Fri 1. We have made a pink slip for Ruth today and done a lot of fixing here & there. Ruth went to the young people’s meeting. Ora was here for awhile. Kept Ruth up when she was so tired.
Sat 2. Today was wash day. We have been so busy. Have sewed a little and also canned some tomato juice. It has been a full day. Dad went to the farm. The children were here for dinner—Betty & Peggy went to the KH’s, little Jerry went to bed.
Sun 3. Today is Linnie’s anniversary (31 yrs.) She & Gerrit surprised us by driving in today. We went to church & SS. Gerald brought his three children to SS & left them for the day. They went to Williams this PM to a ball game. We invited Rev. & Mrs. Wardle for dinner—also Ora. Ruth was invited to Robertsons for dinner.
Mon 4. Gerrit, Linnie & I took Ruth to Iowa Falls this PM. She will stay at Mrs. Walthals. She has a lovely room. Will take French & Music.
This is Ruth’s second year of college. She is studying at Ellsworth Junior College and the Iowa Falls Conservatory.
Tue 5. We got up about 2:30 AM. Started for Linnies at 3:30 AM. Got here about 11:30 AM. We were pretty tired tho we had a nice trip.
Emma’s sister Linnie and her husband Gerrit Muilenberg were living in Beresford, SD, about 250 miles west/northwest of Hubbard. Their son Harry was a dentist in Sioux Falls.
Wed 6. Tell, Linnie & I went to Sioux Falls. Tell is going to have his new plates made. Tell is at Harry’s while Linnie and I are shopping. I bought Dad a pretty tie for his birthday. Also got him a new union suit.
Also called combination underwear, long johns, or onesies, a union suit is a one-piece undergarment that typically includes a rear flap with buttons. They were worn by both women and men. Here’s a newspaper ad from 1933.
Apparently there were also summer-weight options—here’s a vintage pattern.
Union suits are still around…you can even buy tie-dyed ones on Etsy!
Thu 7. Today is Tell’s birthday. We went to Sioux Falls this AM. Got home before supper. Linnie and I canned apples and tomatoes today. We took a nice ride over town this evening.
Fri 8. We are still at Linnies. Tell & I are going to Sioux Falls with Mrs. Oakes this PM. Tell is to get his teeth today. Linnie is going to the WFMS. I feel pretty tired as I have washed & ironed a little.
Sat 9. We expected to go to Soo Falls today but we did not go. Have been busy all day. Did not go down town. Tell did not go to S.F. We will go on Monday.
Sun 10. We went to church & SS this AM. We had a fine chicken dinner. Harry & Mildred came down. Were here till late at night.
Mon 11. Linnie, Tell & I went to Soo Falls today. Tell got his teeth & Oh, how he likes them. I got two teeth filled. We are now ready to go home. I fixed some uniforms for Harry—Harry said we were to keep Bonnie. A letter from Paul says he has no job as yet.
Tue 12. We are trying to find a way to go home. We find it costs too much by bus or train. Gerrit will let us take his car with DeLoss Smith to drive it. It is rainy today.
This got me thinking about what would be involved in their getting home by bus or train. Greyhound had many interstate bus routes in the 1930s. Here’s one of their maps from the early 1930s:
The Milwaukee Road (officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad) operated lines in the midwest and northwest US. Here’s a 1944 map of their system:
Both of these options would have allowed them to leave from Sioux Falls and get close enough to home that they could take local transportation. I have no idea what the fares or timetables would have been.
Wed 13. We started from Beresford about 5 AM with DeLoss Smith and his wife. Had a rainy day. Came via Ft. Dodge. Ate dinner at Iowa Falls. Saw Ruth for a few minutes. Got home about 2 PM. I made some grape jam this afternoon.
While we mostly see grape jelly—which is made from juice—in the store, grape jam uses the whole fruit. This is a little more work, as there are lots of seeds to deal with. Here’s a recipe.
Thu 14. Have been cleaning upstairs. Have also written some letters. Gerald & Miriam were in. Dad was at the farm awhile. Have written K & R & Linnie—also Mrs. Wright.
Fri 15. We canned beans & tomato juice today. Took a bath & went to bed but not to sleep as Mrs. Wardle called. I went to call on Lottie & Mrs. Culver. Lottie was not home. Ruth came home. Bob brought her.
Sat 16. The sun came out this PM after a week of cloudy cold weather. We picked a lot of lima beans today. Swallums were down last night. Ruth went to choir practice tonite.
Sun 17. Today was our Harvest Home Festival. Rev. Wardle & Rev. Hawkins exchanged pulpits at night. John & Alice drove the Hawkins over. Ed & Fay Dillon, their sons, and Kitty Barnes were here today. Ora took Ruth to Iowa Falls. Bob & Helen Grooters were here.
