Emma #136: September 1938
Abundance on the farm, Gerald goes to prison, and war clouds gathering
As I send this post out on August 8, 2024, we are just a few days away from Emma’s birthday (August 11). She was born in 1879—145 years ago! What a treasure it is to be able to travel back in time and hear these stories.
Thu 1. We hated to see the folks leave. I sent apples, plums, beets & carrots with Alice. Cleaned up the house after they left. Bess came after some apples & elderberries & brought me some steak. Louise Green came to work on my dress. She finished it & we asked her for supper. We took her home & I took butter & eggs to sell to Mrs. Purington. We do not hear anything from Gerald.
Fri 2. It has been cool & nice today. We canned a few elderberries & tomatoes. Went to see about our ice bill. We bought 13.40 worth of ice. We paid 5.00 on it. Bob had paid 7.00 in lessons leaving 1.40 yet to be paid. I will sell Mrs. Brassfield some butter tomorrow as I plan to churn. We got a card from Ruth saying Uncle John had given Bob $5.00. Could only find 40 turkeys tonight. We sold enough chickens to Reynolds tonight to pay his bill. Bill was 8.20. It took 17 to pay it.
As I read these two entries, I am struck by the richness of their local food resources. They produced, raised, canned, shared, sold, and enjoyed so many things, and bartered for ice, singing lessons, and more.
Sat 3. This has been a warm day. We churned a gallon of cream this A.M. Got 3¾ lbs. Sold 10 lbs at Economy store & got 32¢. They gave it a test of 20—creamery 38. I do not expect to go back there again. Mrs. Brassfield got three lbs of butter today. Mr. Fuller of the Economy store just called up saying he had made a mistake & that we had 52¢ coming. I now expect to go back.
Cream is classified by the FDA into four levels (heavy, whipping, light, and half-and-half) based on the amount of milkfat. Although I’m not sure these specific standards were in place in 1938, it certainly sounds like there was a significant price difference between light and heavy cream.
Sun 4. The first Sunday in Sept. It has been warm and that is good for the corn. Rev. Walker was back in the pulpit. I taught in SS. Mrs. Brassfield & Joyce were here this afternoon. I wrote four letters today. Gerald, Ruth, Katharine & John Lohr. I suppose Bob & Ruth are with Katharine today.
Mon 5. Have canned peaches and plums this morning. Had 22 jars in all. Used Mrs. Leonard’s recipe. Grind the plums. To one cup pulp add 1 cup sugar. Boil 3 minutes & can. They are delicious. Put up a crate of peaches. No word from Mexico [MO—where Gerald and family were living] yet. A card from Ruth. They had 300 miles to go to reach Cleveland Sat. night.
Here’s a recipe for plum jam that sounds similar to the one Emma used. I was interested to learn that sugar helps preserve fruit by absorbing water, making it harder for bacteria, yeast, and mold to grow.
Tue 6. Dad got up early, did the chores & drove to Denison. I did not go as the hogs had to be fed at noon. He sent the first half of the rent to Florence and $53.00 to John Lohr. It was rather lonely here. He got back early. Mrs. Neuman called & asked me to go with her to Besse Williams which I did, to collect some missionary money. I worked on my grey dress and winter coat today also finished the pocket book I was crocheting. A card from Ruth said they got to Cleveland alright. Would stay over Sunday, leave Monday. I picked a lot of elderberries and pulled them off their stems tonight. Suppose Ruth & Bob are in Phil tonight.
Wed 7. Today is Dad’s birthday. He is 67 yrs. old. We celebrated by doing the washing!!! It rained awhile but we got the clothes all dry. Besse came in the evening. Staid rather late.
Last month, Emma and Tell celebrated their 38th anniversary. As it happens, they celebrated that day by doing the washing as well.
Thu 8. Today we got a letter from Gerald. Said he had been sentenced to the penitentiary for 2 yrs. He hopes for a parole. We have been praying for him. We bought a saw, a refrigerator & a stove at Auburn at a sale today. Stove 50¢ refrigerator 1.50 & saw 25¢. We will get the stove tomorrow. Sold Mr. Wernick 8.57 chickens tonight.
The Missouri State Penitentiary was a fearsome place. Once the oldest continually operating prison west of the Mississippi River, it opened in 1836 and was in use for 168 years before decommissioning in 2004. Here are some pictures from a guided tour of the site.
Fri 9. We got a card and a letter from Ruth today. We are having Katharine send her our oil check this time. We wrote Rev. Randolph and the D.A. at Mexico in regard to a parole for Gerald. It seems to me I can not go through the disgrace. My oldest child—my firstborn. He nearly died so often in his childhood. How much easier death would have been.
The March 1931 installment of Emma’s journal gives a little background on the oil check, which represents dividends from an Oklahoma oil lease. This small stream of income proved to be a lifeline for them during the Depression and beyond.
