It took me awhile to prepare this post, primarily due to all the detail in the February 10th journal entry. And I admit to spending more time than probably necessary trying to find just the right images and just the right information to fill in the blanks. I feel a bit like I’ve been time traveling with my great grandparents. And I am grateful – all over again – for the gift of her journals.
February 9, 1931
It’s storming fierce out, large flakes but it’s warm out. 11-15 p.m. o’clock Tuesday. The little yellow canaries[1. Mary raised yellow canaries.] sung at 4 wks old.
February 10, 1931
12-30 p.m. I stayed up to listen to K.G.W. the Oregon Trailblazers, Portland, Oregon.[2. I found a great post here regarding this “old-time dance music” radio show that was popular with listeners, although sponsors did not “embrace the rural flavor, not wanting their businesses to be associated with what they judged to be the poor and uneducated. This had been further reinforced in newspaper articles and pictures poking fun at mountain folk from time to time.” Oh my. What a bunch of snobs!] I made a bed on the table rite by the radio. Afterwards drank 2 bottles of beer, I sure was wigglie all over. Then I danced coming thro the rye, 2 step, waltz, schotish,[3. Click here for a video that might be a good example of how that dance might have looked.] and sure was anxious to be by a quadrill where they were called off as I did 37 yrs ago.[4. A “quadrille” is a four-couple dance related to the American square dance.] Oh this is sure hard to be all alone,[5. I’m not sure what she means by “alone” since her second husband Albert was still alive in 1931. Perhaps he was temporarily away, working at a nearby mine?] no one knows but myself. It’s now playing hot time in the old town to-nite. Papa Schenck used to cake walk to it 32 yrs. ago.[6. I found this video on YouTube that explains the history of the “cake walk”, followed by a dance demonstration of four couples. Apparently the cake walk was originally performed by men only, with the ladies added later. I also came across the video below, which I just had to share. More than likely George didn’t dance the cake walk quite like this – but I like to think he had just as much fun!
] I get a pain in the rite side on top of my head I sure don’t like and I sure know what puts it there. I try to avoid the cause but can’t do her some how.[5. I believe Mary refers to this incident in more detail in a later journal entry.]
“Canary” image: By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons
“Cake walk” image: By Anonymous [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
NOTES
