Eileen KINNICK - 75 yrs ago - Week 52/53 - Dec 21-Jan 1, 1937

Eileen KINNICK
75 yrs ago
Week 52/53 - Dec 21-Jan 1, 1937

My mother, Eileen KINNICK (maiden name), kept a diary from 1932 until her death in 1999. In Feb 2005, I created a website of her 1936 diary, the year she graduated from high school, and started dating my dad later in the year. The transcription, week by week, with commentary, notable items, and my comments are sitting there to view, unchanged (a few bad links and all!). . You are welcome to click on the Weekly Index, and go back to read the first half of the year, at your leisure.
Key:
My comments - in red
Commentary at the time - in green
Notable items - in blue
Setting: The family lived in a farmhouse a couple of miles out of town (Coon Rapids, Iowa). Older brother, Leo, lived at home; his girl friend, later wife, Ida, visited regularly. Younger brother, Buzzy (she often wrote Bussy) was 8 years old; see photo.


Week 52 (Dec 21-27). Embroidering yellow scarf - couldn't listen to radio because the battery was down. Notice, no electricity. Aladdin lamb was a clue, last week, as well!

Got off from work early, and shopped, on Christmas eve. Goose dinner on Christmas. Turned into an adventurous afternoon and evening with friends.

To church on Sunday. Out-of-town family and friends there. Couple of interesting things to note, here. "Evline and Merle" reference is actually Pete's sister, Pauline, and her husband, Merl… they had already been married a year or so, lived out of town. Eileen didn't really know them yet - confused with Pete's older sister, LVene (name). Interesting; feels right for a young lady in a new family situation.

"Francis and Roger" reference is important. They were at the Kinnick house in the afternoon, and stayed for supper, along with two young sons, John and Robert. Francis would have been Paul's first cousin on his mother's side (Williams). (Frances had taught Eileen to play the piano when she was younger.) Even in 1936, they were already 'rich relatives.' Roger become a prosperous Des Moines (IA) business man, along with son, John (and Bill, yet to be born). John was an NFL Umpire (1972-1996) for many years, including a Super Bowl (1996). Robert became a minister and writer.

Here are Eileen (left) and Pete (right) in 1957, at Keck's house in Des Moines, with Roger (far end) and Francis (near), with her mother. I was there, as I was working for Roger that summer after I graduated from high school at Keck Motor Services.

Week 53 (Dec 28-Jan 1). She was studying her penmanship. Her Dad had an excellent, distinctive hand. She developed it, as well.

Pete appears to have caught her cold… see Thursday. Thursday night she writes "Our third Anniversary,' but January 1 is circled in red. They started 'going together' or 'going steady' - whatever they called it then, on October 1. November and December were marked as 'anniversaries' as well.

This ends the 1936 diary entries on the website. For 1937, I have copies of the diary pages and will be posting them, daily, on The KINNICK Project blog, beginning tomorrow, January 4. Weekly summaries will continue, here, starting next Tuesday, January 10.

Comments welcomed! 

Families are Forever!  ;-)