Ruth Campbell Smith 1925-27 Diaries

My grandmother, Ruth Campbell Smith (1892 - 1972) kept a diary for many years. I am posting her entries from 1925 - 1927 in this blog. Her family included sons Dale (1916 - 2004), Dick (1918 - 1971), Albert (1920 - 1979), and Ned (1923 - 1976), and later daughters Marjorie (1925 - 2010) and Eleanor (1929 - 2011). Her husband was Gilbert (1889 - 1937) and they lived in Indianapolis. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of what it was like to be a housewife and mother in the 1920's.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Thursday, April 9, 1925

Thursday, April 9, 1925
Rain

Did quite a lot of mending in the morning but by noon was so sleepy. I lay down with Ned and slept two hours. Got up and made some pants for Ned, but I had hoped to get so much done. It was pretty dark to see to sew anyway. It is cooler and I am glad we have a fire yet.

(The fire is what fuels their coke furnance in the basement. They have to tend to it regularly to keep the house warm. Why so dark inside? They had electricity and lights, but I suppose they didn't have quite as many lamps and as bright a bulbs "back then", so they were more reliant on daylight coming in through the windows. By the way, saving energy by providing for more daylight later in the day is one of the reasons the government decided to have daylight savings time, but that didn't seem to make much difference on a rainy day. More mending and sewing and being tired. She'll figure out what is going on soon enough.)