Picture of Grandma Wearing Granduation Dress

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

Thursday, April 3, 1913: My graduating dress is almost done. I think it will be very pretty.

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

Sometimes I almost tingle when I have a picture of something that Grandma was writing about. Today is one of those days.

I think that this photo is Grandma’s graduation picture—and that she is wearing her graduation dress.

A seamstress in McEwenville was making the dress for her. In a previous diary entry, she described it a plain white batiste dress trimmed with lace insertion and edging.

(This picture is also posted in the People category—see tab above.)

Picture of Women Churning Butter on Hundred-Year-Old Magazine Cover

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

Monday, March 24, 1913: These days are rather dull.

Source: Kimball's Dairy Farmer Magazine (March 1, 1913) — Source: Kimball’s Dairy Farmer Magazine (March 1, 1913)

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

What did Grandma do on dull days? . . . Did she ever help her mother churn butter?

1913 Easter Sunday

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

Sunday, March 23, 1913: Easter Sunday. Quite a few joined the church this afternoon. I would have like to but decided otherwise. The Bunny didn’t bring me any eggs. Rufus got three and Jimmie got two.

Old-fashioned Easter eggs dyed using onion skins

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

Lots of “whys” today . . . .

1. Why did Grandma decide not to join the church? She occasionally mentioned catechism classes that must have been preparing her to join the .old McEwensville Baptist Church. I’d think that she would automatically join when she completed the classes, but I don’t know much about what joining a Baptist church entailed.

2. Why didn’t Grandma get any Easter eggs? Grandma’s little brother Jimmie was just 7-years-old; but her sister Ruth was 21. It doesn’t make sense that the Easter bunny skipped the child in the middle.

You might enjoy this previous post on dying eggs with onion skins:

Coloring Easter Eggs with Onion Skins

The Last Day of Winter in 1913

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

Thursday, March 20, 1913: Am resting and sleeping like a log from my two nights out. Am glad this is the last day of winter.

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

When I was young, the first day of spring was always on March 21. So when Grandma wrote this diary entry, the 20th was the last day of winter. Now it seems like the first day of spring varies from your to year. This year it is today—March 20.

—

Grandma attended parties on March 17 and 18. They must have really worn her out. My mind often races after exciting events and I struggle to sleep—but it sounds like that wasn’t a problem for Grandma.

What Does “Got It Put on Me” Mean?

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

Wednesday, March 19, 1913: Got it put on me tonight. Nothing serious though. Think I’ll soon recover.

Recent photo of the house that Grandma lived in when she was writing the diary.

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

Hmm. . . I’m not sure what this means. Did someone tease Grandma? . . .pull a joke on her?. . .hit her? . . . ????

Sunday Visitors

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

Sunday, March 2, 1913: Went to Sunday School this morning. Besse and Curt were out this afternoon. Went to church this evening.

House Besse and Curt lived in. (I'm not sure whether they lived there as early as 1913). — Recent picture of house Besse and Curt lived in. It’s just outside of nearby Watsontown. (I’m not sure whether they lived in this house as early as 1913).

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

Grandma’s oldest sister Besse was married to Curt Hester. They were frequent Sunday visitors.

When I was young, Sunday afternoon was considered the perfect time to visit friends and relatives. People generally didn’t work on Sunday, or clean house on Sunday. Stores were closed.

We’d often get unexpected “company” on Sunday afternoons. We looked forward to getting these visitors. There was no expectation that people would call ahead to see if we were busy. No matter what we were doing (and we were probably just reading or playing games), we’d welcome the guests—and would consider ourselves fortunate that people liked us enough to visit. I picture that the customs were similar a hundred years ago.

Today, it’s considered impolite to stop by someone’s house without first texting, emailing, or calling first. Sometimes I think that people were more hospitable years ago (or maybe they were just less polite).

A Good Day, But Raining Cats and Dogs

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

Monday, February 24, 1913: Had an exam in Geometry this morning. Wasn’t hard after all. Tis raining cats and dogs tonight.

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

Yeah! Grandma, I hope you got a 100%. Easy tests are the best.

—

In spite of the evening rain, it sounds like a good day. I picture Grandma listening to the rain drops hit the window as she drifted peacefully off to sleep.