Wednesday, September 30, 1925

Wednesday, September 30, 1925
Fair

The washing came home and I thought if I stood and ironed I might start something but I was so sick at my stomach and faint I couldn’t do it and had to lie down. Felt awfully bum but not the way I wanted to. Have little head cold that causes it I believe. If Mrs. Little hadn’t been here to iron, I don’t know what I would have done.

(Remember that a while back, Grandma started sending their launtry to a "wet wash" to save some time. But when it came back, it was wet and she still had to hang it all to dry and then iron it.

Mrs. Little has arrived, so can that baby be that far off? At least Grandma had some help at this point, somone willing to do some ironing.)

Tuesday, September 29, 1925

Tuesday, September 29, 1925
Fair

Nothing much doing except I felt awfully bum. Albert has a cold and is awfully cross. He had a fit when I want to get him ready for Kindergarten, but loves it after he goes. I wish he weren’t so tempestuous. I have been putting quinine and Vaseline on his thumb to keep him from sucking it, but he seems to like it, and is more determined to suck it than ever.

(“Nothing much doing” means no baby yet. Albert is 5 and ½ at this point. I’ve posted before what he grew up to be… a Jesuit priest.)

Monday, September 28, 1925

Monday, September 28, 1925
Fair

Woke up at daylight with an uneasy feeling, which hasn’t left me all day. Had a backache all day and felt like I couldn’t go any longer at noon so sent for Mrs. Little to come this PM. Hope the time is not far off now that she is here, but she lived so far that I was afraid to wait till pains appeared to call her.

(Mrs. Little is who Grandma hired to come stay for awhile after the baby was born and help take care of her and the boys.

FYI, in a previous post when Grandma wrote about mending all their long socks, Eleanor added a comment asking if anyone knew what a darning egg was. At least person commented wanting an answer. Here is an official answer and a website with everything you ever wanted to know about darning:

“A darning egg is an egg-shaped ovoid of stone, porcelain, wood, or similar hard material, which is inserted into the toe or heel of the sock to hold it in the proper shape and provide a firm foundation for repairs. When the repairs are finished, the darning egg is removed.”)

Sunday, September 27, 1925

Sunday, September 27, 1925

A rainy morning for the boys to go to Sunday school. Gilbert went too and saw Dale graduate and get his Bible. He and Dick both got their gold star pins for attendance and are proud of them. Mama and Winifred went to Brownsburg and Papa came out for dinner. Albert has a bad cold in his head. It cleared off and was nice in the afternoon and we had a peaceful Sunday evening.

(I think this was a rather typical Sunday for them, other than the special awards that Dale and Dick got in Sunday School. I assume they didn’t get those every week. But otherwise, I think they generally went to Sunday School, church and had a nice Sunday dinner. Sometimes Grandma’s Papa and Mama would be there or everyone would go to their house. They attended Central Christian Church.

Poor Albert, he just can’t get sick again, not after what he went through in the spring.

Oh, and it wouldn't be typical for Grandma to stay home like she has been, waiting for the baby to be born.)

Saturday, September 26, 1925

Saturday, September 26, 1925
Rain

The boys went to the show last night and saw Dick Turpin an old English bandit and today the yard is full of bandits. They cut up my old couch cover for capes. Raided my rag bag for black masks and armed with swords, had a great time. They hated to take time for a hair cut, baths or anything else. Gilbert got the springs on the beds changed.

(Sounds like the boys had some great fun playing after seeing a movie. No need for elaborate toys or games. With just their imaginations, an idea from a movie and some old couch covers and rags, and they had all they needed for a fun day of play.)

Friday, September 25, 1925

Friday, September 25, 1925
Chilly

Got up awfully dizzy and felt sick at my stomach all day. Sat and made button holes most of the time. Albert stayed home from kindergarten and played with Ned. Ned plays like an older child. You would never think he was only two. Says most any word he takes a notion to but doesn’t put any together yet. He is so jolly and happy and devilish.

(Hmmm, did Albert stay home because Grandma was feeling sick and she wanted someone to watch Ned? Albert was only 5, but if he could keep Ned, aged 2, entertained, it probably helped.

And even when not feeling well, Grandma worked on sewing. Still no baby!)