Sat 10. Kept busy this day with cleaning etc. Dressed a chicken for the church supper & went down and helped at the church. Not much of a crowd. Brought home a lot of stuff to eat. Washed dishes for nearly 3 hours.
Sun 11. Went to SS & taught my class—only 3 there! Dad came to church. Asked Florence for dinner. Rested but did not sleep. Bess came in and stayed for lunch! We went to Mr. Damens. I could grieve my life away for Gerald. Guess he does not realize how his way of life brings sorrow to so many others.
Mon 12. It has rained a lot today but we washed and got the clothes dry—at least enough to iron. I went to Mrs. Brassfields in the afternoon to make out the SB reports. In the evening Dad & I went to the Quarterly Conf. Dad was put on as a Steward. We got a letter from Miriam today. She is hoping for a parole. Gerald gets but two skimpy meals a day—at 10 & again at 3. “The way of the transgressor is hard.”
A parole is a form of early release in which a prisoner is considered to be serving their sentence but agrees to meet certain behavioral conditions and check in with a parole officer to avoid being rearrested and returned to prison.
Tue 13. Dad swept the church & scrubbed the kitchen today. I ironed—listened to the story from Ames, read by Betty Wells. Baked cookies. Put up the clean ironed curtains in the bedroom. Did some mending. Looked over the corn with Dad & then picked up a dishpan full of ground cherries. It has rained a lot today. Besse came in the evening and helped me look over a lot of ground cherries. I will have a lot more. She brought me a book called “The Real Billy Sunday” by Elijah P. Brown to read. We got a letter from Rev. J. S. Randolph of Mexico, Mo today. He feels rather hopeless about Gerald’s parole.
Billy Sunday was born into poverty near Ames, IA and played baseball in the major leagues for eight years before converting to evangelical Christianity and becoming a highly influential preacher in the early 20th century. This biography was written by a one-time confidential assistant of Sunday’s, and chronicles Sunday's life from his early years as a professional baseball player to his conversion to Christianity and subsequent rise to fame as a preacher. Written in 1914, the book is in the public domain and can be found here.
Wed 14. It has been cloudy today. I looked over some ground cherries, churned, did the usual work. Did not go to Ladies Aid. Sent my report to Mrs. Held, wrote the girls and spent some time picking fruit. Mrs. Brassfield came down awhile this evening. We plan to trade some chickens as she plans to can hers and would just as leave have young roosters. Bess wanted to try to organize a SS class for me to teach.
Thu 15. The day has been spent canning ground cherries, elderberries, apples, making jelly, drying elderberries etc. etc. Mr. Grooters & Mr. Morgan—a state man—were here a few minutes this morning. Dad has been nailing & cleaning the house preparing to paint. Hilma brought me the material for devotion at Missionary Society. It is to be at her home next Tues. night. Did not get to trade chickens tonight. Got a nice letter from Ruth & Bob. They will move into their house the 22nd. It will be freshly papered & painted. We also got a letter from the D.A. in Mexico. Told us of a forged check.
Fri 16. We traded 15 roosters for 15 pullets with Mrs. Brassfield today. Are going to sell some tomorrow.
Sat 17. It rained a lot today. We caught & sold 7.01 worth of roosters. Dad got the check from Franklin Co. so we paid for the feed at Mighell’s. Mrs. Brassfield & I studied this PM. I went & got her & took her home. I had my hair set today. Dad & I wonder about Gerald. It is hard to believe.
Sun 18. Dad is going to give up the janitor work the first of the month. He has so much to do. We both taught SS classes today. We were told yesterday that Rev. Walker has been asked to resign. I feel sorry for him. Miss Roe & Miss Polluck walked out here today. Brought some missionary material which I did not need but I was glad to visit awhile. Dad & I wrote letter to all the children & John Lohr today.
In the August 1937 installment there is a list of the responsibilities Tell took on as the church caretaker. It provided a small monthly income, but it sounds like they decided his time would be better used on the farm.
Mon 19. This has been a beautiful day. Dad has been painting. Ernest Wetter was here to fix the front porch. It was so cold we thought it would be the last of our garden but it did not frost here. I have been making an apron out of an old apron. We got a letter from Ruth, a card from Chris and a box of little wood boxes from Will. We hoped there were pecans in the box. I hope the war that sounds so threatening does not materialize. We took 4½ pints of cream to the store to sell.
A little foreshadowing of things to come…
Tue 20. It did not frost last night. Dad painted on the house all day. I took Mrs. Brassfield 2 lbs butter. Took Mrs. Yetter 2 qts of buttermilk. Went to Mrs. Snows to plan for our luncheon. I am to furnish & cook two chickens. In the evening Besse, Mrs. Brassfield & I went to the WFMS at Hilma Green’s. Besse was here for supper.
