Tag: 100 years ago

A More Agreeable Day

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

Friday, October 18, 1912:  These days are beginning to be so much agreeable.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

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

What makes a day an agreeable day? . . . warm, sunny weather?. . . a good day at school or work? . . . a visit with a friend? . . .good health?

Grandma must be feeling better. The previous day, she’d complained about a cold that she’d had for almost a week. It’s amazing how our health can affect our mood.

 

What is Ague?

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

Thursday, October 17, 1912:  Wish my cold would bid me farewell, but instead it seems to like me pretty well and is in not hurry about leaving.

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

Grandma first mentioned having a cold six days prior to this diary entry.

I came across the Ayer’s Ague Cure advertisement, and wondered if ague was the same thing as a cold. According to the dictionary, ague refers to fever, chills, and sweating—so Grandma probably won’t have used this patent medicine to treat her cold.

A Boring Sunday Afternoon

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

Sunday, October 13, 1912: Went to Sunday School this morning. Had to amuse myself this afternoon because no one came to see me and most of the family had gone away.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

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

What might Grandma have done to amuse herself on a boring Sunday afternoon?

Read a book?

Bake cookies?

Go for a walk?

Do a little sewing?

Do a little embroidery?

Do her homework?  . .. . nah

Does Poor Air Quality Cause Colds?

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

Friday, October 11, 1912:  I’ve fully awakened to the startling fact that I’m getting another cold. It’s on its way. Had an exam in Caesar.

Maybe cough cream would help cure Grandma’s cold. Was this about the same thing as Vicks Vapor-rub? (Do they still make that?) Ad in November 1912 issues of Good Housekeeping magazine.

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

This is the second cold that Grandma had during Fall, 1912.  On September 1, 1912 she wrote:

I have one cracker jack of a cold. . . . .

I wonder if lower air quality due to the use of a wood or coal stove for heating might have contributed to the current cold. This is what the October, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal had to say:

When “Colds” Begin

No sooner do we light our winter fires than we begin to have “colds” and we blame it on the colder weather. Doctors know, however, that it is not the lower temperature that brings on “colds.”

If cold weather produces “colds,” why is it that they do not have such diseases in the Arctic regions, where today they are absolutely unknown? Why is it that Peary and his men never had a single “cold” until they came back to American shores—and our dry-heated homes?

God never created the oxygen in the air to make us sick, but to keep us well. If the fresh air can do so much to heal the lungs attacked by tuberculosis or pneumonia how much more can it do for the healthy lung? If fresh air can heal a diseased lung can it not likewise keep well a healthy lung? It is the dust and the dry heat inside our homes that produce our “cold”: never the fresh air.  . .

Achievement Tests a Hundred Years Ago

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

Thursday, October 10, 1912:  The whole school was examined today in order to find out our deficiencies. I know what mine is.

Recent photo of building that once housed the McEwensville School.

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

We hear so much today about state tests being used for accountability purposes. I’ve always thought that the use of tests to see how students were doing was a relatively new phenomenon—but apparently the use of standardized large-scale assessments has been around for at least a hundred years. What as the test that Grandma took like? . . . and what were her “deficiencies”?

This is the second time in the diary that Grandma has suggested that schools were somehow evaluated for quality. The previous year, on September 29, 1911, she wrote:

Teacher has rearranged our classes, and now we’ll have the program every now and then to see where our class comes.

Head in a Muddle

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

Wednesday 9, 1912:My head is all in a muddle, and I hardly know how to think.

A recent dreary day in McEwensville

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

I’m going to remember the word “muddle.” No more senior moments for me—from now on my head is going to  just be in a muddle whenever I make a silly mistake.

Why was Grandma’s head in a muddle? Was something wrong? Was she worried about something?

Whatever was bothering her has been lost over time. Too bad she didn’t record it in the diary.

1912 Advertisement for Dr. Denton Footed Pajamas

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

Monday, October 7, 1912:  Am in a dilemma as to what to write.

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

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share an old advertisement for Dr. Denton Footed Pajamas that I found in the September, 1912 issue of Ladies Home Journal:

Hundred Year Old Dr. Denton AdProtect Your Little Ones at Night with the Improved Dr. Denton Sleeping Garments

and secure unbroken sleep for yourself.

The Dr. Denton Garments cover body, feet and hands. Feet are part of the Garment. Hands are covered by cuffs that turn down and close with draw-string. Made from our Elastic, Knit, Mixed Cotton and Wool Fabric, specially devised to give most healthful sleep. The knit fabric carries off perspiration, maintaining even warmth if bed covers are thrown off. Prevent cold which often leads to pneumonia and other dangerous ailments. Made in eleven Sizes for children up to ten years old. Prices, 50¢ to $1.10, according to size and style.

Soft and Durable.     Do Not Shrink.

Write for booklet giving Dr. Mary Wood Allen’s practical ideas on “Healthful Sleep for Children.” Be sure you get genuine Dr. Denton Garments. Our trade mark, shown above, is attached to each garment. If you cannot get them of your dealer, write us and we will see that you are supplied.

Dr. Denton Sleeping Garment Mills

500 Dean Street, Centreville, Michigan

Did Grandma’s 7-year-old brother Jimmie wore Dr. Denton Sleeping Garments?