Thursday, September 24, 1925

Thursday, September 24, 1925
Warmer

Finished up darning the winters’ stockings, patching, etc. Mama came over. Dale got goods for Daddy a shirt and I almost made it. Have a baby comforter I want to work on now that the boys are in bed. Dale and Dick went down town to the public library this evening after school. Their legs are so sore from skating that a trip like that would be better.

(More sewing, but no baby, yet!)

Wednesday, September 23, 1925

Wednesday, September 23, 1925
Warmer

Harry’s birthday, a lovely day. The laundry came home early and I got all the ironing done, without being overly tired. There was an auto collision at the foot of the hill early this AM and a man killed. He had the right of way but another fellow coasted down hill, didn’t stop and ran into him. The first dead person the boys ever saw. Harry Doyle reported improving rapidly.

(Harry was one of Grandma’s brothers, born in 1883, so he was 9 years older than her. She had two other older brothers, George Guy (1880), whom they called Guy, Andrew Wilbur (1881), whom they called Bur, and Harry Jordan. All three brothers were in the printing/newspaper business. I did read in Grandma’s family history that Harry moved around a lot, and at one point she lost touch with him for several years, while he was in California, probably in the 1930’s.

Harry Doyle was mentioned on September 16, and Mom added more info on him in a comment, if you would like to go back and read that.

It appeared that Grandma had a pretty good day today; no mention of the baby coming or of having any aches or pains.

Times have changed considerably on Rural St. where Grandma raised her family and lived until she died. There was an article in the Indianapolis Star yesterday about the problems on that street, with a subtitle "city's most violent neighborhood". Some of the worst violence is about six blocks north of where Grandma lived, on the other side of Brookside Park, but some of it is near where she lived.)

Tuesday, September 22, 1925

Tuesday, September 22, 1925
Cold

Finished up lots of odds and ends I wanted to do. New pillow covers, pants for Ned, etc. Then it got so cold had to put on my sweater and the boys looked so cold with their knees bare that I decided to darn up their long stockings which was a big undertaking. The boys took a big skate this evening, the first of the season.

(The boys primarily wore short pants or knickers with socks. That’s apparently what all boys wore in the 1920’s.

It sounds like “took a big skate” means they went to a roller skating party; it wouldn’t be cold enough for ice skating.

And, no baby yet. Grandma was still catching up on sewing, waiting for the big event. I am intentionally not revealing the actual day she gives birth, to keep everyone coming back. And obviously you can't read ahead, like you can with a book. I publish one day at a time, so you have to check back. I know that earlier in the spring some readers were concerned that Albert was going to take a turn for the worse when he was sick, and I did reveal that he recovered and provided information on what he did as an adult. But, for the birth, I'm just going to let it be announced when it occurs, just like in real life.)

Monday, September 21, 1925

Monday, September 21, 1925
Cooler

Well I felt better this AM and decided the false alarm yesterday PM was due to being on my feet too much last week. So I decided to sit and sew today. But I had no more than started when the vegetable man came bringing the bushel of tomatoes I wanted last week and he couldn’t get. So I took them and canned them, doing everything possible sitting down. Feel no worse for it this eve.

(Grandma is still working, this time sewing, then canning. No just sitting and reading, or sitting and relaxing, or sitting and watching TV. Always something to do!)

Sunday, September 20, 1925

Sunday, September 20, 1925
Rain

Well I wonder this evening what the night will bring if anything. I opened the Bible to Psalm 127, by accident. It seemed so appropriate though and comforting. Ever since one o’clock today I’ve been uneasy. If I could only know whether to call Mrs. Little or not! Grace called up today to see why I hadn’t been to Sunday school lately, she reports Georgia as seriously ill.


(Psalm 127: “Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guard the city, in vain does the guard keep vigil. It is vain for you to rise early, or put off your rest, You that eat hard-earned bread, for he gives to his beloved in sleep.

Behold sons are a gift form the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the sons of one’s youth. Happy the man whose quiver is filled with them; they shall not be put to shame when they contend with enemies at the gate.”

Grandma did generally go to Sunday School and church each week, but she did not go out of the house in the later stages of her pregnancy. She told us when we were kids that it wasn’t proper to do so in her day.

