Emma #73: October 1933
Skin cream, carrot conserve, deaths in the community, and a letter from Mexico
Sun 1. No church at our church as Mr. Wardle is at Conf. Ruth & I went to the Salem church, also Betty. Ruth & Tell have gone to Albion this evening. John and Alice were here for dinner. Vic was here awhile.
Mon 2. I went to church this night with Grace Rieks & Vera Collins. Heard that Mr. Wardle returns for his third year. Went to see Lottie this AM.
Tue 3. Have kept busy. Did not go to church but stayed at home, peeled peas & helped Grace and Vera with their algebra. Was not feeling well this PM so went to bed. Have a skin trouble that is bothering me. It is hard to heal.
Because early access to algebra is one of the foundations of a strong science education, I was curious about when students encountered it in school in Hardin County in 1933. Based on census information, it looks like Grace and Vera were about 14-15, which would have put them in 8th or 9th grade.
Wed 4. I was alone today. Mrs. Swallum came down and ate dinner with me. I spent the afternoon with her. Mailed my poem “If I Should Lose Courage” to the SS Times. Went to church in the evening to the Salem church. Mose Strother was buried today. Had blood poisoning from a cut on his throat.
Blood poisoning, aka sepsis, is a rapidly-progressing response to an infection or injury—in this case, probably a bacterial infection from the cut—and remains a leading cause of death in hospitals. Moses Strother was Tell’s second cousin, and was 78 years old. I found his death certificate, which indicates that he was cut by glass while picking up trash.
Thu 5. Ruth came home last night. Dad has gone to the farm to plow. Mrs. Swallum gave me some cerate (ointment) for my exema? or what ever it is.
Cerate is a skin ointment made of wax, oil, and other ingredients. Eczema (also called dermatitis) can cause dry, itchy skin and rashes.
Fri 6. The ointment is helping my burn. I went to church tonight. Lois Knowles went with me. We have done our cleaning today. I have sewed some on my suit. It takes a long while.
The Knowles family were next-door neighbors to Tell and Emma in Hubbard. The father, Vic, is mentioned frequently in Emma’s journals, along with other members of the family, including this youngest child and only daughter Lois, who would have been about 16 at this time.
Sat 7. We did our washing & ironing today. I will be already to finish my sewing, or suit next week. I will be glad to get it done. Hear that I am drawn on the October jury.
Emma mentions a prior jury duty in January 1929, where I wrote a little about women on juries in this era.
Sun 8. This was the Rev. Mr. Wardle’s first Sunday after Conference. None of the opposition were at church. It was also Ora’s first Sunday as SS Supt. We invited the Wardles for dinner. The Gospel team had the opening half hour at the Salem church. Ruth went with DeLoss & Geo. to take Garnette to Story City after church.
Apparently there were quite a lot of politics related to the ministers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. This is a continuing theme.
Mon 9. Ruth plans to go back to Iowa Falls this AM. Got my summons today from Eldora, to serve on jury. Dad has gone to the farm to plan the corn cribs. We got a lovely package from Katharine—silk hose, book covers, Wet-me-Not hand lotion, etc.
Hand preparations—creams and lotions—became increasingly popular in the 1930s. Here’s a 1933 advertisement.
Tue 10. We went with Gerald and Miriam to Mrs. Lee Marshman’s funeral at Ellsworth. It was a sad funeral. She leaves a baby girl five days old. We called at Swallums in the evening.
In looking at census records for 1930, I found that she also left a daughter who would have been about 5 when her mother died. It looks like the baby was named Leona after her mother, and that the father, Arvene, remarried within the next few years. The 4 of them are listed on the 1940 census.
Wed 11. I came up to Iowa Falls with Leo Robertson this evening. It took us from 6:30 to 8:30 as his car was not working well. Stella was here. I had made a big batch of carrot conserve today. John & Alice were over for a little while. They still plan to go to Carthage.
Carrot conserve is a jam made with carrots, sugar, and possibly other ingredients. Here’s a recipe for one that includes lemon juice and zest.
Thu 12. Have been sewing on my black suit. Have found no buttons yet. Robert was here for dinner. We had a chicken. Ruth & I walked down town in the PM. We all went to prayer meeting.
Fri 13. It is another beautiful day. We will go home today. I called at Grooters this AM. Phoned Mrs. Johnson and she insisted on coming after me to have me at the WFMS that PM. I went. I talked a bit. Got some buttons from her for my suit.
Sat 14. Finally finished my suit today. Baked a cake and cleaned up the house. Went down to hear the broadcast from Waterloo when Red sang & Dorothy Nymeier played.
Sun 15. It has rained all day. The Union young folks put on the “Challenge of the Cross” this evening. We served sandwiches & cocoa to them afterwards. Ora came in the PM and stayed for supper. I wrote Linnie and Katharine today.
The Challenge of the Cross: A Sacred Drama for Seven Young Ladies and Choir was a work published in 1915 by a professor at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.
Mon 16. Ruth went to Iowa Falls this AM on the bus. The Oil check came this morning just in time to pay for the gas & oil for plowing—$18—the check was for $25. Makes $2.50 tithe. We are anxious about the electric bill. I have my washing done. Washed 5 pairs of curtains.
I find it remarkable that in these troubled times, and when they are stretching to pay their bills, they remain committed to tithing (giving 10% of their income to the church).
