Sun 1. Went to church, SS, Easter practice. Called on John H, read & went to church at night. Kept Betty & Peggy while their folks went to Eldora to see Clyde Houghs. Rev. Rowley thought it might have been more important to mention Bible teaching than the “board nailed on here & there at the school house.”
Emma and Tell’s son Gerald was married to Miriam Hough—Clyde was her father. Betty and Peggy were 2 of the 3 grandkids.
Mon 2. A nice wash day but I am tired. Must try to finish up the work as I have to get something ready for tomorrow to take in my basket to Aid. Got the shoes, dress and pen from Katharine today.
Tue 3. It seemed so cold and stormy looking out today. Went to Ladies’ Aid. Took a basket to sell. It kept me busy all morning getting it ready. Sold a cake which Miriam made, doughnuts, flower seed, hand lotion, and fish. Think I will have almost $4.00. School election is on. Bogardus & Sherm are running.
At the back of the journal, Emma had written this recipe for hand lotion.1 I found a very similar recipe in a 1909 issue of The Apothecary, a publication for pharmacists, in a feature called Pharmacists’ Own Formulas. The article also included recipes for Toothache Wax, Barbed Wire Liniment, Asthmatic Cigarettes, and Pile Ointment, which includes extract of opium and cocaine muriate as ingredients.
Hand Lotion
3 oz glycerine
2 oz alcohol
1 dram carbolic acid
20 grams boraxic acid
1 qt rain water
10 oz whole flax
Steep flax in 1 qt rainwater for 12 to 24 hours.
Strain and add above ingredients.
Wed 4. Today Mrs. Johnson & Betty, Irma Adams, and Mrs. Bugh came down for the PM. They got here before I had my dinner dishes done. Left at four o’clock. I went to the prayer meeting at Mrs. Robertsons this morning. Have kept hustling. Washed Monday but haven’t yet finished all my ironing.
Thu 5. Cut out the new dress Katharine gave me and have been working on it today. I also baked an angel food cake for the Pot-luck supper this evening. Vic was over last night & again this evening. The piece he wrote for the paper was not published and he is keen to get out some handbills.
Angel food cake is made with egg whites and cake flour, and no butter or egg yolks. Here’s a recipe and history of the cake. The original Joy of Cooking cookbook was published in 1931 and contained an angel food cake recipe under the “foam cakes” category.
Fri 6. Went to the club supper at Byams last night. Was pretty tired but had a good time. Have been doing up the work this AM.
Sat 7. I have not been well today and have left most of the work to Ruth. My eye has been all clouded up. My back has bothered me.
Sun 8. Did not go out today to church or Sunday school or Easter practice. It made the day seem long. Louie & Vic were here in the evening. Herbrechtsmeier’s house had the roof entirely burned off. There was a strong north wind.
Mon 9. Today is sunny & bright. Did not feel well at all this AM but feel a bit better now. Am afraid I will not feel like Ft. Dodge tomorrow.
Tue 10. I got up and went to Ft. Dodge this AM. Gerald drove me up to Alden and I went from there with Mrs. Johnson. She drove her car & took Betty. We shopped awhile, then met Mrs. Smith, Lewis, Richards at YWCA. Drove home and attended show in Iowa Falls. I then came home on the bus. Helen Riggles was here & stayed all night with Ruth.
Wed 11. Have done very little today. Am tired from my trip. Went to Robertsons to a prayer meeting this AM. Have slept most of the afternoon. Vic was over awhile. I took Gladys’ bag home.
Thu 12. Did the washing today. Went to choir practice at the church in the evening. We felt quite discouraged about the Easter cantata. Talked of giving it up.
Fri 13. Got up early and did the ironing and put away the clothes. “Picked up” the house and asked Lottie to go to Alden with me. I baked a cake and took a jar of pickles. We had a nice meeting. They were glad I came because Mrs. Johnson had been called to her sister’s side. She was very low.
Sat 14. Have washed this forenoon- Am dreadfully tired. I have surely made the most mistakes in this book. Today we cleaned up the house. Ruth went to the Ott boy’s funeral. Lottie came down and we planned the missionary program for Sunday. Mrs. Swallum called. Vic was over last evening. Ruth went to Glee Club and to the first practice at the Deardorf’s, on play.
Sun 15. Another Sunday. We went to church & SS. Rev. Rowley preached a good sermon. Went to Easter practice. Betty came down for dinner & stayed till after practice. Went to church at night. I read the installment of Girl Alive in Good Housekeeping.
Girl Alive was a five-part serial story by Kathleen Norris, a novelist and regular contributor to the magazine. And here’s the March 1931 cover—notice who else is writing for the magazine!
