Tag: diary

Churning Butter a Hundred Years Ago

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

Tuesday, December 26, 1911: Am beginning to get rather tired of this seemingly long vacation. When you don’t have anything interesting to do and you don’t go many places it is not very hard to get lonesome. Jimmie and I are turning into regular fight cats, so Ma thinks. I churned this morning, and then set things in order, but don’t suppose they’ll stay that way very long.

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

Grandma sounds bored—and it seems like she and her six-year-old brother Jimmie were getting into fights to make things a little livelier.

When I was a child if I said that I was bored, my parents used to say that I must not be working hard enough and give me a chore. I wonder if Grandma’s mother had the same philosophy. Maybe her mother decided that churning butter would relieve the boredom.

This is the first time that Grandma’s mentioned churning in the diary. I assume that the family just made a little butter for their own use—though many farmers a hundred years ago sold butter.

There are drawings of “modern” butter-making equipment in a book published in 1908 called The Dairy Farm by H.B. Gurler.

The practice of printing butter has grown remarkably during the past fifteen years and now (1908) most of the butter that is retailed is put up in one pound prints which are wrapped in parchment paper, which carries the name of the farm or maker.

Was a Rather Merry Christmas After All

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

Monday, December 25, 1911: Merry Xmas, Merry Xmas, but nobody wished me a Merry Xmas. I mean in person of course. I was wished a Merry Xmas on different post-cards throughout the week. I felt rather blue this morning. Could hardly realize it was Christmas, but felt better when I saw my presents. Ruth got me the one I wanted her to get: a bow tie. Besse gave me goods for a waist and a piece of neck wear. Mrs. Kerr, my Sunday School teacher, gave me a miniature suitcase filled with candy last evening. And lastly a dollar bill from my mother. Christmas is almost over now, but I am looking forward to New Year’s. Then I can have the commencing my second chapter. Oh what a fib I almost wrote. I was wished a Merry Xmas right this morning and I almost forget about it. I was rather merry after all even if we did not have company.

Christmas postcard, circa 1911

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

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve

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

Sunday, December 24, 1911:Succeeded in getting my verses learnt for today at least. Went to Sunday School this morning. After buying Xmas presents, I find it my horrendous duty to distribute them, so down to Besse’s I went to present her with my charming Xmas present.  This evening Ruthie and I went up to McEwensville to attend the Xmas services at the Lutheran Church. B. was there. Today was different from all other days in this year, I believe. I didn’t have anything to do with the dishes all day.

Messiah Lutheran Church, McEwensville

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

I can just picture a teen writing this entry–with its total focus on the things that are important to a 16-year-old.  Who was B.? . .

But I’m going to focus on the Christmas Eve service–

When I was a child I regularly went to candlelight services at Messiah Lutheran Church  — the same church Grandma attended on Christmas Eve a hundred years ago.  I wonder if the services changed much over the years.

In the middle part of the last century, I remember singing wonderful old-time carols —We Three Kings, Joy to the World, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, O Little Town of Bethlehem, O Come All Ye Faithful, Hark the Herald Angels,  . .. . ..

We’d end with Silent Night after all of the lights had been extinguished except for the candles we were lighting.

(Of course, there was no electricity in 1911—so the church would have been lit with lanterns and candles for the entire service.)

I don’t know why, but I have strong memories of one year when an elderly woman didn’t extinguish her candle at the end of the service, and took the flickering light out into the cold night.

I remember asking my mother why the woman didn’t follow the directions—and my mother said that the old lady was remembering Christmas’s from long ago and that we should let her be.  I looked at the woman and could see how happy she looked as her face was illuminated by the flickering light.

Traditions, like Christmas Eve services, can so wonderfully pull the young and the old together.

Trying to Memorize 27 Bible Verses

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

Saturday, December 23, 1911:Went after my Xmas tree this afternoon. Ruth made some candy for Christmas. Made a general nuisance of myself all day. Jimmie and I have our scraps occasionally. Just now am trying to commit twenty-seven verses to memory. Have about half of them, and the rest yet to learn.