I do not know who Grace or Georgia were, probably just friends from church.)

Saturday, September 19, 1925

Saturday, September 19, 1925
Hot

Put in a big day cleaning etc. putting my house in order for the event which must be near now. I have felt so very tired, my back and hips ache so that it must be the beginning of the end. If I had money enough I would have Mrs. Little come now so as I could rest. But I can’t afford it. Dale and Daddy went to the 10 cent store and got me my dishes this PM.

(Keep in mind that Grandma probably didn’t know her exact due date. Mrs. Little is the woman she interviewed a few weeks prior, who would eventually come and stay with them to help out after Grandma had the baby. )

Friday, September 18, 1925

Friday, September 18, 1925
Hot

Dale’s ninth birthday. Nine strenuous years. Very few hours I’ve rested these years during the days. So much good reading and parties, etc. passed up. But they have been happy years for the most part for the boys have all generally been boys to be proud of. If I work for them now, maybe they will make it easier in my old days.

(One of the frequent comments made after reading these diaries is “I get tired just reading all she had to do each day.” Cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, ironing, sewing, looking after the boys, and mending took up most of her days. Indeed, it does not appear that Grandma had much time for reading, which she did enjoy. Earlier in January, she wrote:

“We just got a new set of books. The Pocket University. My! How I would love to read, but seems not for me. The reading guide says only 15 minutes a day… so sat down to follow directions. The allotment was 57 pages long. If they expect us to read that in 15 minutes, I am hopeless.”

She also commented about reading from the Pocket University on February 20. By the way, in the comments on that day, I noted she attended college for a year. I believe now, based on what she wrote in her family history, that she didn’t last through the first semester. Her complaint was that she could not afford to live on campus, and ao she had to take a bus every day to and from the campus which at the time was in the Irvington area. It wore her out, so she dropped out.

Here’s a link to a Pocket University book from 1926, which I assume is typical of the books she got.

All her boys were successful in their chosen professions. Three became college professors, and Dale was a successful businessman who enjoyed traveling all over the world. Dale graduated from Lake Forest College in Chicago in 1937 and served in the Navy in World War II. He lived the longest of any of the boys, passing away in January 2004. Both daughters are still very much alive!)

Thursday, September 17, 1925

Thursday, September 17, 1925
Warmer

So tired but had my ironing to finish. Then sat and sewed. Had such a throbbing ache in my back and hips the latter part of the day that on going to bed I wonder what it expect by morning. Have felt so fine up till the last day or two. Harry Doyle reported having concussion of the brain (conclusion Dale says) and a fractured skull.

(There seemed to be no rest for Grandma. Even when she was tired and aching, she did her ironing and sewing.

The x-ray machine was invented around 1895, so they probably were able to use an x-ray machine to determine that poor Harry Doyle did have a fractured skull).

Wednesday, September 16, 1925

Wednesday, September 16, 1925
Clear and cool

Well, I didn’t feel extra well, believe I have taken a cold. Got 40 tomatoes of Smith and canned 11 ½ quarts and had a dish full for supper. Got my laundry ready to iron but didn’t iron much. Felt awfully stiff and achy. Harry Doyle got hit by a machine at 10th and Rural and our boys almost saw it. It upset us all quite a bit. Don’t know how bad hurt he is.

(Grandma’s 11 ½ quarts of tomatoes wasn’t much compared to what my other grandmother would can in a season. They both worked hard, but in different ways, due in part I am sure to the fact that one lived in the city, the other on a farm. However, I won’t be too quick to judge because Grandma could have canned a lot more that she wrote about in her diary. It does appear that one difference between the two was that Grandma relied on the vegetable man (Smith, no relation) to bring her produce, whereas my other grandmother grew most of their produce in a big garden.

I think Harry Doyle was a friend of the older boys. 10th and Rural was just a few blocks from their house and probably on the way to school. A “machine” by the way was a car.

Grandma doesn't appear to have left the house in weeks, based on her diaries, so where could she have picked up a cold?)

Tuesday, September 15, 1925

Tuesday, September 15, 1925
Rain

Mama’s birthday. We had planned to have Dale go down town after school and get her a record and as the two oldest had to have shoes I phoned Papa to take them to a shoe store and superintend them buying them. I finished painting the bed and washed blankets for the baby and the boys’ sweaters. Trying to wind up my work for the big event.

