Fri 1. The news of war came this A.M. Germany has started war on Poland and Danzig. Have fixed 4 pints of ground cherries today. It takes a lot of work—pick them up, take off husk, cut each one in two and then cooking them carefully. Slept awhile this P.M. Went to see the Brassfields today. Got a letter from Thelma today. They are being held up in Lima where they have gone for a bus. Have quilted and “rolled” today. War news from overseas keeps the radio busy. Florence called me tonight.
Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, is generally considered to be the beginning of WWII. Here’s a newspaper front page from this day in history.
Sat 2. War! War! War. The radio has had special addresses from Rome, London, Berlin, Paris & Warsaw. The radio is a wonderful thing. Today I have cleaned up the house a bit, quilted a little, etc. Besse was here for awhile. France & England seem to be slow to declare war.
Sun 3. We went to SS this A.M. and then came home. We had dinner and drove to the Bible Conference. Heard two speakers—Rev. Christiansen who has been a missionary in Africa, and Rev. Moyer from Minneapolis. We got home about 6 P.M. Besse was just walking down here. Got supper and then got my report blanks out to the SB. Heard Pres. Roosevelt’s address at 8 P.M. Besse staid till about nine when Brassfields came after her. She & Thelma plan to sit up at Doole’s tonight.
Mon 4. Today was Labor Day so Dad and I labored making kraut—5 gal. I am glad it is made. This afternoon we went to Mrs. Doole’s funeral at the church. I called on Mrs. Scott who has been sick. This evening we went to an official board meeting at the church. Got a card from Miriam that Jerry Jr. got home alright. Got a nice letter from Ruth.
Sauerkraut is fermented cabbage that has a sour taste. The term “Kraut” became an ethnic slur for Germans during WWII, but at this time it was in common use to describe the dish. Here are some instructions for making it, and a video if you would rather watch someone else doing it!
Tue 5. Listening to a radio report from Paris. I heard the siren sound warning the people of an approaching air raid. It has been a windy dusty day. I canned a few tomatoes, churned & quilted.Sent in an Oxydol rhyme. Bess was in awhile today.
Wed 6. Another terrible dusty windy day. I could not do much at cleaning the house till toward evening when the wind went down. I baked the angel food cake for Dad’s birthday dinner & quilted some. Besse was in again this evening. We went down and got some strawberries from the locker & Bess gave us some smoked meat—also got three ice cream sticks. Have a lot to do tomorrow. Sent an Oxydol “last line” in today. We sent Gerald 5.00 via Miriam for a suit.
Angel food cake is a very light cake made with sugar, flour, egg whites, and vanilla. Here’s a recipe that also includes a video if you’d like to give it a try.
Image Source: Sally’s Baking Addiction
Thu 7. Today was Tell’s birthday—68 years old. The Boyds did not get here but Mr. & Mrs. Grooters & Stella came. They brought him a birthday cake. We had a nice chicken dinner. They staid till after lunch. We had ice cream & cake, a few strawberries & ice water. It has been warm today. I quilted awhile after supper. Have 1½ rows of blocks to do. Corn, Eggs, Cream etc. have gone up.
Fri 8. It has been a most delightful day. Cool & pleasant. We washed this A.M. Got a card from Will. Florence went away till Monday. I quilted nearly a whole block. Have worked nearly two hours tonight. Went to the WCTU meeting today at Mrs. Weaklands. Only three of us there. Wrote to the girls tonight. Have managed to keep busy. It is time for the 10 P.M. news almost.
Sat 9. This has been a lovely day, tho’ it has turned quite cool tonight. Besse just left. I have been quilting. Got up early and did the ironing. Have finished my quota I laid out for today. Got a letter from Miriam today.
Sun 10. A beautiful day. Cool enough! Warm enough! Dad & I went to SS & taught our classes. Staid for church. A good crowd! No Sermon! No church service tonight because Bishop Magee is to be in Sac City and our church is invited. We are not going. Dad is picking a lot of corn to feed these days. Eggs are up a cent. We get 15¢ in trade. Had a chance to go to Sac to hear the Bishop. Went with Greens. Besse was here and they took her home. Rather liked the little bald headed bishop tho’ he talked a lot about himself.