Wed 21. I took some cream down town. None had been sold at Hammonds. I will sell some at Millers next Monday. We got a letter from Miriam. She gets 1.44 per day. I packed her box ready to send. SS Board meeting tonight!
Last month there was a mention of Miriam starting to work; I don’t know if the 1.44 per day is her earnings, or if she was also eligible for some sort of public assistance with her husband in prison and 4 children to care for.
Thu 22. Today we sent Miriam’s box by freight—cost 1.27 I believe. Nothing in it that was worth much. We surely were not wanted as SS teachers tonight. Dad was not elected to anything. Walker asked him to teach that class next Sunday. War clouds are gathering. I wrote the family letter—also sent 3.00 to Mont. Ward & Co. on separator. Bess & I drove out to see Mrs. Foley’s pullets. She will sell them for 75¢ apiece. I hope to buy (50) fifty. Besse staid for supper.
In an earlier entry Emma mentions buying a separator from Sears, but here she mentions making a payment to Montgomery Ward. I’m not sure which it was, but these two companies, both based in Chicago, were the big mail-order catalog competitors for decades. Here’s a PBS video story of their rivalry.
Fri 23. It has been very warm today. I took some cream to Hammonds & staid down town awhile for the celebration. There were four visiting bands here—Lohrville, Rockwell City, Somers & Manson. Not a large crowd in town. The news from Europe makes one think war will soon break out as Czech tries to defend her borders against Germany. Bess treated me to ice cream today. Mr. Grooters came here to stay all night.
Sat 24. Mr. Grooters was here for breakfast. We listened to the war news. Dad worked at the church and painted all afternoon on the house. Mrs. Brassfield came down in the evening to study her SS lesson with me. I made pumpkin pie today with a pumpkin from my own garden. Called on Louise Green—took my dress, & then called on Miss Titus whose mother is to be buried tomorrow.
Although many pumpkin pie recipes call for canned pumpkin, here is one that uses fresh.
Sun 25. Dad & I each taught a SS class. Stayed for church. I sang in the choir. We had a chicken dinner. Bess came in and brought some folks who want to buy a turkey in a couple weeks. I wrote the girls but did not finish one I started to Miriam.
Mon 26. This has surely been a busy day. We took a qt. of cream to Hammonds & one to Millers Cash Store. Hope it sells. We washed. Did not finish the scrubbing till evening as I listened an hour & a half to the Radio which carried Hitler’s speech from Berlin, Germany. He told the world he would not back down but demanded the Sudeten part of Czechoslovakia. It surely means war. Mr. & Mrs. Wetter were here, Besse & Margie Jean, Mrs. Foley came to say I could buy her pullets at 75¢ each. I intend to buy 50= $37.50. I sold 6 lbs of butter today. Think I will go to Kansas City to Branch meeting.
The world is moving toward World War II. Here’s a headline from a story reporting on Hitler’s speech.
Tue 27. Such a busy day. I had to go to see Louise Green & the morning went fast. Did not get my ironing done until after supper. A great war has been averted for a few days. Tomorrow Hitler from Germany, Chamberlain from G.B., Mussolini from Italy & the French president are to have a Conference in Munich. Roosevelt cabled Hitler—sent a message to Mussolini—asking for peace. Do not understand why I do not hear from Linnie.
Wed 28. Took my cream to town today. Also sold 10 young chickens which I will have to dress. Got my dress from Lucile this morning. Went to the Aid Society & then called on Mrs. Green. Bought a 20¢ cake. Mrs. Brassfield came down awhile this PM. We are planning to go to Sac City Friday. Gerald wrote for money for shoes.
Thu 29. Have dressed 8 chickens to sell tomorrow. Have 2 more to dress. Am planning to go to ME Conf. at Sac City tomorrow. Am taking Louise Green, Mrs. Williams, Mrs. Brassfield & possibly Hilma. Guess Hilma can not go.
Fri 30. A lovely day. Dad is finishing the porches. We took the ten chickens to the Johnson Cafe. Sold 3 hens for 1.99. We just decided to sell our hogs this weekend. We will have enough money to pay the rent and the chicken I am buying. Am so happy because Hilma is driving. She will take the Co. car. Got home about 11 PM. Called on Margaret Davis. Saw Rev. Wardle, Rev. Muhleman. Saw Rev. Robinson who will likely be our new preacher. Visited a minute with Arthur Tumbleson. Saw Mrs. Krewell who told me she was with Uncle George when he died—closed his eyes. Said Aunt Belle was in the hospital—had been visiting in Ohio. Suffered a severe fall & hurt her back. Saw many of my missionary friends & had a fine time.
How nice to end the month on a high note, with the threat of war on the horizon and Gerald in prison. Things are looking hopeful financially, and Emma got to visit with a lot of friends and family at the church conference. Pausing for a moment to be thankful.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Emma’s journals. See you next week for October 1938.