(‘Mama’ is Nancy Elizabeth Jordan Campbell, pictured here and here. She was born in 1857, the 4th of 5 children and the only girl in her family. She died in 1947. Her record player would be one of the hand cranked models, a victrola. Grandma also had one that we played with sometimes as kids, very gently cranking it and playing old records, our favorite being one that ended with a little dog barking. I think that was also my mom’s favorite record when she was a little girl. I don’t recall the tune of the song, just the barking at the end.

FYI, my mom, Eleanor, Grandma’s youngest daughter born in 1929, is now occasionally posting comments on the diaries. So, go back and read some of the past days to see her comments. I’ve also added a picture of her to the picture blog so you can put a face with a name.)

Monday, September 14, 1925

Monday, September 14, 1925
Rain

Cool and drizzly most of the day. Albert went to see if kindergarten opened, as Anna said theirs did and sure enough this was the first day, so he was enrolled again. But this evening eating corn on the cob for supper, he threw up again, so I’m afraid he isn’t as well as he should be. Ned is a little rowdy and romp these days, a regular clown.

(Albert was a little over 5 ½ years old and it sounds like he went to kindergarten by himself to enroll. I was mistaken earlier that he was a 1st grader at this point. He also attended kindergarten last spring, starting around March 9th, so they must have just sent the young ones to kindergarten once they turned 5 years old, which for Albert was on February 6th. Poor Albert was still having some stomach problems, which we know he continued to have through out his life, in some form or fashion. )

Sunday, September 13, 1925

Sunday, September 13, 1925
Rain

Dick and Dale went to Sunday school and walked up town to catch a car coming home. Albert seemed to feel okay today. Bess spent the afternoon with us. Happened to be in the town to the dentist’s. It just poured rain all afternoon and left us all depressed and the kids were surely cross. Ned got in the mud twice, and dirtied four rompers today. Oh, the laundry bill!

(Bess (Clara Bessie) was one of Gilbert’s two older sisters. The other sister was Nell (Nellie May). Bess’s story is a bit sad. She was married once, briefly, but the marriage was annulled when they found out her husband already had a wife on the East cost somewhere. She never re-married, and ended up in the Marion County Guardian’s home in her old age, where she died in 1970 of “a heart attack which caused a fall and head injuries, with internal bleeding”. She was 82 years old when she died. Link here for a picture of Bess with a solider. We do not know if that is who she married. I’ve also added a new picture of Bess, one of Nell, and also one of Gilbert and his parents and sisters, probably taken in the mid 1890’s to the companion picture blog. Gilberts’ mother, Caroline, was 35 years old when she married his father, J.W.A. Smith, and nearly 6 years older than him.

I am sure the boys did feel a little cooped up on a rainy day. After all, what was there to do? No TV, video games, Internet, etc. I guess they had to play games, read, draw, talk to one another, etc. and apparently occasionally go outside and get dirty.)

(You may want to go back and read yesterdays' diary entry and comments, more info was added late about Ray & Anna Mock and their two daughters, Betty & Wilma.)

Saturday, September 12, 1925

Saturday, September 12, 1925
Rain

The boys had said they were coming home early but they got to playing with Winifred and having such a good time they stayed till after dinner. Mama said she never knew Winifred to romp so. Albert had the stomach ache and laid around all day. Anna and Ray dropped in on us a little while about 5 o’clock. They happened to be out this way.

(Apparently, the boys spent the night with their grandparents, after seeing the fireworks. Winifred is their cousin, here’s a link to her story. I also previously put pictures of her on Grandma’s Picture Blog, here’s a link to one of them.

I’m inclined to think that if Albert was laying around all day with a stomach ache that he didn’t go to his grandparents to see fireworks and spend the night.

Anna and Ray were family friends who lived on the north side of Indianapolis. What little I know of them I included in a previous diary entry. Perhaps my mom knows more about them?

