Wed. July 1: Fine. Worked for Berry and Benedict today. Drawed two loads of shingles from the Station, 102 bunches to the load. Jessie did her ironing today.
Thurs. July 2: Nice shower. Worked for Berry and Benedict. Drawed one load of feed got soaking wet. Did several odd jobs this afternoon. Jessie Stewart is here tonight. Jessie has been up to see Flora Harkness today.
Fri. July 3: Fair. Worked for Berry and Benedict. Drew one load from Station. Delivered one load of wood and load of lumber uptown. Did some tail sawing in mill. Ernest Hunt and Flora Harkness are coming to make an evening visit we expect.
Sat. July 4: Fair. Worked for B and B today. Drawed one load of feed. Worked around the mill in afternoon. Jessie and I went overtown in evening.
[No July 4 celebration this year, though they went downtown in the evening.]
Sun. July 5: Fine. I was taken in the Methodist church today. Pa and Ma came to church today. Mother and Will came about one o’clock. Will goes to Stan Miller’s to work in haying.
[And he would be a Methodist for the rest of his life.]
Mon. July 6: Fine. Commenced my work in haying for Albert Squire had a nice day put in all day. Jessie tried to wash but had to leave it and go to bed.
[Haying time beginning. Now Grandpa has lots of work until the hay is in.]
Tue. July 7: Showers. Went to work this morning worked until afternoon then it rained as I came home and set the tire on the front wheel to my bicycle.
[Can’t hay when it is raining.]
Wed. July 8: Cloudy. Worked at the hay all day. Had a cool wind today. Walked home so to carry my suit case back with me. Will came down today and finished hoeing my potatoes. Jessie has canned berries and currents. Will picked the cherries.
[Did he walk back to the DuMond farm to get his suitcase for the traveling between farms they were going to do during this haying season? A little confusing.]
Thurs. July 9: Fine. Picked cherries this forenoon. Drew four loads of hay this afternoon. Talked with Jessie tonight. She is up to her folks. I tried to fix my bicycle tonight but don’t know if I have succeeded or not.
[Grandma was spending some time in West Brook, and Grandpa called her on the phone.]
Fri. July 10: Fine. Worked at the hay I picked a few cherries this morning. Tried to fix my bicycle tonight but didn’t succeed. Am too tired to work at such work.
Sat. July 11: Fine. Worked in haying finished up acrost the creek and on the flat. Jessie and Mother are waiting for me to ride home with them. We drawed 3 1/2 loads today.
[Apparently Grandma and her mother were in Franklin and waited to take Grandpa back to the Hartwells for a few days.]
Sun. July 12: Shower. Jessie and I got up before the rest and took a walk. We wanted to go to church but it rained so we did not go. Father and I went over to Edd Klug and got some ice and we had some ice cream. Will and I are afraid it will rain tomorrow so guess we won’t go to our work tonight but wait until morning.
[Apparently his brother-in-law Will was also working for Squires.]
Mon. July 13: Partly cloudy. Mowed the orchard and around the house. Drawed two and a half loads and raked the scattering and cocked up what they was in the orchard. Am awful tired tonight.
[Cocking the hay meant piling up the hay, which had been cut and then left in the field to dry, into piles called hay cocks, to be loaded onto the wagons and taken to the barn.]
Tues. July 14: Showers. Helped milk then rode to town with Mr. Squires did some trading went over to the house everthing all right. Jessie met me at Sherman Hill and we went over to see Emroy about the farm but did not do any business. We went up to my folks until supper then up to her folks. I will stay here tonight. Ola came home today.
[Still staying with Hartwells, but went into town and checked on their house in Franklin. Hoping to get a new farm job but it didn’t work out. Supper with the DuMonds then back to Hartwells.]
Wed. July 15: Cold windy. Got up at four o’clock intending to go to my work but finely stayed until after breakfast then helped Father fix the prop under the shed roof then ate my dinner and walked over the hill in 51 minutes drawed one load of hay and raked and cocked four. While fussing with Father’s hay fork I stuck it in my foot and it is pretty sore tonight.
[Wherever the Squires lived, it was a 51 minute walk from the Hartwells.]
Thur. July 16: Fair windy. Went to the creamery this morning, did some hand mowing. Drew two loads of hay before dinner and three after dinner. Raked up what we mowed this morning and cocked it up. Talked with Father and Jessie tonight. Jessie is down to my folks tonight. I worked a while at my wheel. My foot feels better tonight.
