Tag: diary

Milking Cows: 1911 and 2011

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

Thursday, October 20, 1911:Got out of school early this afternoon. I gathered some walnuts after I got home. Mollie gave me a kick in the back while milking another cow this evening. I’ve named Ruth’s twin calves, one Brutus and the other Caesar, but I can’t tell which is which.

1911: Probability of being kicked = high (photo source: Kimball's Dairy Farmer Magazine, December 15, 1911)
2011: Robot milker--Probability of being kicked = almost zero

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

Ouch! It sounds like the kick hurt. Grandma’s cow Mollie had her first calf in August. And, Grandma had been pleased with how well Mollie adjusted to being milked, For example on September 27 she wrote:

“Was in doubts and fears as to how Mollie would act when I commenced to milk her. Pop milked her last night, but I had to do it after that, so I got up early this morning, resolving to come off conquering and I did. Hurrah. She didn’t kick.”

But apparently something upset Mollie while Grandma was milking the next cow—and she gave Grandma a kick.

There have been huge changes in how cows are milked over the last hundred years. In 1911 most farmers had just a few cows that were milked by hand. Today most cows are milked by machines in milking parlors (and some are even milked by robots.)

Missed the Visitors

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

Wednesday, October 18, 1911: Grandma and Aunt Alice were here today, but I didn’t get to see them because they had gone when I got home from school. We had a review in Latin today. An easy examination it was.

John and Sarah Derr Family. Taken about 1900. L to R. Front Row: John, Annie (Derr) Van Sant, Sarah. Back Row: Miles, Fuller, Alice (Derr) Krumm, Elmer, Phoebe (Derr) Muffly, Judson, Homer.

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

Grandma’s Aunt Alice was her mother’s (Phoebe Derr Muffly) sister. She was married to John Krumm and lived in Turbotville.

Alice is referred to as Mary Alice in official records, so she apparently went by her middle name. Based on information in the 1910 census on the Family Search website, she would have been 54-years-old in 1911 and was 5 years older than Phoebe.

Alice’s and Phoebe’s mother –and Grandma’s grandmother– was Sarah Derr. Sarah also lived in Turbotville, and was 70-years-old in 1911.

Turbotville is located about 4 miles northeast of the Muffly farm. The women may have come by horse and buggy—or may have taken the train.  The Susquehanna, Bloomsburg, and Berwick Railroad provided passenger service to Turbotville—and there was a flag stop at a feed mill near the Muffly’s.

How Many Verses Did She Memorize This Week?

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

Sunday, October 15, 1911: Went to Sunday School this morning. My verses that I am learning for that Bible has decreased some, but I’m still at it.

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

Grandma was trying to memorize Bible verses to get a free Bible. On September 17 she wrote:

. . .One reason for my regular attendance is that if you learn a number of verses from the Bible (over 700 it is) you will in the course of time receive a Bible.. .

And on September 24 she wrote:

 . . . Only learned seven verses for today. Usually have twenty-seven . . .

I wonder how many she memorized this week. I can’t even imagine trying to memorize 27 verses a week. No wonder the number of verses  has decreased over time.

U.S. Crop Yields and Production, 1911 and 2011

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

Saturday, October 15, 1911: Was so busy all day. Had to help Daddy pick corn and husked pop corn between loads. Both of these jobs aren’t finished yet either.

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

Whew, it sounds like a lot of work. There weren’t combines (or even mechanical corn pickers) a hundred years ago. Horses would have been used and much of the labor would have been by hand.

This entry made me curious about how crop production and yields have changed over the last 100 years.

Crop Production

Corn production has mushroomed. In 1911, approximately 2,475 million bushels of corn were produced in the US. In 2011, about 12,447 million bushels were produced.

So few soybeans were produced in 1911 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not even track it.  In 1931, 17 million bushels of soybeans were produced in the U.S. –and by 2011 approximately 3,329 million bushels were produced.

Barley and oats production decreased substantially between 1911 and 2011—probably due at least in part to the reduced number of horses that needed to be fed in the US. Wheat production increased a little over the years.

Crop Yields

Crop yields increased significantly for all the major cops between 1911 and 2011.

Corn yields increased the most. For example, in 1911, about 24 bushels per acre were produced. This increased to approximately 148 bushels per acre in 2011. Yields increased substantially between the 1930’s and 1950’s due to the widespread shift from open pollinated corn to hybrid corn. The increased use of commercial fertilizers and pesticides in the later part of the last century also increased yields.  In recent years the use of genetically modified seed has led to major yield  increases.

Another factor that has increased the average yield per acre over the past 100 years, is that some of the less productive land in the US has been taken out of production.

Data Source: US Department of Agriculture. For some crops 2011 data are not yet available. If not available, 2010 data were used to construct the figures.

Visited Friends, But Didn’t Stay Long

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

Friday, October 13, 1911: Ruth and I went up to Oakes’ this evening and arrived home in  no time.

Recent photo of the farm where Rachel and Jim Oakes lived.

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

It was a Friday night. I wonder why Grandma and her sister Ruth didn’t stay long.

The Oakes lived on a farm near the Muffly’s. Several of the Oakes children were close in age to  Grandma and  Ruth. Rachel Oakes was a friend and also the primary school teacher at McEwensville.

Several times during the spring and early summer Grandma mentioned in the diary that Ruth was dating Jim Oakes—though he hasn’t been mentioned recently so perhaps that relationship ended sometime prior to this date.

1911 Sports Trivia: Cy Young Retired

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

Thursday, October 12, 1911: Nothing much at all.

Cy Young (Photo source: Wikipedia)

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

Since Grandma didn’t write much today, I’ll tell you a bit of sports history.

Cy Young played his last game in October, 1911 at the age of 44. He is generally considered one of the all-time top pitchers, and had 511 wins over a 22-year career.

Young played the last two months of his career as a Boston Rustler. His last game was a 3-13 loss to Brooklyn. He’d previously played for four other professional teams including the St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Naps.

After his last game Young retired to his farm in Ohio where he lived until he died in 1955.

Beliefs a Hundred Years Ago About High Quality Education for Young Children

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

Wednesday, October 11, 1911: Don’t know what to write. Got my report today. Was better than what I expected.

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

Yeah! Even though it’s silly to be happy about an event that occurred a hundred years ago, I’m glad that Grandma did well on her exams.

Two days ago I quoted from a 1911 book about the purpose of education.  Since Grandma didn’t write much today I’ll tell you about an interesting section in the book about the role of education for younger children (pre-school and primary grades).

In 1911 there was a lot of interest in kindergartens. Many believed that young children needed an enriching environment and that children should develop at a pace they set for themselves. There was a huge amount of interest in the ideas of Madame Maria Montessori. She believed that children spontaneously educated themselves based upon their experiences and environment.

Madame Maria Montessori (Source: Wikipedia)

Today much of the policy discussion for young children revolves around whether there should be universal pre-schooling and how to standardize educational experiences for children in grades k-2. The focus is on teaching children reading skills.  This is very different from what people believed about early education a hundred years ago:

There is good reason, however for believing that early childhood freedom is more important to good mental development than to good physical development. The mind of the child may be more injured by “thorough” mental training of any particular kind, than the body by any special form of physical training. . .

Children not only develop the power to perceive remember, imagine, reason, etc. without any special assistance, but they acquire knowledge without special teaching.

  The Making of the Individual (1911) by E.A. Kirkpatrick