Update: Annie in Austin provided some additional information on Ray and Anna Mock, available from the public census records for 1920 and 1930. The Mocks were married in 1914. They had two daughters, Betty Jane, who was probably born in 1920, and Wilma J. who was born around 1928. In 1942, Ray listed Betty on his WWII registry card as someone who would always know his address, which may indicate that he was a widower at that time. Anna died fairly young, as Mom noted. Thanks, Annie!

Now, how did Grandma and Gilbert come to know them? Through church? Gilbert's work?)

Friday, September 11, 1925

Friday, September 11, 1925

Sewed today, made Gilbert a shirt and Dale a waist. Didn’t feel extra well. The three boys all went to Mama’s for supper and they took them to see the fireworks display at the fair grounds. They were having so much fun in the garage, each setting up a store that I had trouble to get them ready in time for supper. Gilbert worked late.

(Even though Grandma did not feel “extra well”, she still sat there and sewed clothes. Remember she called the boys’ shirts “waists”. I’m not sure what the difference was between a waist and a shirt. The only thing I can think of is that a shirt was designed to be tucked into pants, and a waist wasn’t.

This is the 1st reference in the diaries to a garage. They didn’t have a car, but I think the garage was an outbuilding in the backyard, used more as a shed, with access from the alley that ran behind all the houses. By the time I was a kid, the garage was long gone.

Finally, I’ve noticed that the boys were going out more on their own or with others these last few months, further confirming in my mind that Grandma was staying at home due to her pregnancy. I remember her telling us that pregnant women just did not go out in public in her day! I’m sure the boys (which probably was just Dale, Dick & maybe Albert) thoroughly enjoyed seeing the fireworks.)

Thursday, September 10, 1925

Thursday, September 10, 1925
Rain and cooler

It rained most of the night but Gilbert got along very well. He stayed here most of the morning to be sure he wasn’t going to be affected and finally went and got along okay. Mama came over about noon for a little while. We got our first load of coke for the winter. I ironed most of the day and felt as if it were too much for me.

(Gilbert seemed to suffer quite a bit from his hay fever/allergies/asthma, or whatever he had. Fall was an especially bad time for him, based on what Grandma wrote in the diaries.

They used coke in the furnace to heat the house. The coke was dumped through a small opening straight into the basement. I don't know if the pile of coke was in a separate room down there, or if it just sat in the middle of the floor in the same room with the washer. I also assume that their clothes washer was in the basement, but I guess don't really know that for sure. That's where I remember it being when I visited as a kid.

Based on what Grandma wrote in earlier diary entries, they had to tend to the furnace quite bit, to keep the fire going. )

Wednesday, September 9, 1925

Wednesday, September 9, 1925
Hot

Neddy’s birthday. I ironed till noon, then made him a cocoanut cake. He rubbed his tummy and shouted “oh boy!” Dale went down town and got him a little wheel barrow which pleased Ned very much. Smith the vegetable man who Albert thinks brought Ned gave him a sack full of fruit and Ned didn’t understand why he put it in a sack instead of the basket. Dear little white top!

(Ned turned 2 on this day, and Grandma’s diary entry tells us quite a bit.

I believe the reason she sent Dale out to buy a gift for Ned was because she didn’t go out too often in her last few months of pregnancy. I remember her telling us that pregnant women did not go out much in public when they were “showing” and that even when someone came to the door, she would peek around the door to talk to them, so whoever it was would not see her body.

They didn’t grow their own vegetables, even though they had a yard big enough to have a vegetable garden. “Smith the vegetable man” was no relation to them. I believe he would stop by every week or so to offer whatever was in season. My other grandmother, on the other hand, lived on a farm and they grew and canned all kinds of vegetables.

They celebrated birthdays rather simply, but did celebrate them. A nice cake and one gift.

Ned must have been quite blond as a child, to be called "dear little white top".

Grandma will have the baby at home. Albert will be older this time, so maybe he’ll come to a different conclusion about where babies come from!)

Tuesday, September 8, 1925

Tuesday, September 8, 1925
Warm

School started. Dick was delighted but Dale was a little loath to give up play. He had been having so much fun lately. Ned had a little stomach ache this AM and insisted on having the witch hazel bottle. I gave it to him. Then he wanted his waist unbuttoned. After it was open he proceeded to rub witch hazel on his stomach. Then he was better. Rain this evening that put Gilbert out.

