My first years… from Eileen's Diary - Highlights of April, 1940

My first years…

from Eileen's Diary

Highlights of April, 1940 

 

These are highlights from the diary of my mother, twenty-one year old Eileen KINNICK SMITH, 75 Years Ago. She kept a diary from 1932 as a freshman in high school until she left us, too early, in 1999.

[Rather than posting each mundane entry, I've chosen items of interest to me, as I knew my family (or didn't). Also, significant events Mom noted, as seen by me, looking back. Comments at the end.]

Month of April highlights:

Mon. Apr 1: [Birthday note: Delbert Ford] -
Did my washing. Clothes dried real good. Cleaned the dining room. Aired curtains. Wiped the walk etc., waxed the kitchen floor. Pete in town getting tractor repairs. Really tired at night. …
Leo Williams was at Mom’s & we talked with him awhile.
Fri. Apr 5- Billy, Mom & I went to Carroll in pm. … & then had to wait on the Dr. …Dr. said he’s getting 2 more teeth. Weighs 24# 10 oz.
Thurs. Apr 11 - Pressed new white blouse & skirt & got dinner. Ate & then went to club at Ruth Bolger’s. Really was a big crowd there. Sat with Lil. Bertha Thomas gave a talk on Mexico.
Fri. Apr 12 - Left Billy at Moylan’s & we went to Edith’s school play & pie social at night. The place was clear full. She had the best program. Stayed & talked afterwards. Home at 11:30. Mrs. Moylan has help. She doesn’t look very well.
Sun. Apr 14 - At nite we left Billy at Lund’s and we went to the show “Fighting 69th.”
Tues. Apr 16 - Had sheep shearers here for dinner. 2 of them. Pete finished sowing oats on the 80. I went to S.S. Worker’s Conference at Margaret’s. A lot there.
Fri. Apr 19 - Folks came out at nite to show us their new car radio.
Sat. Apr 20 - Roy Holliday gave me a music lesson.
Sun. Apr 21 - Left Billy at Lund’s & we went to “Gulliver’s Travels.” Good in cartoon technicolor.
Sun. Apr 28 - Decided to go to Leo’s with the folks. Left at 9:45. Mom, Dad & I went to church there. Karen baptized. Had fried chicken. Surely have a nice home in a nice town. Rained hard. Went down to the bank & rode around. Home at 7:30. Rained all the way. 

My comments:
I was less than a year old, but many of these activities we were also doing as I grew up. Went up to Lohrville many, many Sundays. I even remember visiting “the bank” and driving around, in later years.
Folks’ new car radio was interesting… an add-on accessory, as American Pickers would point out!
“Roy Holliday gave me a music lesson” was a fascinating thing to see!!
I made note of Mrs. Moylan being “doesn’t look very well.” - more on this in next couple of months.



Families are Forever!  ;-)

My first years… from Eileen's Diary - Highlights of March, 1940

My first years…  

from Eileen's Diary

Highlights of March, 1940

These are highlights from the diary of my mother, twenty-one year old Eileen KINNICK SMITH, 75 Years Ago. She kept a diary from 1932 as a freshman in high school until she left us, too early, in 1999.

 Was this the 'nursery chair' he 'finished?'

[Rather than posting each mundane entry, I've chosen items of interest to me, as I knew my family (or didn't). Also, significant events Mom noted, as seen by me, looking back. Comments at the end.]

Month of March highlights:

Fri, Mar 1 [Birthday note: Ruth Bolger] - (Pete) pulled the new John Deere Spreader home with Delbert’s tractor. Had swiss steak for dinner. … Pete finished his nursery chair and I read until 10:00.
Sat. Mar 2 - I got up and built the fires. Really icy out. Pete worked on the cupboard.
Mon. Mar 4 - Pete took Jno.Dr. & went up to Bolger’s after his binder. … He took the tractor up to Delbert’s & I went after him. … Ruth & Glenn came. Figured on ch. cupboard & played cards until 11:00.
Wed. Mar 6 - …took Pete & lumber up to the church. I came home, fixed chicken & noodles & went up there for dinner. Glenn’s, Verles, Beryl’s, Gurerney’s, Don’s, us were there. Spilt Billy’s milk & went up to Ruth’s after some more.
Thurs. Mar 13 [Birthday note: Ida Marie] - Planned on having Leo’s here for Ida’s birthday tonite, but it snowed too hard. … Roads all blocked again.
Sun. Mar 17 [2. anniversary] - Nice day. Went to church. In to folks for dinner. Leo, Ida, Paul there.
Been married 2 years. Mom gave us $1; Ida gave us stationary.
Wed. Mar 20 - Dad went with Charley T. to the hockey game in Omaha.
Thurs. Mar 21 [Birthday note: Leo Kinnick] - Up early. Left for Des Moines. Edith T., LVene & Betty went along. Ate dinner at Bolton & Hay. Coat at Robinson’s. Shoes at Berland’s & hat at Sibyl’s. Home at 5:45. Chored, ate & went to S.S. party at Brown’s. Played Rook. Mom and Buss stayed all night again.
Sun. Mar 24 [Easter - Billy was baptized] - Got ready and went to church. Quite a few were there. Jack B. sang - girls had an exercise. Didn’t have any class. Real cold day but we all wore our new coats.
Sun. Mar 31 - Leo & Ida moved to Lohrville.



My comments: Good peak into their life in the winter.
I remember seeing Grandpa Paul Kinnick had gone to hockey game in Omaha with Charley Thomas and a couple of others, in the Enterprise. Would never have guessed… but true! “Mom and Buzzy” always came and stayed with Pete and Eileen, when Paul out of town. Interesting.
Quite a shopping spree in Des Moines. P.S. She sent the coat back to Robinson’s in Des Moines, and got another at Ellerbrock’s in Carroll. Must have decided it was too expensive. ;-)
Jack Bowman sang on my baptism day! That was nice!! ;-)
This confirms when Leo and Ida moved to Lohrville!!




