As this month begins, Emma and Tell are still living in Glidden, IA, at the house of their friend Nell Malen, and trying to figure out what to do next.
Sun 1. We went to church & SS this AM. Both Dad & I taught classes. Rev. Johnson came down after church and asked us to bring our dinner & eat with them which we did. Mr. & Mrs. Roberts & Mrs. R’s brother were there too. We had a nice time. Stayed for League & church. I spoke to a young fellow about being a Christian. He said he would start.
Mon 2. Glidden. Another foggy day. Have written five letters—Linnie, Miss Malen, Mrs. Doggett, Ruth & Katharine. It takes a lot of time. Linnie wrote to say they had been in an accident & ruined their car. Ran into a house after night. Finished my gray hooked rug. It has a border of red roses and is rather pretty. Am glad to get it out of the frames. Will start another one soon. Am going to crochet one, I think. We addressed some envelopes & folded some letters for the preacher this PM. We got 5.00 worth of coal today.
Tue 3. Election day. Dad & I sent our ballot last week. It is a nice warm day. We went to the church in the evening. Dad had charge of the opening devotions at Bible class. We went over to the preachers to get returns from the election. Looks like Roosevelt would be elected. Had oyster stew about 11 P.M. Did not get home until after midnight.
Roosevelt won the 1936 presidential election by the largest margin since the largely uncontested 1820 election of James Monroe. The 1936 ballot in Iowa included one statewide measure—an amendment to abolish the state census. It passed. I was also interested to learn that nearly 2% of the votes in the 1936 presidential election were cast by mail-in/absentee ballot.
Wed 4. Dad and I went to Lake City which is about 17 miles north of here to a Unit meeting. It was in the Ft. Dodge District. Saw Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Smith, Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Fowler, Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Price all from Ft. Dodge. Had a nice time. Got our ties from Mrs. Swallum to sell.
Thu 5. Have cleaned up the basement & upstairs. Am working on my rug. Card from Gerrit said the X-Ray showed Linnie had a rib broken.
Fri 6. Today we have been making soap out of some grease Florence gave me. It has been quite a job. I hope it proves to be all right. Have been reading some in the SB book “The Land & Life of Africa.” Have also been making some rugs. It is some job. We got a letter from Ruth. She is pretty anxious over money. We hope to hear them over the Radio tonight over Leonard’s new Radio. We wrote her a long letter today. Hurrah! We did hear Bob & Ruth this evening. It sounded fine.
Written by Margaret Wrong, a Canadian missionary and encourager of African literature, this 1935 book (which is now in the public domain and can be downloaded here) was described as follows in the Journal of the Royal African Society (now African Affairs):
Sat 7. Dad & I drove over to Carroll today to see if there might not be a salable or suitable coat for Bob at the Rummage Sale but there wasn’t. I bought a bushel of fruit jars for 35 cents which I thought was cheap.
Sun 8. We went to SS and church. Dad taught Mrs. Johnson’s class & I taught Mrs. Golding’s class. Home for dinner after church & then EL & church at night. We wrote several letters.
Mon 9. We did the washing today. Wrote Miss. M. yesterday about the overcoat in the closet. Think it would just fit Bob. Hope we can get it for him. Father & Son banquet is tonight. Tell took young Bill West to the banquet. Mrs. Adamson spent the evening with me.
Tue 10. Moved the things in our bedroom this AM so Tell could paint. Then finished the ironing. In the evening we went to the service at the church. Rev. Hogden from the Ft. Des Moines church preached. Not many were there. It was a good sermon.
I don’t know exactly what the deal between Emma & Tell and Miss Malen was, but it sounds like they may be doing a bunch of work on her house in exchange for having a place to live. I’m assuming she was on the road quite a bit for her evangelical work, and was happy to have someone there taking care of the place.
Wed 11. Armistice Day. We are here in Glidden. Tell is painting. I answered the family letter which came today. Got a letter from Katharine this morning. Have not heard from Gerald for so long. It is hard not to be anxious. Tomorrow there is a Unit meeting at Eagle Grove.
Thu 12. Today is a beautiful day. Tell painted & I worked on rugs. In the evening we hear Rev. Loren Thomas speak at the church.
This is a pretty quiet month, so I’ll throw in a little gem from a family letter that you’ll see more of in the December post. This was contributed by Tell’s brother Chris, and is a take-off on a poem by Robert Service called “The Shooting of Dan McGrew.”
Fri 13. I cleaned the dining room and kitchen today while Dad painted. In the evening the Dist. Supt. held a service. Rather punk. We went in to Johnsons awhile. I helped her with the dishes.
