Sometimes Little Brothers Get Even

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

Sunday, September 24, 1911: Went to Sunday School this afternoon. Only learned seven verses for today usually have twenty-seven. Was fooling with Jimmie tonight sprinkling him with water, but pretty soon he gave me a regular dunking (almost a whole tin cup full I judge) when I least expected it. Had to hang my dress up to dry.

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

Jimmie was Grandma’s six-year-old brother. Sometimes when you tease little brothers they get even.

Memorizing Bible Verses

Whew, I can’t even imagine having a goal of memorizing 27 Bible verses a week. In fact, I can’t even imagine memorizing 7 Bible verses per week. Grandma was trying to memorize 700+ Bible verses for Sunday School so that she’d get a free Bible. The diary entry from the previous Sunday said:

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.

Awful Morning: Needed Some Peace

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

Friday, September 22, 1911: Had such an awful time this morning. Everything seemed to have something wrong about it. Decided to clear out this afternoon and have some peace, so I walked over to Ruthie’s school and made her a visit.

Sometimes a walk just makes you feel better!

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

Grandma didn’t have school on this day. McEwensville High School was closed on both Thursday and Friday so students could attend the Milton Fair. She’d gone to the fair on Thursday—so she was at home on this Friday morning.

Did Grandma and her mother had a disagreement over what she should be doing? . . maybe washing the dishes vs. reading? . . . or doing the laundry vs. relaxing? . . . or . . .

I’m not sure exactly which school her sister Ruth taught at—but it probably was one of the one-room school houses near McEwensville. It seems odd that it was in session when the McEwensville School gave students the day off.

Rode Ferris Wheel

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

Thursday, September 21, 1911: Went to the Fair today with Miss Carrie of course. We took a ride on the Ferris Wheel (a thing I was never on before) and a ride on the Curling Wave. Saw a good many people I knew and more that I didn’t know. I got rather tired walking around all afternoon and sot such a thumping headache. Got home about six o’clock and then had to do all the milking as Ruthie hadn’t yet made her arrival.

Ferris-wheel.Chicago.world.fair.1893 — The Ferris Wheel at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (Photo Source: Wikipedia)

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

Grandma and her friend Carrie Stout went to the Milton Fair. According to yesterday’s entry McEwensville High School gave the students the day off to attend the fair.

The rides sound exciting. I checked Wikipedia and discovered that the first Ferris Wheel was at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. It was invented by a bridge builder named George Ferris, and manufactured by Bethlehem Steel in Pittsburgh.

I was somewhat surprised that a fair in central Pennsylvania would have a Ferris Wheel only 18 years after very first Ferris Wheel was created. I imagined that new technology once diffused more slowly than it does today. But I guess that 18 years was a long time—both then and now.

I asked my father about the Milton Fair. He cannot remember there ever being a fair at Milton, but says that when he was young, people called the area on both sides Route 405 near the Arrowhead Restaurant “the fairgrounds”.

Fair Week!

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

Wednesday, September 20, 1911: Guess this was our teacher’s last day, and I’m not sorry. Our real teacher is coming next Monday so I have heard. Papa and Mamma and Jimsey went to the fair this afternoon. I expect to go tomorrow if the weather is favorable. We have Thursday and Friday off for the fair.

I always feel especially energetic and alive on beautiful fall days--I wonder if that's how Grandma felt as she planned her trip to the fair. (McEwensville is in the background of this recent photo.)

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

The students at McEwensville High School have had a substitute teacher since the beginning of the school years (see yesterday’s post for more details).

McEwensville High School and the primary school shared a building (the high school was on the second floor; Grades 1-8 were on the first). Apparently the primary school didn’t have classes a hundred years ago today—since Grandma’s little brother Jimmy went with her parents to the fair. I wonder why the high school had school. You’d think that two schools would have been on the same schedule.

Well as least she got Thursday and Friday off—and is ready for some fun.

Milton Fair Coming: Best Ever with Only Clean Shows!

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

Monday, September 18, 1911: This is fair week. It was rather doubtful looking this morning. Mother wanted me to take an umbrella, but thought it wouldn’t be called for. Pretty soon the sun burst forth and shone in all its radiance. Hope the rest of this week will be as nice as it was today.

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

According to the Milton Evening Standard the 1911 Milton Fair was going to be the best ever:

. . . only clean shows

. . . the amusements will be fit for man, woman, or child.

As to the horse racing, it will be better than ever. The purses are the largest ever offered.

Will She Memorize 700+ Bible Verses?

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

Sunday, September 17, 1911: Went to Sunday School this morning. I usually get there every Sunday. In fact I haven’t missed going since in January. 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. I got a test of merit and a book this morning.

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

Whew, I can’t even imagine memorizing more than 700 Bible verses. It sounds like Grandma’s part way through the task. If it was me, I think that I’d give up before I even started.

Will she do it? . . .or will she give up?

This entry resolves one mystery. It explains why Grandma was so determined to attend Sunday school each week– even though she often was the only student in her class. For example, the previous week Grandma wrote:

Went to Sunday School this afternoon. I was the only one in my class today. It has happened that way for the past three Sundays. It is simply provoking the way the other girls attend Sunday School.

Mona Lisa Missing: Was It in the US?

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

Sunday, September 10, 1911: Went to Sunday School this afternoon. I was the only one in my class today. It has happened that way for the past three Sundays. It is simply provoking the way the other girls attend Sunday School.

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

I think Grandma attended the McEwensville Baptist Church and that the church closed sometime before 1920. Based on these diary entries it’s easy to understand why the church was shuttered a few years later.

Since Grandma didn’t write much a hundred years ago today, I’m going to tell you about a historic event that occurred in 1911–

Mona.Lisa.photo — Mona Lisa (Photo source: Wikepedia)

On August 21, 1911 the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in Paris. I’ve seen several articles recently about the hundredth anniversary of the robbery. For example, the Los Angeles Times had an article about the theft. The picture was eventually recovered in Florence, Italy in 1913.

I tend to think of McEwensville as a very isolated spot in 1911–and that Grandma would have known nothing of events happening half a world away–but actually she may have known about the robbery.

I was amazed to discover that at least one paper in rural central Pennsylvania, the Milton Evening Standard, was covering the story. The September 9 paper discussed the robbery—and that the U.S. secret service was trying to find it.

Mona.Lisa.9.9.11 — Source: Milton Evening Standard (September 9, 1911) An aside: I'm not sure why the article says that the painting was stolen on August 22. Modern sources all say that was taken on August 21.

Who would have thought that a hundred years ago today people thought that Mona Lisa was in the U.S.?