75 Years Ago - Eileen's Diary - February 17, 1937

75 Years Ago - Eileen's Diary - February 17, 1937


This entry is the daily post on this blog from the diary of eighteen year old Eileen KINNICK, 75 Years Ago this date.

Since midway through 2010, a weekly update/comments blog entry began to appear on the Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories blog. Those weekly entries, on that blog, on each Tuesday of the week, will continue, with links to these daily entries.

For 1937, the first entry available was for January 4. It was made in a multi-year diary format, so is short. Starting on January 5, there are two entries, one on the small format and a second is a full page entry. I suspect the longer entries were made later, when she got that book… there is no way to know, unless it shows up in the entries. This goes on for a couple of weeks. Let's see how it goes.

Here is the short entry for Wednesday, February 17:

Real rainy and nasty out most of the day. Crazy stove. Ruth, Jean Edith & Harold J. here after school and in pm. Took Ruth home and Edith with us. Lil & Ger up to Grand. Wms. Did dishes. Went to bed early.
[Written above the entry: Kissed his starter & stepped on his wife.]
[Also, a note added under, later: Grandma Williams lived 3 blocks north of Catholic Church]

Here is the long entry for Wednesday, February 17:

Real rainy & foggy all morning. Had a time with the crazy old stove. Just messed around doing nothing all morning. Ruth & Jean here in pm. Edith & Harold J. came in at 4:00 & stayed till I closed up. Quite busy. Mr Vandaworker supposed to come but he didn't. Wrote to Sandy. Cleaned white shoes getting ready to go skating and then they didn't have it. Ruth & Edith & I went shopping & then took Ruth home. Edith went home with us. Talked to Lil & Ger at Grandma Wms. Whaley shower. Home after 6:00. I did dishes & folks listened to radio. I went to sleep on the cot. To bed early.

My comments: It was a busy day in more ways than one. Late afternoon was filled with activities.

A note: Edith Lund (lived out on farm northwest of town, on way to Kinnick farm. She and Harold Johnson became a couple and eventually married. Close friends of my folks for many years.

Grandma Williams was Eileen's (step) great-grandmother. Mother of her Dad's mother, Nettie, who died the year before. Sarah Armstrong was the second wife of Elias Williams. His first wife, mother of the children, died very young and Sarah was a real mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to the whole bunch, over many years. Elias died in 1920 at 82. Sarah, who was much younger, lived to be 85 and died in January 1938. I do not believe I have ever identified a photo of Sarah.

Lil & Ger were, of course, Lillian and Gertrude, Eileen's aunts, her father, Paul's sisters.

Here is a photo of the three children Sarah raised to have families of their own: Lem (L.B.) (1866-1935), Nettie (1869-1936), and Josephine (1872-1961). I remember Josephine from Kinnick-Williams picnics each summer when I was young.

The link has some good background but also some old information on marriages, I see - Elias married Ann in 1862; I don't mention the second wife Sarah, at all, in the linked article. She was born in 1853, and they married on 4 Jul 1887; Ann had died in 1879, at age 37.

Families are Forever!  ;-)