(I doubt the witch hazel really did anything for Ned, but it must have been something he saw others do, so he wanted to do it, too. Here’s one source of info on what witch hazel was used for. Remember that a "waist" was what Grandma called a shirt.

I am hoping my mom reads this and provides more information on the elementary school they attended. I’m not sure what grades they were starting, but think perhaps Albert was going into 1st grade, Dick into 3rd grade, and Dale into 4th or 5th grade.)

Monday, September 7, 1925

Monday, September 7, 1925
Warm

The boys wanted to see the fair and as there was no one to take them, Dale and Dick went by themselves. They left here about 9. We placed no restrictions on them. Soon after they were back. They had seen it all. Got barbecue sandwiches, pop, cones, all at the cheapest places. Went on merry-go-round, caterpillar, and looked till they were tired. They had no trouble at all. Little men!!

(The fair Grandma was referring to was the Indiana State Fair.

Dale was 11 days shy of his 9th birthday, and Dick was 7½ years old when they went there by themselves. We are always amazed in reading the diaries what the boys were allowed to do alone at this age. On this day, it was going to the fair by themselves, probably taking a bus or streetcar to get there, having money to spend, riding rides, the whole deal. I believe the fairgrounds were about 4 miles from their house, so it is also possible that they walked the whole way there.

This was also Labor Day, which was observed “back then” and was actually observed as far back as the mid 1880’s.)

Sunday, September 6, 1925

Sunday, September 6, 1925
Hot & rain & cooler

Before I was up this morning Dick and Ned broke my pretty new lamp. I can’t have anything decent, everything gets broke up. Was awfully tired today. Got dinner and Papa came out. Mama is in Illinois at the reunion. The boys went to the show and stayed 4 ½ hours. They told me all about it. Gilbert went, too, but while there a rain came up which put him in his room for the evening.

(I’m sure it was difficult for Grandma to keep things intact with four boys under the age of 10 running all through the house. The boys had to go through her bedroom or the kitchen to get to the one bathroom in the house, and I would guess that is why they were in her room before she was up.

Ruth’s mother, Nancy Elizabeth Jordan Campbell, whom she refers to as “Mama”, was from Illinois and had four brothers, who all farmed somewhere near Gibson City, Illinois. That’s who she was visiting with at the reunion in Illinois. Grandma wrote quite a bit about the Jordan family in the family history she compiled. (We are very appreciative that she took the time to write down what she knew of the family history, for without her written history, we would know very little about our ancestry! I believe my cousin David is the one who prompted her to do so.)

I’ve posted two picture of Ruth’s mother in the accompanying picture blog. One is probably from the late 1890's when Ruth was a child, the other is how I am guessing she looked in the 1920’s, but I don’t know specific dates for the pictures, so I could be off a decade or two.

Grandma seemed to always enjoy when her children came home from the movies or from playing or visiting someone and told her about their adventures, though I think she was pretty much a home-body herself. Gilbert seemed like one who wanted to be out and about.)

Saturday, September 5, 1925

Saturday, September 5, 1925
Hot

I put in a big day but things do look nice and clean this evening. Finally got the dresser up downstairs, all the curtains up, etc. Went over all the floors around the edges with gasoline and paraffin oil. I put up my pretty little bed room lamp by my bed and it looks so nice. Washed my hair, bathed all of us and Gilbert cut my hair too short. One whole ear shows and half of other one.

(It’s unbelievable at times to think about some of the things they used in the 1920’s that we would not even consider using today, like paraffin and gasoline to clean along the edges of a wood floor. Sounds quite flammable and dangerous, to say the least.

And, I didn’t know Grandma let Gilbert cut her hair like that. Was this a cost-cutting measure? It sounds like the results were less than satisfactory. Previously she had written about going to the hair dressers to get a marcel. Maybe she only did that for special occasions? I remember Grandma as having longer hair, which she braided and wrapped into a bun. Her hair must have been shorter when she was younger, which was more the style of the 1920’s.)

Friday, September 4, 1925

Friday, September 4, 1925
Hot

Well, I puttied in a glass in a dining room window, cleaned them inside and out and put up my new yellow curtains. Put up curtains in the kitchen and pantry, cleaned out the kitchen closet, put things back in the cabinet. Run the cleaner over the house, not to mention dish washing and meals, etc. The veins in my forehead were all swelled up.

