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.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Wednesday, June 24, 1925

Wednesday, June 24, 1925
Canned cherries, got 10 quarts last eve and today. It rains so much Gilbert can’t pick steady, so we will lose a lot I’m afraid. Left my poultice off today but put it on at bedtime. Dick began complaining today. Sore throat and fever.

(Dick is the only who had not been sick so far, so I'm not surprised Grandma reported the above entry.

It was still cherry picking and canning time. My youngest sister wrote a comment that she would love to can, but is afraid of food poisoning. I'm afraid of pressure cookers blowing up the kitchen! I think canning was a necessity of life in the 20's, if you wanted to have any kind of canned goods at a reasonable price in the off season. Earlier in the spring, Grandma had written that she liked to provided good things for her family. Canned cherries for pies and candies, that's a good thing!)