Pa picked up a little boy who is going to work for him. I have to room with Ruth now.
I guess that the Muffly family again had to do all of the farm work. But my heart aches for the little boy. Why did he run away? . . . Was he homesick? . . . . Was he scared? . . .Was the work too hard? . . .
18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, July 9, 1913:Not so very much doing today.
Source: Milton Evening Standard (June 26, 1913)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sounds like Grandma had another boring day on the farm. Did she ever attend baseball games or other sporting events in the nearby towns?
A hundred years ago, the headlines of the local newspapers, The Milton Evening Standard, focused on the rivalry between two local baseball teams.
LARGE CROWD SEES FRONT ST. WALLOP BROADWAY BUNGLERS
Three hundred persons witnessed the game between Front Street and Broadway last night, and all agreed that the exhibition was in many senses, marvelous beyond description.
Spectators gained from five to ten pounds each in laughing, and the players, besides paying about $10 for errors, lost twenty pounds apiece in perspiration and nervous tension. Front Street won the battle, but had the game continued indefinitely Broadway might have nosed out.
Barrett, champion strikeout artist, fooled the critics by plugging the ball no less than three times and he also crossed the plate twice.
F. Follmer’s ineffectual attempts to hit the ball featured the game. At one time he was given five strikes, but never managed to connect with the sphere. The Broadway crowd today assert, of course, that the umpire robbed them of the game, and are now busy inventing excuses to apply to their horrible exhibition. . .
18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Monday, July 7, 1913:Went into Watsontown this afternoon to see if my camera was there, nor was I mistaken. It was in a big box. I carried it home any way. Wonder if anyone one laughed at me. Perhaps I did look funny.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Yeah, Grandma got her camera. She’d ordered it about two week prior to this entry on June 25, 1913.
. . . Nothing less than that I sent off for a camera. I’ve wanted one for a long time, but thought I could hardly afford it. I was reminded that I really wanted it only by finding a camera catalog up in the garret yesterday. And as I had earned almost five dollars during the last two weeks, I carried the project through.
What a typical teen reaction—wondering if anyone thought that she looked funny carrying the large box the mile and a half home from Watsontown.
18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, July 5, 1913:Ruth and I went up to McEwensville this evening. I wanted to go up to church. There was a festival, so I went there for awhile, but didn’t have a very good time.
The satisfying beverage—in field or forest; at home or in town. As pure and wholesome as it is temptingly good .
Delicious—Refreshing
Thirst—Quenching
Demand the Genuine—
Refuse substitutes.
Send for Free Booklet.
2-A
At Soda Fountains or Carbonated in Bottles.
THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, ATLANTA, GA.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
It sounds like fun to go to a festival on a Saturday evening after a hard week of work. Why didn’t Grandma have a very good time?. . . Did her sister Ruth enjoy herself?
What foods did they eat at the festival? Was Coca Cola sold?
18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, July 4, 1913: Wasn’t much celebrating done at this house today. I saw a balloon go up or rather I saw it after it had gone up. Saw a few fireworks this evening, but that was at a distance.
Source: Milton Evening Standard (July 2, 1913)
STATE FIRE CHIEF ISSUES WARNINGS
Says Care Should Be Taken to Safeguard Life and Property on the Fourth
The department of the state fire marshal at Harrisburg has issued the following Fourth of July proclamation:
The Fourth of July, which is and should be a day of patriotic rejoicing has become a day of apprehension and terror to all persons who have any concern for the safety of life and property. It is a day when fire departments in all cities and towns are generally kept on the run. The people have not yet learned the significance of the day in its highest and best sense. They have not yet learned the noise is not patriotism. Other countries show their patriotism in a more quiet manner with considerably less loss of life and property and this country in the earlier days celebrated the Fourth of July by the unfurling of the stars and stripes, a salute of guns, ringing of church bells and patriotic songs and speeches. . .
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sounds like Grandma had a pleasant and safe 4th.
A hundred years ago many leaders thought that electric light displays could be a modern replacement for fireworks. You might enjoy reading this post I did last year:
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Two days ago Grandma wrote that she had to help make hay. They probably were still making hay. I picture Grandma leading horses, or using a pitchfork to sling hay onto the wagon, with the hot sun beating down on her.
An aside: I’m intrigued by the picture that I found to illustrate this post. Is it my imagination or is there a huge bridge in the background of this 1913 photo? There couldn’t have been many bridges like that a hundred years ago in agricultural areas. Does anyone have any idea where the photo may have been taken?
18-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, June 29, 1913: Went to Sunday School this afternoon. Tweet came down this evening.
Source: Milton Evening Standard (June 26, 1913)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Tweet was a nickname of Helen Wesner. She was a friend of Grandma’s .
Did Grandma and Tweet gossip about the latest news in McEwensville a hundred years ago tonight?
An aside–All of the pieces don’t quite fit together in this post, so feel free to take the information with a grain of salt, but here goes—
Grandma’s former teacher at McEwensville got married. . .to a former student!
On August 26, 1912 Grandma described Bruce Bloom, her teacher during her senior year:
. . . He is rather wide, wears a pair of pinchers, and has yellow hair. Not so very cross, but I believe he could be.
The newspaper clipping says that Bruce married Mary C. Rothermel of McEwensville on the previous Monday (June 23, 1913).
I have the 1913 commencement program for McEwensville High School and it indicates that Mary C. Rothermel (as well as Grandma) were members of the class of 1913.
Now to the part about all of the pieces not quite fitting together—the newspaper article indicates that Mary C. Rothermel was a graduate of Bloomsburg State Normal School which suggests that she was a little older and not a recent graduate of the high school. . . But in a tiny village like McEwensville how could there have possibly been two Mary C. Rothermels?
I’m probably way off base—and trying to create something to gossip about a hundred years later when there really is nothing of particular interest—but I almost want to argue that the newspaper made a typo and that the groom rather than the bride was the graduate of Bloomsburg State Normal School.
And, while I’m worrying about the details, there’s another little thing that bothers me–Why did Bruce and Mary get married in Renovo on a Monday at the church parsonage? Mary was from McEwensville; Bruce was from Sunbury which is about 20 miles south of McEwensville. Renovo is a very remote town way up in the mountains about 75 miles northwest of McEwensville. Did they elope?
Whoa! I need to rein myself in. . . Improbable as it seems, there probably were two Mary C. Rothermels in McEwensville . . . and the boring newspaper clipping probably accurately tells the entire story.