(Another big day of working on cleaning and fixing up the house. Grandma even knew how to fix a window. We are certainly aware of her skills as a seamstress, but I didn’t know she had skills to fix windows!

We used to hear how there was a pipe or heating duct that ran from the inside of the kitchen closet up to the 2nd floor where the boys had their bedrooms and Grandma could bang on that in the kitchen to wake them upstairs. Other than that, I don’t recall too much about what might have been in that kitchen closet. Most of the food was kept in the pantry, ice box, or cabinet.

I’ve already mentioned that the cabinet was what was typically referred to as a Hoosier Cabinet and it was where flour, sugar, and other baking items were kept, and was really the only work surface in the kitchen, other than the kitchen table in the center of the room.

If Grandma’s veins in her forehead were all swelled up after cleaning and being on her feet all day, I wonder if she had high blood pressure?)

Thursday, September 3, 1925

Thursday, September 3, 1925
Hot

Painted the baby bed this AM and after noon cleaned woodwork, windows, and floor in kitchen, pantry, and bathroom. Things begin to look better although the cabinet was too sticky inside to put things back in yet. But the worst of the dirt is out and how much lighter the rooms are! Oh so tired!

(Work continued to get ready for the birth of the baby. Grandma was doing quite a bit of hard work in her last trimester. I recall in the spring she wrote so often about feeling 'bum', having no energy, etc. so this is quite a change from before. We have hypothesized that she felt so bad in winter, early spring because of their coke furnace in the basement and perhaps that was not ventilating properly and they were breathing those fumes (like carbon monoxide) all of the time. Or maybe she just didn’t’ feel well early on in her pregnancy?

By the way, two “blog” related items. First, I’ve notice additional web traffic, so more people are finding these diaries. I love comments from people who find these daily diary readings interesting and read them, so don’t be shy. Click on comments and you can either be anonymous or enter a name, or if you are on blogger, you can use your blogger name with your comments.

Second, my Mom, the youngest daughter, Eleanor, is now connected to the Internet, so we are going to teach her how to add comments with her own recollections of her mother (Ruth Campbell Smith) and brothers, sister, and father.)

Wednesday, September 2, 1925

Wednesday, September 2, 1925
Hot

Gilbert was able to go to work this morning thanks to the medicine Dale got from Papa’s office yesterday PM. But his nose got worse again and he seemed to start hay fever over. I pitched in to finish his job of painting. If I wait on him, Snookums will beat us for sure. So I stayed up till 1 AM to complete the job was too tired to sleep, then.

(Snookums? I had to read that sentence a couple of times before I realized she was talking about her unborn baby. I have not included the baby’s exact birth date in the blog description, so it will be a surprise to all when she is born.

But, since I don't have the 1929 diary (if Grandma even kept one that year), I'm not really giving away a future secret by posting a Happy Birthday to Eleanor, their youngest child, born today in 1929. Happy Birthday, Mom!)

Tuesday, September 1, 1925

Tuesday, September 1, 1925
Fair, Hot

A lovely day with a good breeze but Gilbert’s asthma still hung on and he didn’t go to work. I put in a big day ironing when I wasn’t scrubbing boys. They built a fire and undertook to cook their dinner, but their wood was too green and did nothing but smoke and they got quite dirty. Took about 2 hours to scrub them all up. Dale went to Mama’s and down town.

(Sounds like more fun in the backyard for the boys, and then baths for everyone. I can’t really tell from the diaries how often they bathed. I would guess not every day, but not just once a week, more like whenever they got dirty.

I found on Google Books a book written in 1922, which might have been typical of the books Grandma had if she had any books to guide her in raising her children. It is “The Healthy Child From Two to Seven” by Francis Hamilton MacCarthy, M.D. There is a section on gardening with children and one one playing, in which the author compares raising children to growing plants! There is also a section on colds and how to keep your children from catching a cold. And, there is a section on bathing children. I am sure there is a lot of interest in the book, and it might help us understand more about how Grandma raised her children. It is downloadable for offline reading.)