Mon 18. Dad & I did a big washing today. I went down to see Mrs. Robertson. Got 5.00 in Missionary money & 10 sponges. Left 50¢ for Mrs. Baker for the papers for KH’s. Ora has been sick. This was a warm sunny day.
Tue 19. Daddy went to the farm. I did the ironing, made C. cheese. Wrote several letters. Sent $40 to Mrs. Wright. Sent for my suit pattern, etc. John & Alice were over. I gave her some beans and tomatoes & a can of parsnips. I got some grapes of Mrs. Culver. It was windy today.
Wed 20. Dad went to the farm. I have made some salad dressing & canned it. We went to prayer meeting & SS Board meeting. Ora Reep was elected SS Supt.
Thu 21. Dad has been out at Fred Ricks today. We had a fine Missionary meeting at Mrs. Robertsons tonight. Only three members & four guests were present.
Fri 22. Dad & I spent the day at Fred Ricks’. Dad was shocking corn and I helped get apples ready for butter and cucumbers for pickles. We went out with Gus Brandt and came home with Jerry. Found out Gerry had sold two of Alice’s calves. I’d hate to get a car the way he is getting his.
Last month Gerald bought a second-hand Chevy and Emma hoped he could pay for it.
Sat 23. Dad was gone till about 8 PM tonight. He has been at Fred Ricks! Heard the pastoral com met again tonight. Rowley lost her maid job so suppose they are trying to get him in to preach. Am quite sure Wardle will be sent back. Got my suit pattern tonight. I have put in a full day. Baked bread, pie, cookies, made some apple butter, typed, cleaned up the house & [?] a lot of beans.
It looks like Emma is working on her typing. Here’s a 1930s-era typewriter.
Sun 24. Sunday! the last one in Sept. A lovely day! No frost yet. We went—Mrs. Mohler & I—to the Salem church tonight. Ora ate dinner with us and I sent him a lunch for supper. They are going to New Hartford to hear Mr. Palmer. Expect Ruth to go. She is in Iowa Falls.
Mon 25. It is raining a little tonight. Dad has been plowing with Fred Ricks tractor today. I did not have a large washing. Picked a few more lima beans. Ora called to tell me about their trip last night. Ruth, Ona & George sang. Sent the peppers & carrots to Mrs. Culver by Mr C. who came along at just the right time. Read—or rather skimmed through St. Elmo.
St. Elmo is a novel by Augusta Evans Wilson, published in 1866. Set in the aftermath of the Civil War, it is considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century, although the somewhat pedantic, sentimental style of writing led one critic to say that "the trouble with the heroine of St. Elmo was that she swallowed an unabridged dictionary." The book remains in print to this day, and has been adapted for stage and screen. Wilson was the first American woman author to earn over $100,000.
It is now in the public domain; you can find it here.
Tue 26. Too rainy for Dad to go to the farm. He worked out in the garage. I ironed. Eunice & Mrs. Swallum called. Eunice seems to feel kindly toward us. We looked over ground cherries & beans. Jerry & Miriam were in. The drugstore was robbed this AM. I typed awhile. Am getting it better. It’s fun.
I couldn’t find an account of this specific robbery, but this was the era of Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, and other gangsters who robbed banks, trains, and more. Spawned by Prohibition, the rise in criminal gangs led the FBI to begin a campaign against a list of “public enemies” and become an armed national police force rather than just an investigating arm of the Justice Department.
Wed 27. Tell went to the farm to plow. I was hurrying my work to get at my suit when Mrs. Wardle came with a request for me to make her a dress today—so I finished her a dress. I made some ground cherry preserves today. Got some sorghum from Ray Andrews—50¢ per gal. Got a letter from Chas & one from Katharine.
Sorghum syrup is similar to molasses, but is made from the green juice of the sorghum plant rather than from sugar cane.
Thu 28. The biggest thing I’ve done today is cut out my dress. It was some job as it called for much more material than I have. Mrs. Swallum, Wardle & Culver called this PM. I was down town twice. Went to Mrs. Robertsons. Did not get to practice today.
Fri 29. Have sewed most all day. Tell has been plowing at the farm. Ruth came home tonight. Guess she was homesick.
Sat 30. Tell went to the farm. I have sewed a little bit. We invited John and Alice over for dinner tomorrow. Ruth, Ona & Garnet practiced tonight. It is Ona’s birthday. DeLoss, Geo. & Red were here too. They all went on a weiner roast.
Here’s some advice for planning your own weiner roast.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Emma’s journals. See you next week for October 1933.