.