17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, November 16, 1912: Didn’t have much at all to do this afternoon. I think you feel so funny when you have nothing at all to do.
Recent view of the field across the road from the house that Grandma lived in.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Many days when I read what Grandma wrote, I am surprised how similar teens a hundred years ago are to teens today.
But occasionally, like today, I’m amazed how astute Grandma was—even though she was only 17. I don’t think that I learned until I was well into my 40s that it feels funny when I have nothing to do—and that I’m happier when I’m busy doing things that are meaningful to me.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, November 15, 1912: Today we had the first meeting of our Literary Society. Everything went off pretty well. But all the same I’ve been having a terrible head-ache today. It is a little better at present.
And now what do you think? Why when I come home, and had gone to the barn to gather eggs, I saw Mollie out there with a little calf, hers it was. Was rather surprised you see, I had waited so long for my ship to come in that I didn’t mind waiting.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Lots happened in Grandma’s life a hundred years ago today. . . and this is one of her longer diary entries.
Grandma’s school started the Literary Society and Grandma has been very involved in planning for this meeting. She’s been really excited about this club—and seemed to enjoy getting ready for the meeting, but she’s also seemed stressed. I’m glad that it went well.
Mollie was Grandma’s cow. The previous year, she also was excited when Mollie had a calf—and eventually got some cash when the male calf was sold.
I think that Grandma’s parents gave (or sold) each of their children one calf. When the calf grew up and had its own calves—the child’s personal herd grew if it was a female, and the child got some money when the calf was sold if it was male.
For more on how farm children owned their own cows, see my post from last year when Mollie’s calf was sold:
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Wednesday, November 14, 1912: We are having such an awful time at school a getting the kids to practice their dialogue. I didn’t think it would be so hard.
Building that once housed the McEwensville School.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
I’m always excited when a diary entry has lots of information; but then sometimes , like today, I end up being frustrated because I can’t put the pieces together.
Hmm—Obviously Grandma is having difficulty getting some group of students or children to memorize their parts for some sort of presentation.
Many recent diary entries have discussed the new Literary Society that was started at Grandma’s school in late October. She was very excited to be a committee member—and several recent entries have discussed how busy she’d been reading books and preparing for the Literary Society meeting. I’m not really sure what the Literary Society did—and, in past entries, I’ve leaned towards it being a book club. But, maybe the members really were supposed orally present parts of famous works .
. . . or maybe I’m headed in totally the wrong direction. . .
Maybe Grandma was helping downstairs in the primary school (the high school was on the second floor of the school building and the primary school was on the first) and working with the younger children to prepare for some sort of show or presentation.
or. . .
In any case—I can empathize with Grandma. It’s frustrating when people won’t do what you want them to do.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Tuesday, November 12, 1912: It seems to me that I’m not studying very hard these days.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Was the schoolwork easy or did Grandma have senioritis?
Recent photo of the building that once housed the McEwenville School. The high school was on the second floor.
Recent photo of the room that once was the high school classroom. The old slate chalkboard still sits along the wall. I can picture Grandma sitting in this room struggling to concentrate on her lessons. Click here for more about the school building today.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Sunday, November 10, 1912: Went out to Sunday School this morning. This afternoon I went over to see Margaret. Such a time as I had getting there a crawling under fences and so on.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Whew, it sounds like a lot of work to crawl under fences and so on (whatever that means) to visit a friend.
I don’t know who Margaret was; I don’t think that she’s ever previously been mentioned in the diary.
Until this diary entry, I’d always assumed that Grandma walked along roads to when visiting friends.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, November 9, 1912: Was real busy today. Got a new pair of shoes, but I wasn’t away to get them. As I said before that I was busy today.
Source of pictures: Ladies Home Journal (1912)
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Hmm . . . How did Grandma get shoes without going anywhere? Did her mother or sister buy them for her?
I’ve posted lots of pictures of 1912 fashions from Ladies Home Journal—and many of the pictures showed shoes peeking out beneath the dresses. Today, I cropped a few of the pictures to just show the shoes.
You can get a sense of what stylish shoes looked like a hundred years ago—though many of the shoes were drawn in a soft, slightly blurry way since they weren’t the focus of pictures.
17-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Friday, November 8, 1912: Postponed my lessons until tomorrow since today is Friday.
Recent picture of McEwensville. Was it a hot time in the old town a hundred years ago tonight?
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Sounds like a plan! If I had been Grandma I probably would have postponed my lessons until Sunday evening.
Did Grandma do any fun things on this Friday evening? She hasn’t mentioned any exciting social activities in recent diary entries, but in the past she’s mentioned going to out to dinner and to parties:
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.
I was invited to dine out this evening and accepted the invitation. It was up at Gauger’s. My beauteous or rather vain sister was up also. It was, as I supposed in honor of the senior class. I had quite a pleasant evening. I played Flinch part of the time. My partner and I winning two games.
Whew, those entries are all from 1911. Grandma attended some parties in 1912—but they aren’t the diary entries that are memorable. It almost seems like her social life was in the doldrums. . . but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that she had a fun Friday evening and just didn’t write about it.
