The Old Turbot Horse Protective Society

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

Thursday, February 21, 1911: The same old routine, I hope it will soon be broken. I was busily making errands today, they didn’t concern me so very much. I got a ride home from school with Oakes, and it was a little bit windy. The wind blew my cap off of my head, and I had to get out, and go back after it. Too bad, wasn’t it?

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

Ah, the ennui of the dog days of winter. I know the feeling—the holidays were long past and an almost forgotten memory, the cold seemed like it would never end, and spring seemed impossibly far away (though the wind suggests there is a bit of a spring feel and that blustery March was on the horizon). And, probably NOTHING was happening in McEwensville. A few years before Grandma’s time, McEwensville was a wild and crazy place. . .

The large white building has had many names over the years. In the era of the Horse Protective Society it was called the Washington Tavern.

The Old Turbot Horse Protective Society was the center of the social scene in McEwensville in the late 1800s–though it probably no longer existed in 1911 when Grandma began her diary. The farmers near McEwensville had had a lot of problems with horse thieves, and organized the society to recover the horses.

Each year at an annual meeting thirty men were selected to be part of the posse for the following year. According to C.V. Clark in an address to the Northumberland County Historical Society, “The yearly meetings were held on the last Saturday of the year and this was a gala day in McEwensville. With a membership which at one time numbered 290, the town was filled.”

The annual meetings of the Horse Protective Society were held at the Washington Tavern, but according to Clark the society’s by-laws indicated that “members should not introduce or bring any spirituous liquors of any kind into the room where the yearly meeting was being held, nor smoke tobacco while on business. Members misbehaving at the yearly meeting were to pay a fine ‘not exceeding ten cents.’ ”

Hmm–the meetings were held at a tavern, it was a gala event on the last Saturday of the year–yet no alcohol was allowed. I wonder what percentage of the members were fined in a typical year? . . . I guess the town has become more sedate over the years.

Winter Fun

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

Monday, February 20, 1911: A glorious snow came today, hurrah for the sleigh rides through the fleecy snow. I had a swift ride home from school this evening.

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

Sleigh rides sound awesome. There was probably a building anticipation of fun as the snow fell throughout the day. Grandma may have considered herself too grown-up, but some of the students probably enjoyed sledding during the lunch break.

In Grandma’s day, the school at McEwensville housed an elementary school on the first floor and a high school on the second. About 20 years after this diary was written my father attended elementary school in the same building. He talks about pulling his sled to and from school on snowy days so that he could use it during recess. (He walked nearly 2 miles each way and it seems like it would have been a hassle to pull a sled—but he assures me that it wasn’t).

A photo from last summer of the old "sledding hill" behind McEwensville High School. Look carefully to see the building through the trees.

Dad says that older students and younger students paired up for fast rides down the hill behind the school. Last summer when Dad and I were taking photos Dad was amazed that the sledding hill is now covered with trees—and and that it didn’t look nearly as long or steep as he had remembered it.

Cut and Wound Care, Circa 1911

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

Sunday, February 19, 1911: I went to Sunday school this morning and staid for church. While washing the dishes at noon (that is one of my daily duties) I cut a gash in my finger. It is so excruciatingly sore. It seems as if I am always getting some burns, cuts, or bruises.

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

In Grandma’s day many homes had a copy of the Compendium of Every Day Wants: General Information and a Thousand and One Facts (1908). For cuts and wounds the Compendium recommended:

CUTS AND WOUNDS.—There are two kinds of cuts or wounds—incised, which means cut into, or lacerated, which means torn.

The first kind are usually not so dangerous and are treated in proportion to their size and depth. These generally heal of themselves. Clots formed on a cut should not be washed away. If there is not much bleeding, wipe away any impurities and bandage. A small piece of adhesive plaster is all that is necessary for household cuts.

Lacerated wounds have ragged edges, and the soft parts about them often will be found bruised and torn. These are most frequently caused by railway accidents, machinery and falling timbers. Treatment.—Cleanse the wound with warm water, wet a cloth over it and bandage lightly.