Sat 14. Today I went with the EL to Luther today. Did some baking. We were late getting there. I was rather lonely at the meeting.
Sun 15. We went to church & SS today. I taught a most obstreperous boys’ class. Dad taught the men’s class. Heard a good sermon by Rev. Johnson. Met Dorothy Smith. I am tired tonight. Wrote Katharine & Ruth.
Mon 16. This is a beautiful day. We were so happy to get a letter from Betty and Miriam. Gerald is working so hard. I went to the SB meeting this evening at Margaret Stulzman. Dad wrote to Rev. Randolph and to Berne at night.
Tue 17. Mrs. Adamson called today to get 20¢ for the class party eats. There is no Bible study at our church as Rev. Johnson is holding meetings at Dedham.
Wed 18. Dad & I worked upstairs some yesterday and today. We picked out the wall paper & Mr. Leonard sent for it. I will be so glad to have the two rooms finished. The closets look so nice. I put a rug on the frame today to hook. Hope it looks OK.
Thu 19. A nice letter from Ruth came this morning. They have moved to 2284 Josephine to an apartment. I am glad. Have been getting the games ready for the class party tonight. Dad has been painting.
Bob and Ruth had been living in the basement apartment of a retired minister and his wife. I looked up the address and it looks as though they moved close to Bob’s brother Don (who was a student at the Iliff Seminary) and his wife Bernie.
Fri 20. I went to the WFMS at Mrs. Leonard’s this PM. We heard Bob & Ruth at 6:45. Dad went with Mr. Davenport to Dedham to church but I stayed home & “hooked” on a rug. I am making one for Linnie.
Sat 21. Dad has been wiring the rooms upstairs today. He is very tired. Mrs. Leonard came over to say we could have any of her father’s things for Bob.
Sun 22. Dad did not go to SS. Came to church. We were home all day. I went to League & we both went to the Pres. church. Rev. Overholtzers father preached & baptized his son’s baby.
Mon 23. Wash Day! Had a fair sized one. We went to Dedham in the evening to a Gospel Team meeting. Dad had charge. Five other men took part. We went with Dr. Lindsay. Dad sent the overcoat & suit & shoes to Bob today.
Tue 24. This has been a busy day. Dad has painted. I have ironed, mended, cleaned & worked on my rug. We are planning to go to Eldora tomorrow if the weather is fit. Have had a “dusty wind” today.
This was a significant dust storm that swept in from the Dakotas.
Wed 25. We started for Eldora today. Left Mr. Leonard papering upstairs this morning. We took a lunch with us and ate by the roadside. Found John feeling a little better.
Thu 26. Thanksgiving Day. Miriam asked us down there but we could not go. Ate dinner with John and Alice. We got a lovely letter from Katharine today. She is alone this weekend tho’ two invitations out for dinner. I would like to be with her.
Fri 27. Alice went to Cedar Rapids to see Phe. Tell took her to Marshalltown. Got a card from Ruth and a letter from Miriam saying Gerald was in more trouble. I wonder just why he can’t see the right way. Tried so hard to hear BobnRuth but there were too many coming in on the same wave length. However we heard the last bit of the program with Bob’s announcement. Miss Hudson called today.
This would have been Bob and Ruth’s radio show from Denver on the AM station KOA. And I love the name mashup—Emma really wrote it this way!
Sat 28. Dad bought his new numbers today. He has gone to Hubbard this A.M. May be back before dinner. Do not know. John complained of his hands & arms being so tired & sore. Alice phoned for Dad to meet her at Marshalltown in the morning.
Sun 29. Alice got home this AM. Tell went after her. She got home in time for me to go to SS & church. Dean Pusen spoke at church. We drove home to Glidden after dinner. Got a nice letter from Bob & Ruth. They want us to come out. Dad has gone to church tonight.
Mon 30. Dad has been painting and I have washed, cleaned upstairs a bit and am rather tired. I am supposed to go to an EL party tonight. We got our Parker pen back today fixed up “Okay.” Dad sent Alice’s key back to her. Carried it back in his pocket. We may go to live in Denver.
A Parker fountain pen would have been a prized possession. They cost $5-10 in 1936, which is about $110-220 in today’s money. The entries in Emma’s diary between Nov. 17 and 29 were written in pencil, but here she returns to ink. If you want to dig in a little further, here’s a 42-page Parker Pen service manual from 1936.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Emma’s journals. See you next week for December 1936.