[Apparently Grandpa stayed in town the night before, as he called Grandma and her father in the evening. This would have been two calls, as Grandma was spending the night with his parents. The wheel being his bicycle, which he was trying to get fixed so he could ride it.]
[Grandma]
Fri. July 17: Fair in AM showers PM. Walter worked in haying this forenoon and after dinner till 2:15. Then fixed his wheel and came home got here about 5 o’clock. I started Mother skirts today but didn’t git much done.
[She is at the DuMond home, and she speaks of Mother and later Father, which is what each of them called their inlaws.]
Sat. July 18: Showers. Walter didn’t work in haying today. He and Father went to Franklin and Walter hoed some in the garden and brought back some peas and green apples.
[Grandpa and his father went to Franklin and Grandpa worked in their garden there and brought back some produce to his parents’ home.]
[Grandpa]
Sun. July 19: Fair. Jessie and I shelled a mess of peas then I changed my clothes and after dinner we went to Plymouth to church. We walked up to Jim Bidwell’s in evening and made a call.
Mon. July 20: Fair. Fixed a scythe snath ground two scythe for Pa. Helped Jessie pick a pail of berries in forenoon. Went over to Squire’s and worked in haying in afternoon. Drawed three loads of hay today.
[That is, he sharpened the scythe which would have been used in hand mowing, probably in areas where the horse-drawn mower wouldn’t work.]
Tue. July 21: Changeable. Worked at the hay all day. Drawed four loads. I went to creamery this morning. Tried to talk with Jessie tonight but guess they had turned their phone off.
[Not sure where Grandpa is staying now, whether at one of the parents’ or in their place in Franklin. They were not together though, as he tried to call her.]
Wed. July 22: Changeable. It was cloudy this morning so I drew 15 dollars of my pay and went to town and paid my rent and insurance. Saw Pa and Will down there. Came back at noon and worked at the hay this afternoon. Got all cleaned up tonight.
[Ordinarily he would not get paid until the haying was completed, but he needed to pay some bills.]
Thur. July 23: Fine. Went and poisoned some potato bugs this morning. Went to creamery. Mowed around fence and ground my scythe. Raked our hay and cocked it up drawed three loads got about three out.
[He is probably at the DuMond farm now, as he “raked our hay.”]
Fri. July 24: Partly cloudy. It looked cloudy this morning. I went to creamery. It began to clear. Mr. S. went to mowing. We drawed five loads of hay today and got all cleaned up but scatterings tonight. It began to rain about seven o’clock and rained hard now at 8:30.
Sat. July 25: Rain. Helped milk and cleaned the house stables. As soon as it stopped raining I started for home. Jessie meet me at the foot of Madden Hill. There was a ball game here between Merrickville and Franklin score 7 and 8 in Merrickville favor. I enjoyed it very much.
Sun. July 26: Fine. Helped milk this morning Rosco did not come back. Pa took us up to Father Hartwell’s about 10:30. Ola was alone. So we three took our dinner and went in Strong woods to eat it. Then walked over my childhood play grounds. Ola and Jessie brought me over to the top of the hill tonight. I walked the rest of the way in 22 minutes.
[Grandma was apparently staying on with her folks now.]
Mon. July 27: Fine. Went to creamery. Did some picking out around the fence. Raked the scatterings from the last two days cuttings. Drawed three loads got through at 5:40 tonight. Jessie and Ola came by here going to Franklin today on special business.
[Well that’s intriguing. What special business?]
Tue. July 28: Hot and fine. Squire was drawn as a juror to Franklin so I went up to Father’s helped him draw three loads of hay. Will and Leon and I went down to the pond and went in swimming at night.
Wed. July 29: Fine. Got up this morning and wheeled over to Squire’s. We worked at the hay all day got four loads and some more cocked up.
Thurs. July 30: Very hot fine. Went to creamery. Squire finished mowing today. Raked and cocked all the hay. Drawed three loads. I talked with Jessie tonight. We expect to finish tomorrow if it don’t rain.
Fri. July 31: Fine. Finished haying for Squire 3/4 day. Settled up there went to town on my wheel. Left my wheel and rode home with Walter Johnson. Jessie went over to Aunt Katie’s with Pa had a nice time.
[Settled up means he was paid for his work, minus the $15 he had already taken for his rent and insurance.]