Families are Forever!  ;-)

The Book of Me, Written By You - Prompt 6: Journals and Diaries

The Book of Me, Written By You
Prompt 6: Journals and Diaries

 

"The Book of Me, Written By You" is a GeneaBloggers project created by Julie Goucher of the Anglers Rest blog. The concept: a series of blogging and writing prompts that help family historians capture their own memories and write about themselves.

 

Prompt 6: Journals and Diaries
 
Do you keep a journal or diary? No… so those next prompt questions are irrelevant.

I have tried a few times, but it just is not something that is in my "bag of tricks," so to speak. The longest stretch was less than 18 months, back in the early 60s - very short entries, in a '5-year' diary...

I write a lot, but not in journal or diary format. My several blogs have been the closest I come, and, in recent years, many of these have information that is common to them.


Have you inherited any? Yes, my brothers and I have our mother's diaries, from 1932 to 1999 - her entire adult life. They are the diaries of an Iowa farm housewife who grew up in a nearby small town. She never lived outside a 10-mile radius, so they have some interest, is what they are. She started as a high school freshman. I have transcribed 1936 and it is on-line. Some of 1937-38 are online, as I've looked at "75 years ago." I will continue to read and interpret them, as time goes by. Many of you have enjoyed reading these snippets.


Do you intend to pass along your journals or destroy them? I generally do not destroy any family information.


Pictures - Do you have a favorite? Read this blog…  ;-)

My additional comments: Really not a lot to contribute here. This blog is my primary "write about myself" venue. I've written Sharing Memories on Sunday posts that tell of my early years. My Retirement blog is chronicling my later years. My children, and grandchildren, read them all, and have access to them all. I guess that is the important part.


Families are Forever!

A Hundred Years Ago - Are you reading the blog?

A Hundred Years Ago

Are you reading the blog?

A Hundred Years Ago is a blog that transcribes and offers comments on a diary from this date one hundred years ago. Helena Muffly was 15 years old when she started her diary. The Blog has her photo and a photo of the farm where she lived when she wrote it, and more background information.

Do you have a family diary that needs to be transcribed, interpreted and shared? 

[Leave a comment to reply, Please and Thanks.]

I do. I have mentioned a time or two, here is one, that my mother kept a diary from 1932, when she was 14, until she died in 1999. The link was what would have been her 91st birthday, and provides a link to the 1936 entries I shared a number of years ago on "webpages" - the technology of the day.

Reading this recent blog reminded me that 1937 will be 75 years ago come January 1, 2012. Do you suppose I can commit myself to putting her 1937 diary online with that start date? Or, I could do 1942, which would be 70 years old, after I had arrived... interesting to ponder. What do you think?

Families are forever!  ;-)

Fearless Females - March 8 - Eileen KINNICK 1936 Diary

Fearless Females - March 8 

Eileen KINNICK 1936 Diary

Once again, in honor of National Women’s History Month (http://www.nwhp.org/whm/history.php), Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog (http://www.theaccidentalgenealogist.com/) presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.
March 8 — Did one of your female ancestors leave a diary, journal, or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt.

My mother was born Eileen KINNICK in December of 1918. She kept a daily diary from 1932 until she died in 1999.

At the age of 17 as it began, her 1936 diary takes us through the graduating semester of high school when her 'beau' for a long time 'dumped' her. She graduated, entered the work world, and then 'met' Pete, who became my father, as a serious boyfriend. They got to know each other on the dance floor and were married on St. Patrick's Day of 1938. I arrived in July of 1939.

It was a true pleasure, and labor of love, to have transcribed this one year of her life to share. Adding the modern links to the books she read and the movies she loved helped me to see her life in perspective much better. I hope you agree.


Families are Forever!  ;-)

Treasure Chest Thursday - Eileen young and older

This first photo is the focus of our attention today. Eileen is about 12 years old, in sixth grade most likely, about 1930. The physical photo I scanned is less than an inch square. Perhaps it was a school photo, but more likely, I think it was taken at a booth at a fair. They were popular in the 1930s... I have one of her and Dad later... This is my Mom, Eileen KINNICK, of course.

Just a couple of years after this, she started her daily diaries that she continued until cancer took her in 1999. For a link to a year of her diaries, see my post on her 91st Birthday Anniversary. 

Just for the comparison, here she is, near her 80th birthday, in her last year or so. 

Hi Mom!

Families are Forever!  ;-)

Eileen's 91st Birthday Anniversary

My mother, Mary Eileen Kinnick Smith Olson, would have been 91 years old today, 18 Dec 2009. She was always mildly frustrated that her birthday was so close to Christmas. Her Mom and Dad never gave the kids many presents anyway, so she felt she always came up even shorter than her two brothers with birthdays at other times of the year.


This is a photo of her the year she graduated from high school, from her photo album. I can easily imagine she always felt she looked and felt about like this... this age.

She kept a daily diary from about age 12 until she died. As a tribute to her, a couple of years ago, I transcribed her 1936 diary, day by day, week by week, and posted it, along with photos and other relevant links to her movie, book, and other interests. This was the year she not only graduated from high school, but 'lost' her first boy friend, got her first job, and began dating the man she would first marry, my Dad. Take a peek. I'd love to hear your comments... on content, form, style, whatever:
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~earlyyrs/eileen/1936web/

She died, quite unexpectedly of a brain tumor, in 1999, in her 80th year. Her mother lived well into her 90s - we all really expected her to do the same. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Families are Forever! ;-)