Stirring at Something

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

Saturday, February 18, 1911: Strange to say, I don’t believe I was a bit sleepy today, but I didn’t get up so very early this morning. It has been so quiet today, but I don’t think I was, for it seems I am stirring at something that I have no business to. If I would only stir at my neglected studies.

Recent photo of the home where Grandma grew up. I wonder if she looked out of one of the windows in the photo when she woke up.

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

No wonder Grandma slept late since she didn’t get home from the party until 2 a.m. (see yesterday). Why is her head still spinning with ideas, and she is “stirring at something that I have no business to?” Did a guy show an interest in her? . . . Is he the boyfriend of someone else? . . .

Home by 2 a.m.

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

Friday, February 17, 1911: I went to a party this evening in McEwensville up at Watson’s I had a very pleasant time. It was almost two o’clock when I got home.

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

Grandma must have actually written this diary entry the day after it is dated. Sounds like a fun party— but, whew, 2 a.m. sounds late for a 15-year-old. I wonder how Grandma got home. . .

Did she walk the mile and a half home? . . . alone? . . . with her sister? . . . with someone else? Or maybe someone gave her a ride in a carriage? If so, who?

Did Grandma sneak into the house so her parents hopefully won’t notice how late she was out?

Old-time Headache Remedies

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

Thursday, February 16, 1911: I blackened my shoes this morning. I don’t know what was the matter with the polish, but it did have a most peculiar smell. Some of the girls at school declared, “they smelt medicines.” I have a most awful headache tonight. My head just feels as if it would like to jump into space.

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

Whew, that must have been some shoe polish. It’s hard to imagine how it could have had such a strong odor. Could the noxious fumes have caused Grandma’s headache?

I wonder if Grandma tried any of the headache treatments recommended in the Compendium of Every Day Wants: General Information and a Thousand and One Facts (1908):

There are remedies for headaches by the dozen, but probably none simpler or more effective than the following: After nearly filling a breakfast cup with black coffee, squeeze into it the juice of one lemon and in a very short time after this has been taken relief will be experienced.

Drink some hot herb tea, and at the same time soak the feet in hot water for about twenty-five minutes. Get into bed then and cover up warm, sweating for an hour or more. Relief will soon follow.

Take a cup of tea in the evening with a small slice of bread and try to get to sleep.

Here is a simple remedy which has been tried many times and proved a cure in cases of sick headache. Powder finely two teaspoonfuls of charcoal, drink it in half a tumblerful of water. I have learned of this great remedy, though simple, from many persons who have used it in cases of sick headache.

Take ¾ of a quart of water, 1 tablespoon of salt and one ounce each of heartshorn and spirits of camphor. Mix well, wet a rag in it and apply to the forehead.

Crumble a piece of dry bread into a cup, put in a little butter, pepper and salt to suit the taste, pour boiling water over it and drink it.

Anonymous Comic Valentines

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

Wednesday, February 15, 1911: I heard from two of the persons to whom I sent comic valentines. I don’t think they suspected me in the least. We had final examinations in Physical Geography. I think I will make a good mark. I got a ride home from school this evening. It was with such a cute boy. (I didn’t know him though.) He asked me, “would I accept a ride”, and I certainly did. We talked chiefly about the weather and the snow. The name of his horse was Grace for that was what he called her.

Lovesick.Lass — Comic Vinegar Valentine, circa 1911

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

I found several comic valentines—sometimes called vinegar valentines—at flea markets and on Ebay. None included a message–each just contained the recipient’s name and address.

On a different topic related to this post–I was very surprised that someone Grandma didn’t know would be on the road between McEwensville and the Muffly farm–and that she would accept a ride from this stranger. Even in the ‘good old days’ I wouldn’t have thought that this would have been considered a safe thing to do in rural Pennsylvania–but apparently there was so little crime that it wasn’t a concern.