Mon 16. A lovely day! Dad is discouraged. Feels he is going to lose everything he has. Hoelscher was in. He feels the bank will not last long. School board meeting is on tonight. I got 18.27 from oil today. Our editor, Mrs. Jahuk, died very suddenly this PM. School board elected Talbe for another two years. Ruth went to Iowa Falls. Minna was down & went to the bus with me to meet her.
This is the first mention in Emma’s journals of the “oil check,” which becomes a lifeline as they go forward. The short version is that Tell’s brother Berne was involved in an oil lease in Oklahoma dating back to about 1917, and Emma and Tell had a share that periodically paid dividends. I have a bunch of documents on this and plan to write up a more comprehensive summary when I have time, as it’s a pretty interesting slice of history.
In today’s dollars, this would have been about $335.
Tue 17. I went with Daddy to Cedar Falls today in the truck. The road seemed so rough & I got terribly tired, & worst of all I lost my pocket book containing my pen, glasses, teeth & about 6.00 in money. I was sick about it. The IHC pictures are to be given at the school house tonight.
Wed 18. I took care of our half of the pig today. I canned about 12 pints and also canned 18½ qt of beans with meat in them. Was too tired to go to Easter Cantata practice.
Thu 19. The weather is lovely. Have raked the yard a bit. Went to the WFMS at Mrs. Walkers this evening. Think two more of the teachers will join. We had an interesting lesson.
Fri 20. Have been sewing some today. Threw down a little wood. Ruth went to Waterloo with the Thalman Glee Club to broadcast a program. She got home on the bus. It was quite a thrill.
Sat 21. Have not heard a thing from my pocket book.
Sun 22. We had an Anti-Saloon League man speak at the church in the morning and our Missionary Society gave a program in the evening. It was very good. We got an offering of over $44.00. I am so glad. Practiced a long while in the afternoon.
Mon 23. Did not wash today because it was so rainy, but have put the clothes to soak so I can wash tomorrow. Made a black skirt for Ruth’s Glee Club outfit this forenoon. Ruth went to the school house to practice this evening.
Tue 24. Have the washing done but it is too windy to hang it out. Will let the white clothes wait till tomorrow. The rest are hung in the Basement. We got a letter today saying John Sullivan is married. I hope he is happy.
This got me curious…so I did a little digging around in the family tree. John Sullivan was a cousin of Tell’s. He was born in 1873, the son of James Sullivan and Tell’s aunt Lucinda. Apparently he had never been married…in 1920 he was living with his mother, who had remarried and divorced after James’s death in 1880. She died in 1923, and in 1930 he was one of three lodgers in the home of a woman named Florence who was divorced with no kids. They married in 1931. I have no idea if they were happy…she was 31 and he was 56, and he died in 1939 at age 65.
Wed 25. The prayer circle will meet Friday AM instead of this AM. Planted my Torenia seed this am.
Torenia, also known as wishbone flower, is a shade-growing annual.
Thu 26. Did a good share of my ironing this AM. We went to Eldora this evening after school to have Ruth’s hair fixed. We took Miss Justice & Miss Rice. I bought a dress for Ruth. It is turning colder.
Fri 27. Finished the ironing this morning. Also lengthened Ruth’s suit & fitted the dress I got in Eldora. As the sweaters have not come I made Ruth’s blouse this afternoon. There is a fierce snowstorm on. Dad went to a Cemetery meeting at Katie’s this evening.
Sat 28. The storm raged all night and is much worse this morning than yesterday. The plan is to go to Story City anyway. Dad & I had planned to go but have given it up. Ruth will go with the others in the bus. The sweaters came this morning so she is a blouse to the good. I hate to see them start out.
Sun 29. We went to church and Sunday School this AM and to Easter practice in the PM. There was no church at night as Rev. Rowley was not at all well. Miss Reece came down in the evening.
Mon 30. Linnie and Bob drove today. Got here about 2:30. I had washed and got the dining room curtains down to wash, and was cleaning up when they arrived. We were so glad to see them. I finished cleaning & scrubbing.
Tue 31. I ironed the clothes with Linnie’s help. Got the dining room curtains up and Linnie started to paint pictures. She is doing the Glisto-glass work. She bought Miriam and me each a pretty picture. We drove to Iowa Falls and took Ruth for her lesson after school.
Glisto was a brand of enamel paint, and I’m guessing that this was a type of glass painting that was popular at the time. I couldn’t find a direct reference, but while I was pursuing this tangent I did learn that this was the year in which Salvador Dali created his Persistence of Memory painting. Tangential, I know, but I couldn’t resist.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Emma’s journals. See you next week for April 1931.
An alert subscriber prompted me to remind readers that carbolic acid is dangerous to handle. See the “toxicity” section in this article and don’t try this recipe at home.