Tue 17. It has been raining all morning but now the sun is shining. Dad has gone to the farm. I have ironed all morning.
Wed 18. House cleaning day for the two front rooms. Guess they are glad to have their faces washed. Went to prayer meeting at Hoffs at night.
Thu 19. Dad put on the storm windows today. I am having the WFMS this evening. There were 8 here.
Fri 20. Looked for Miriam to come after me but she did not come so I went up to help Mrs. Swallum sew. In the evening I practiced on the typewriter & went to Robertsons to hear Ruth broadcast.
Sat 21. I made some more Sandwitch Spread today. Went to Iowa Falls to a TB luncheon today. Got rid of my office. Swallum took me. I paid him 75¢. Ruth came home with us to stay till tomorrow.
Yes, Mom, that’s really how she spelled it! ;-)
I’m not sure exactly what she is referring to here. It might be a mayonnaise-type spread (those of you who have a strong opinion in the mayonnaise vs. Miracle Whip debate will be interested to learn that MW was introduced at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair), or it might have been something like this concoction of ground bologna, mayonnaise, and dill pickle relish.
Sun 22. We went to church & SS. I had a nice class. Dad had 15. Only 20 out at church at night. Ruth went to the Falls with Leo Robertson. I gave out the first bunch of Tithing literature this AM.
Mon 23. I cleaned the kitchen today—it was quite a job. Dad went to help JB Strother on his garage.
Tue 24. Dad went to the farm. I sewed a little. This morning the Bunte boy who carries papers had his leg taken off by a freight.
Wed 25. Today Dad & I spent at Nymeiers. Dad helped pick corn and I made a house dress for Mrs. N. Art brought us in. I went to prayer meeting at Tabers at night. Heard John McCormack sing a few minutes over Robertsons Radio.
John McCormack was an acclaimed Irish tenor who sang opera and popular tunes.
Thu 26. It has not seemed that I accomplished very much today. Made some candy & sent to Katharine for her birthday. Made & sold some Dutch cheese. Churned a little bit of butter & made some mince meat. Mrs. Mohler came in the afternoon.
Fri 27. Dad was at the farm today. I did the washing. It was cloudy, cold & windy.
Sat 28. Today is Sarah Jane’s birthday! Dad stayed at home today—I ironed & sewed. It has warmed up some today. Mr. & Mrs. Swallum called in the evening. Ora Reep also called. Ruth did not come home this weekend.
Sun 29. A warm summer day!! We went to church & SS. John & Alice came over. We went for a ride to Radcliffe & Ellsworth. Called on Arvene Marshman and Elmer Boylan, also stopped at Mrs. Girards in Rad. but she was not at home.
Mon 30. Am planning to go to Eldora with Howard Robertson this AM. Went to Eldora. Was excused from the jury until next Tuesday. Alice gave me some curtains for my double doors so we can heat the dining room. Also told us to sell hill if we would get enough to pay her out.
Tue 31. We went to the Halloween party & pound social at the church. We had a nice time. Got a check from Katharine. $35 for us. $15 for Ruth. My, it came in handy.
It sounds like Katharine must have finally gotten some of her back pay from Shaker Heights. This would have totaled over $1000 in today’s money.
Special Feature: A Letter from Mexico
In the family archives I found a letter to Tell’s brother Chris in Wewoka, OK from a C.V. Warner in Tampico, Mexico, describing the disastrous 1933 hurricane that hit in late September and sharing some political opinions. Here are a few fascinating and sometimes amusing excerpts.
Dear C.B.
Our hurricanes are coming so fast and furious that I am afraid I will run out of stamps writing you about same. Yesterday…for 10 hours the wind was fierce and the rain fell in torrents…you can imagine what a 90-mile-per-minute wind accompanied with a torrential rainfall will do to such a house as are built in a tropical climate.
The women again for near entire duration of storm chanted their catholic rituals, going at the rate of 200 words per minute, and each voice at a different pitch. A swarm of frightened bees could not begin to make so weird a sound. God as usual did nothing to help, and when the storm was over the women came to this agnostic for something to eat…
Every available engine and railroad car was employed for hours in Tampico before the first hurricane struck in carrying people from the coastal and low river areas. This alone saved a frightful loss of life. Science, the telegraph, the telephone, the modern news paper, government and organized industry saved life. If the poor religious dupes had been left to their own volition they would have lighted their candles and spent their time asking God to drive away the hurricane and at same time promising to be good thereafter.
Sending letter from B.A. He has been immune to any kind of political or economic thinking. When he writes thus it gives me hope that other heads may be cracking open and the dead matter therein begin to function…Imagine a government constituted and made up as ours is today regulating wages, hours work, prices, etc. We will have to have a personnel different than talkative orators, double-faced lawyers and shyster politicians to be our representatives in government if government hopes to have any success regulating. It would be wise for those thinking along industrial democracy lines to acquire a copy of the Soviet constitution. They then will be able to understand subsequent changes in Russia’s government and be better able to assist in effecting the change from capitalism to a cooperative commonwealth in our own country.
Newell sent me another bunch of magazines. Of all such the Hearst publication alone was destitute of any interesting article on present world conditions and changes. I have a supreme contempt for Hearst. Under a socialist regime I wonder what such a fellow would find to do, who would read his stuff, or who would listen to him?
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Emma’s journals. See you next week for November 1933.