Was Grandma memorizing the Christmas story?

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

Whew, 27 verses is a lot! Grandma was trying to memorize 700+ Bible verses so that her Sunday School would give her a Bible. She’d been working on it since sometime prior to September. (I think that I’d give up before I even started, but Grandma apparently was still trying to reach her goal.)

Busy Week Coming to an End

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

Thursday, December 21, 1911: Had to go to Watsontown again this week. This time to get that hat pin for Besse. This week seems to be flying around rather fast. Tomorrow Rufus arrives. Then my long siege of milking will be ended.

Recent photo of downtown Watsontown

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

Yeah, Grandma’s sister Ruth–referred to as Rufus in this entry– was coming home and Grandma won’t need to do all of the milking by herself! Grandma mentioned getting up at 5 a.m. to do the milking on the 18th.  Ruth was attending a teacher professional development institute.

Grandma also mentioned on the 18th that she’d bought a gold hat pin for her married sister Besse. She must have needed to go back to town to actually pick up the pin.

Watsontown is located along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River about two miles from the Muffly farm. It  had more of a shopping district a hundred years ago than it does today.

Christmas Isn’t Going To Be “As It Ought To Be”

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

Tuesday, December 19, 1911: Fixed up some for Christmas although I guess no one is coming. I like to have things seem like it ought to. Jimmie is so anxious to know what I got your  highness.

Recent photo of the house Grandma lived in. The photo was taken at dusk on a December day.

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

I can almost feel Grandma’s pain when she wrote this entry. I wonder why no one was coming—but it makes it feel proud that Grandma did some decorating so that things “looked like they ought to.”

Throughout most of December the diary entries indicated that Grandma was looking forward to Christmas.

What could have possibly been wrong? The diary provides no clues.

Was someone ill? . . . .Had there been a disagreement with someone in the extended family?

People Mentioned in This Post

Jimmie was Grandma’s 6-year-old brother. I think that “your highness” refers to their older sister Ruth. In the diary when Grandma was annoyed with Ruth she used other terms and nicknames (such as Rufus) for her sister.

Rayo Lanterns Advertisement

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

Monday, December 18, 1911: Got up about five o’clock this morning. I milked this morning in entire darkness, but I guess I’ll wait until it gets lighter after this. Ruth left about half past six this morning intending to take the early train. Don’t know what I’ll do without her. Am beginning to miss her already. I consoled myself by going to Watsontown and buying Xmas presents. I got Mater a half doz. tumblers. Ruth a pair of gold collar pins. Besse a gold hat pin and Jimmie a horn to make some noise with. After going over my list of things I bought I found that one of the clerks had cheated herself out of fifteen cents.

Advertisement Source: Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (September 15, 1911)

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

Whew, Grandma had a long day. It doesn’t sound like fun to get up at 5 a.m. to milk cows on one of the shortest days of the year.

And, it’s kind of cool that Grandma missed her sister Ruth so quickly after she left–or at least wished that her sister was there to help with the work. In so many diary entries, Grandma seemed annoyed or frustrated with her sister; and refers to her as Rufus, her highness, etc. It’s been fun to try to decipher the complex relationship between the sisters.

At least Grandma had a  fun shopping. I love the line about the clerk cheating herself out of 15 cents. Grandma would have noticed that type of mistake even when she was elderly. She strongly believed that if you watched your pennies that the dollars would take care of themselves. (Actually she probably also worried about the dollars.)

Even when Grandma was very old, if she saw a penny lying on a sidewalk, she would bend down to pick up.

I also always pick up stray pennies whenever I see any—and remember that I learned the importance of every single penny from Grandma. I tell my children that I’m still young because I can still bend and pick pennies up. My children retort that I must be old if I think that a penny still has enough value to make it worthwhile picking up.