Sleighing Party Fell Through

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

Friday, February 27, 1914: Was badly disappointed today. All week had been enjoying the anticipation of going to a sleighing party this evening, but the reality will never be realized as the thing fell through.

Weather Station Data Sheet, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, February, 1914

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

Grandma, I’m so sorry. You were so excited when you got a “bid to a party” last week-end.

Did you cry? I can remember how I cried for hours when a date fell through when I was a teen. It hurts!

—

What happened? My first thought was that the weather was too warm, and that the snow had melted.

But, I’m not sure—the 27th was a relatively warm day, but there still was snow on the ground.

I found the weather station data for February, 1914 for Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Williamsport is about 20 miles from McEwensville.

On February 27, the high temperature was 46 degrees—but there was still 12 inches of snow on the ground. Williamsport is a little further north than McEwensville, and in a more mountainous area, so the snow cover may have been a little less at McEwensville—but it still seems like there would have been enough for a sleigh ride

Maybe something else happened. . . but what?

—

If you would like to find old weather station data for other cities and dates, see the following previous post:

How to Find the Temperature for Any City on Any Date in the U.S.

1914 Wilson Dress-hooks Picture Title Contest

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

Wednesday, February 25, 1914: Something like yesterday.

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

It was a slow week. This was the third day in a row that Grandma didn’t write much.

Maybe Grandma had time to enter a contest that was in Ladies Home Journal.

The Wilson Dress-hooks contest gave a $100 cash prize for the best title of 8 words or less for this picture.

The contest rules say:

Why tolerate such embarrassment as shown in the above picture? For the last five years increasing numbers of women have been exclaiming, “At last I have found a fastening that simply can not be sprung open nor come unfastened!”

Rules

1. Write your title (8 words or less) –the shorter the better. Below it your name and address–nothing more. Only one title accepted per person.

2. Count Wilson Dress-hooks as two words only. You may use or omit them in your title.

3. Contest closes June 1, 1914.

4. Questions cannot be answered.

Hundred-Year-Old Bird Drawings

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

Monday, February 23, 1914: Nothing hardly worthwhile.

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

Grandma-

For crying out loud, how can nothing be happening when you got invited to a party yesterday? The party’s on Friday—aren’t you thinking about what you’ll wear? . . . what you say? . . .

At least you could have told us about everyday events. . . even if it’s boring stuff because I’d find it interesting.

For example, what birds did you see and hear today? I heard a woodpecker pecking (hopefully not on my house) today. Are there woodpeckers on your farm?

And, this time of year the trees in my yard are often filled with noisy crows. Are there crows cawing in your yard?

—-

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I share some pictures from a book of birds published in 1914.

Crow: These birds, against which the hand of every farmer is uplifted, are very shy and cunning, as is well-known, they nearly always post a sentinel in some tree top to keep watch while the rest of the flock is feeding in the field below. In the fall and winter, large numbers of them flock, and at night all roost in one piece of woods.

Screech Owl: This well-known species, which is often called “Little Horned Owl” because of its ear tuffs. They nest anywhere in hollow trees, being found very frequently in decayed stubs of apple trees. They also often nest in barns or other old buildings which are not frequented too freely. Their food consists chiefly of mice and meadow moles, and occasionally small birds.

Chickadee: The Chickadee is too well known to need any description; suffice it to say that they are the favorites with everyone among all the North American birds.

The Bird Book (1914) by Chester A. Reed

Awesome Desserts for a Washington’s Birthday Party

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

Friday, February 20, 1914: Nothing much doing.

Source: Ladies Home Journal (February, 1914)

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

Have you ever heard of anyone holding a party to celebrate Washington’s Birthday. It must have been a much more popular holiday a hundred years ago than what it is now.

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’m going to share some fun food suggestions for a Washington’s Birthday party that appeared in the February, 1914 issue of Ladies Home Journal.

In the 1960s, Washington’s Birthday morphed into President’s Day which is celebrated on the 3rd Monday in February. But, in 1914, Washington’s Birthday was celebrated on his actual birthdate, February 22—and apparently it was a bigger deal than what it is now.

“Move to Montana” Advertisement

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

Tuesday, February 10, 1914: Nothing doing.

Kimball's Dairy Farmer Magazine (February 1, 1914) — Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (February 1, 1914)

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

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’ll share a fun ad that encouraged families to homestead to Montana.

Whew, it’s hard to believe that there still was “unbroken” land a hundred years ago that could be had for very little money. At least the people were able to get there in relative comfort via train, and didn’t need the covered wagons that were used in prior years.

1914 Books That Have Stood the Test of Time

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

Monday, February 9, 1914: Finished reading two books today. Retired later than my usual hour.

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

Which books was Grandma reading?

Goodreads lists two hundred books published in 1913 that are still in widely read. They probably were not the most popular books at the time, but rather they are the books that have endured –and whose message apparently continues to resonate a hundred years later.

Ten books on the list that I recognized the title or author are listed below:

1. The Dubliners by James Joyce

2. Dracula’s Guest and Other Weird Stories by Bram Stoker

3. The Beasts of Tarzan (Tarzan #3) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (magazine serial)

4. Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt

5. The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton W. Burgess

6. Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook by Marie Montessori

7. Tom Swift and his Photo Telephone or the Picture that Saved a Fortune (Tom Swift #17) by Victor Appleton

8. Selected Prose of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde

9. The Mystery of the Kingdom of God by Albert Schweitzer

10. The Social History of Smoking by George Latimer Apperson

You may also enjoy similar posts that I did for books published in 1911 – 1913: