Wed. May 1: Cold. We didn’t do anything house cleaning today. Did some patching instead. In the afternoon I went with Will to get two loads of wood with Max and Colonel. Max goes awful good in the woods for a horse that can’t see. Papa went to Walton today expecting to settle up with Patterson but Patterson was too busy and didn’t have the account looked up. He got more paint for the dining room floor and some for the porch to paint the posts etc. Made a mistake and got red will have to change it.
[Max and Colonel would have been draft horses. The hassles of life. Go to town to do business and can’t do it because the other person was too busy. Buy paint and it’s the wrong color.]
Thurs May 2: Pleasant. Finished painting the dining room and cleaned nearly all of the sitting. Ola helped out doors. After the room was cleaned I painted the porch floor it look quite good. Only Sport walked acrossed it before it was dry. I have wrote a letter to Walter tonight and expect one from him tomorrow morning.
[Sport being the dog.]
Fri. May 3: Rain in morning, cleared off and was pleasant in afternoon. Helped do up morning work and Ola and I went to Walton. Ola went down after a new hat she furnished flowers and some ribbon got her hat for $2.00. After chores Will went over to Merrickville and coming back in the morning. He expects to bring back my wheel. We got some cream paint for the porch. Took back the red and exchanged.
Sat. May 4: Rainy and cold. Haven’t done anything extry besides the housework. We expected John String’s people down today but it was so rainy they didn’t come. Chas. Eveland people was over had a fine visit as usual. We ate in the sitting room today for we are going to use it as a dining room for this summer. Will brought back the wheel. He didn’t get back till this afternoon.
[Grandma used to say “extry” so she wrote it like she said it. Rainy days were for visiting and having company. And of course they expected to stay for a meal, and you expected to feed them.]
Sun. May 5: Pleasant and warmer. Ola had company and went to Walton after dinner. We had planned to go to Franklin to hear Miss May Lindsey so of course we couldn’t go. Finely I got Papa to say he would go but Will and Lester Lee had gone off some wheres and we wouldn’t leave Mama alone and at last Mama and I went. It was very nice it lasted till ten and by the time we got out of the church and got our horse it was half pass ten and we got down by the ____ Store the strap came loose from the thick letting the side strap loose and the wagon ran on Ned and he nearly got beyond our control. We barely stopped him at Fred ____ when he Allen Backuk and another fellow fixed it so we got home alright but not till nearly one oclock.
[Big hassles. Grandma had her heart set on going to some kind of program (lecture? concert?) in Franklin, but her brother and a friend had gone off and they didn’t want to leave her mother home alone. So instead Mama went with her and Papa stayed home. However, a wagon strap came loose, sending the wagon bumping into the horse, who panicked and ran off. Someone who lived along the way fixed things up so they could get home, which took them 3 hours to go a few miles.]
Mon. May 6: We have all been on the bum today from being up so late last night. Ola and I both went to bed but Mama wouldn’t she stayed up all day.
Tue. May 7: Rainy. We did our washing today but didn’t get the clothes out. Will was going to draw away the banking and about 2 oclock it began to rain. Papa went to Walton he got the catalogue and Ola and I are going to distribute tomorrow if it doesn’t rain.
[I’m thinking drawing away the banking meant pulling the bales of straw away from the foundations of the house. They would pile straw against the house to help insulate it in the winter (we did that once when I was a girl also). However, it rained, spoiling both that task and the hanging out of the wash.]
Wed. May 8: Fine. We girls went with the catalogues and Ola tried to get up a $10.00 soap order. We give away 14 catalogues and took orders for about $9.00 worth of soap. We got started about nine oclock in the morning we went up to Brinkman’s for dinner and from there to Franklin and home by the way of Ed Johnson. We didn’t get home till nearly 6:30. They were all through milking.
[The two young women were trying to make some money selling soap door to door by catalogues. They stopped in for dinner with someone they knew along the way.]
Thurs. May 9: Fine. It rained this morning so Papa and Mama went over to Eveland’s and Cora Strong and Bertha Northrop was over to see us girls. We tryed to ride the bicycle tonight we are doing better than we did.
[Rainy weather meant visiting.]
Fri. May 10: Ola and Mama went to Walton will stop along and take orders for soap and give away catalogue. Will went over to Merrickville school this afternoon it is the last day. I baked a double batch of cookies and a cake beside doing the other work and have got my hay box started.
Sat. May 11: We did the ironing and in the afternoon sewed and Ola sewed on her white skirt and I pressed my green skirt and got the tucks in and pressed. The ground was covered with snow this morning and has been cold all day. Today is Edith birthday she would of been eight years old if she had of lived.
[They had a baby sister, born when they were nearly grown up. Her name was Edith but they called her Winnie, and everybody doted on her, but she died when she was three. Grandma always had a large portrait of her hanging in her house and always grieved for her.]
Sun. May 12: Fine. I went over to see the DuMond today. Had a very nice time. I didn’t come back till after chores when just in front of Ed Klug’s Ned started on a turn and was beyond my control in a second he run so fast I couldn’t stay in the wagon and throwed me out by Strong’s. I can’t remember being throwed out. I fainted away. I don’t remember anything again till I was being lifted up. It hurt my knee and the left side of my face quite bad. The scare was as bad as the hurt.
[Problems with Ned again. After a visit with her future inlaws, Ned got out of control on a turn and threw her from the wagon. Neighbors rescued her and got her home, but it was very traumatic.]
Mon. May 13: Fine. We didn’t wash today. I find I am lame and sore all over, feel worse than I did last night my face and ear is a raw sore my joints feel stiff especially my knees. Ola had to help me downstairs. Ed Klug brought me home last night. Ned ran home tore himself loose from the wagon and Papa and Ola put him in with Kit and came up to find me but stayed in with Mr. Klug for I felt so nervous to ride behind Ned again. The wagon is about ruined. He got loose from it just below Haskin.
[She was so traumatized that when the horse came home and her sister and father came to find her, she refused to ride behind him, even paired with the horse they drove to get her. So the neighbor brought her home.]
Tues. May 14: Very warm. Mama and Ola are washing but I am so lame and stiff I can’t do hardly anything. I am now outdoors I took Papa a drink and from there I came up to look after Topsy. I brought paper along thinking I would write to Walter but won’t have time now for I am going down to get dinner. I expect Will has a letter for me he came since I came up here.
Wed. May 15: Fine. Mrs. John String and the girls was down today. After they left we mended the harness and after chores blacked the harness. I feel every so much better today. I telephoned Mrs. Watters tonight I would go up and help her the rest of the week.
[She is to be working again temporarily for a family who needs help with household work for a time.]
Thur. May 16: Rainy. I came to Mrs. Waters this morning. I haven’t done much today but feel a little tired. Papa and Mama went over to Ifell Gorwats today.
Fri. May 17: I helped Mrs. Watters today. Went down to see Ida tonight and Ed Klugh and Lou came down to walk back with me. Ola rode Ned up tonight and brought me two letters from Walter. I didn’t get a chance to read them till afternoon.
Sat. May 18: Fine. I got my eye hurt this morning as I went to milk my last cow she kicked me over and the cow back of me got to kicking. I got quite badly hurt before I could get up. Ed Klugh got kicked quite bad trying to get me up. I managed to get up to the house with his help and after I got washed and my eye bathed I went to bed as quick as I could as I got awful faint and stayed till after dinner when I got up and in the afternoon Mr. Klugh brought me home.
[More injuries, this time from a cow.]
Sun. May 19: Fine. I feel pretty good today only my eye feels as sore as it did last night. I went down to see Dr. Morrows today about my eye and Ola and I drove up to Uncle Geo’s before we came home. Mrs. Gorwat was here today. She came yesterday afternoon and went home tonight after chores. Edd Klugh came down tonight to see how I was.
Mon. May 20: My eye is some better the medicine the Dr. give me seem to help we didn’t wash today. I wasn’t able to help and Ola went to the creamery and it would of made it too late. I got my letter tonight.
Wed. May 22: I did the ironing today. Ola went over to Jessie Stewart school she is going to have a picnic. Jessie and Ola drove over this way and I went home with them we found Mrs. Stewart and Marie sick with hard colds.
[They stayed a few days with the schoolteacher’s family, who were sick and needed help.]
Thurs. May 23: I haven’t felt very good today. Mrs. Stewart stay in bed all day today. the Dr. was up to see them. We girls did up the work and went to bed this after noon and I slept till supper time.
Fri. May 24: Mrs. Stewart and Marie is better today. I went out with Clair and plowed around the piece while he drove. I am beginning to feel homesick. I would go home but Mr. Stewart is using the horse every day so I am going to wait till Sunday.
Sun. May 26: Rainy and awful cold. Jessie and Clair brought me home today we didn’t get here till nearly two o’clock. It rained all the way over and so cold we nearly froze. They started home about 3:30. Jessie calcalated to start for New Kingston tomorrow her and her father are going to drive. I had a very pleasant surprise tonight Walter drove in just as we was finishing milking. He has a boil on his back and came home for a few days expects to go back Tuesday.
[He means “calculated,” which both of them often used to mean “planned.”]
Mon. May 27: Rainy windy. Walter stayed over today we tried to go hunting and after flowers we started two different times and both times got caught in a shower but managed to get a few flowers. I came over with Walter tonight and going to stay till tomorrow afternoon. After we got here Walter had to drive down to Franklin Station so his father could ride back he had drove some stock down. They got back about eleven o’clock. I went to bed before they got back. Papa went to Mt. Upton with Ed Klugh. I expect Walter to stay till Thursday before he goes back to Norwich.
[In May they went into the woods in search of May flowers. I remember doing this once with my mother and Grandma. This may have been the business that Grandpa’s father had gone off to arrange, selling some stock, which today he drove to the railroad depot at Franklin Station.]
Tues. May 28: Cold windy. I visited over to Mr. DuMond’s today. Walter brought me back about four o’clock. We wanted to go in the woods after flowers but it was so windy we give it up.
Wed. May 29: Warmer but still windy. I haven’t pretended to do any work today. Walter has been here and we have tried to have the best time we could. After dinner we went in the woods. Didn’t see any thing to shoot at only a chipmunk which I shot and got a few flowers. Had a fine time tramped way back in the woods, but back to the house about five oclock. Helped with the milking. Got to bed about two oclock. I said good bye to Walter tonight he goes home to morrow afternoon, we were both too sleepy to visit.
[Yes my gentle sweet Grandma went hunting and shot small animals.]
Thurs. May 30: Pleasant. Mama and Ola went to Franklin today. I took a little nap this forenoon and this afternoon painted the stoop. I feel rather old tonight it has been rather of a lonesome day. Will and Papa went up to Ed Klugh tonight.
Fri. May 31: Warm. Mr. and Mrs. Eveland was over today had a good visit as usual. Mama Mrs. Eveland and myself went up in the pasture to see the grading and went on over in the woods and got some leeks for Mrs. Eveland. Rob Young telephoned this morning that Edna and Ralph was coming tomorrow. He came home last night from Schenectady. Ola and Will has gone up to Rob Palmar’s to a party. I didn’t care to go besides my eye is still a little black yet. I had a postal from Walter tonight.
[Rob Young must have been a relative of Aunt Edna’s husband James, who still lived in the area. He had been to visit Grandma’s sister and brother-in-law and brought the news that they were coming home to visit with their son Ralph. A postal meaning a post card.]