Junius Ralph Magee was the first Iowa-born bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mon 11. Since the washing and ironing are done, I have quilted today. Finished more than I laid out to do, but a lot remains to be done. We got a letter from Ruth & Gerald & Linnie—also the family letter. I have written the letter to go in it tonight. Besse wanted me to come out for dinner and go to a farm bureau meeting but I wanted to quilt.
Tue 12. Another windy day! I spent most of my time on Katharine’s quilt. Rolled it ready for 6 solid blocks of quilting. We did not go to the SS Board meeting this evening. Bess was here. Guess Mrs. Ellis who wanted to board with us will go to the hospital.
Wed 13. Another windy day. I planned to go to Aid but it was so windy I decided to stay at home and quilt.
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Thu 14. Hot and windy today. Got the Oil check but only about half as big as usual. We paid for the stove. Owe only 7.50 on it. Heard Pres. Reiley (Ames) give his address to the 2000 Freshmen at Ames.
Fri 15. Another hot day. Besse was down in the P.M. I quilted. We went to a service at the Pentecostal church this evening. Rev. & Mrs. Stark had the service in charge. She played the guitar and sang? She surely jazzed the songs. The church is very small. Mr. Overton invited us.
Sat 16. Today has been cool and pleasant. It was easy to put the house in order, & swept, scrubbed the porches, baked an angel food cake etc. Bess & Thelma were here to study in P.M. Bess came back again at night. I finished the littlepieces of quilting. I like the drawing. There were 4 on each plain block. 36 plain blocks. 144—8 leaves to each= 1172 leaves. I hope to finish the quilt this week tho it is wash week.
Emma doodled this little picture in her journal. Based on her description it sounds like it was a decorative stitch used on plain blocks of the quilt.(I don’t think her math is right…I get 1152…but either way it’s a lot of little leaves!)
Sun 17. This has been a beautiful day. Drove to church as usual. Took Florence as usual to her church. Same “thanks” as usual. We both taught our classes. They are fixing the basement so it could not be used. We had canned chicken for dinner & it was good. Went to the Jr. Conference in P.M. We like Dr. Davies. Went to church at night. Very few there.
Mon 18. This proved to be a nice wash day. Washed bedroom curtains. I want to get the house cleaned before Kate & Fred come next week. We have been reading the 1937 diary. What a lot of tears and smiles in a year of life. I quilted some this P.M. Bess brought her vacuum cleaner in for me to use. She will not have corn shellers this week so I may get the quilt done. Churned, scrubbed etc today. Got a letter from Gerald. He expects to get home Sept. 26.
If you want to go back and read the 1937 diary, here’s a link to the January post. This was the year they rented the farm in Lake City after returning from Grant’s Pass, OR.
Tue 19. Today was lovely. Dad & I went out to Bess Williams for dinner. She had a nice dinner prepared and wanted us to come. After coming home I went to the church to help clean the furniture and found the women scraping off the new plaster finish which had partly come off. They had decided to have the chicken dinner at the Community bldg. Bess came in this evening & went to McCrarys to WFMS. Mary showed pictures of Holland which they took with their new movie camera. Bess drove home alone. She wanted me to pray with her before she went. She is so deaf— she gets little out of the meeting.
The introduction of 8mm film in 1932 made portable cameras feasible for home movies. 8mm Kodachrome color film was introduced in 1936. It was a “reversal” film that produced positive images rather than negatives, greatly simplifying the development process.
Wed 20. It has been much cooler today. A light frost may come tonight. I cleaned the mattress, washed windows & put up clean curtains in the bedroom today. Have quilted some. It takes a long while to finish up. Guess I will not get anything from Oxydol contests. Sent in several box tops. Besse was here awhile this evening. Got a letter from Katharine. She has a bad boy in Dan. Poor child—I will pray for him. The women worked at the church basement today. They have done the dining room walls over. Eggs are 16¢ in trade—I have a small bill at Millers—less than $3.00. The pullets are beginning to lay. We are talking of selling off everything and spending the winter in the East.
Thu 21. This has been a lovely day. Dad has been picking corn for the hogs & chickens. I cleaned the front room today—or worked in it. I have been quilting some today. We have been talking about spending a couple months in the East. We could pay our fare with the coal & utilities money. We might have enough from the chickens. Mrs. Brassfield is coming down to study tonight. Rev. Tyler was here to get me to be secretary for the Good Will Missions at Sioux City. I decided to try it.
Goodwill (now Goodwill Industries International) was founded in 1902 by a Methodist minister in Boston. Goodwill of the Great Plains, based in Sioux City, was founded as an independent mission in 1890 and joined the Goodwill movement in 1923.
Fri 22. Bernadine went visiting today. Have been doing a little house-cleaning. We look for Kate and Fred next Wed. War is on in Europe. Russia and Germany have divided Poland between them altho’ the Poles still retain Warsaw amid bombings. I have been quilting today.
Sat 23. Today or rather this evening is the big chicken dinner at the church. I furnished a chicken but we decided about suppertime to stay at home. It is not my way of raising money. I baked an angel food and an applesauce cake today. Also made a custard for dinner. Have been quilting some today. Besse came from the church so sick I put her to bed for the night. Myrt & Marge are growing fast.
Sun 24. We went to church and Sunday School. Bess came home with us and after dinner went to bed and slept all P.M. Bud came after her about 5:30 P.M. She felt better. Owen came up with Mrs. Keeler & her son & family. Owen will come to pick corn a week from tomorrow. Mrs. Keeler is quite a character. She is a large boned woman—toothless except for one long tooth which shows up plainly most of the time. She uses very strong language but has quit “swearing so loud you could hear her a block” according to Florence. Florence just happened in and I invited her to visit a bit which she gladly did. The description of the hay fevered son was thrilling and very realistic. She settled down in the car ready to go home—emitting an expression “Oh gosh!”
Mon 25. Spent the morning finishing the dress Katharine made for me. It was all done but the hand work. I got it done in time to wear to the Monday Club luncheon which was held out at Mrs. Wrights. I went with the Braces’. We had a pleasant afternoon and tho’ it turned cold & rainy Dad and I gathered the squash and pumpkins, and I brought in the tomatoes. We have a few sweet potatoes and fewer Irish potatoes yet to gather. Bess came in while I was doing dishes to go to the church to see the pictures of Mary McCrary’s trip to Europe. They charged 15¢ & made about $19.00. It was a cold rainy night.
Tue 26. It is dark and cloudy this A.M. I had intended to wash but will not get it done today. Rev. Robison goes to Conf. today. He brought $5.00 more on the budget. Suppose Fred & Kate are starting today & we look for them tomorrow. It has not been such a bad day. I have been pretty tired because of being up. We lost the little ferule? off the separator but after looking for some time I found it in the basket of wrapped tomatoes. It would have made a lot of bother if we had not found it. I am thankful.
Wed 27. Fred and Kate drove in today about 1 P.M. We had a nice chicken dinner ready for them. They started yesterday but staid all night on the way. We have visited and visited. Kate brought me a crocheted rug which is not quite finished but I will put some black on the edge. It is warm today. We got two letters from Ruth. They are glad we are planning the trip East. Gerald was to get home today.
Gerald had been incarcerated in the Missouri penitentiary.
Thu 28. It has been quite warm today but the radio says colder tonight. I have spent my time quilting and cooking. Fred overhauled our typewriter and we got a new ribbon for it. Mrs. Fowler called up and wanted me to go to Webster City tomorrow. Kate started me to taking iodine today—a drop a day.
Fri 29. Kate and Fred left about 9 A.M. for Eldora. We took their pictures before they left, on the film little Jerry’s are on so Dad took it down right away to be developed and printed. Fred & Kate brought Sandy along. He sleeps in their bedroom and on their bed sometimes. He is a pretty Collie. He& Linksy got along OK. We got a letter from John Lohr & one from Katharine today. Thought we would hear from Jerry. Mrs. Brassfield came down to study. She offered to take care of the chickens for the eggs. Am nearly done with K’s quilt. Hope I can finish tomorrow. Am listening to “The Great Impersonation” over WOI—read by Betty Wells.
Here’s a picture from the files—Tell is on the right, and I believe the others must be his sister and brother-in-law Kate & Fred Hicks, along with Sandy.
Sat 30. We decided to wash about 9 A.M. I would have finished before noon but Mrs. Whiting came for eggs & staid an hour. Then the first line of clothes (6 sheets) fell in the dirt and had to be washed all over. I spilled a cup of milk, dropped some fruit salad, so decided to go bed for a rest. I quilted in the evening while Besse was here. Wrote a letter to each of the children.
