Apr. 13, 1917: Part 2

Sunday forenoon Rose and I went to the old Universalist Church where I saw Mr. & Mrs. Curtis, Mr. & Mrs. Backus, Mr. & Mrs. Scott Lull, Helen Colvin, & Mrs. & Rev. Leonard. The church looked very familiar. In front of the Altar were potted plants & carnations. I believe there were 50 present. Rev. Leonard read the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians & spoke appriate to the day communion was served. I came home with Mrs. Edwards for dinner. Saw Orville & Uncle Peter after church. After dinner Mr. & Mrs. Curtis called she invited Mother E. & I to spend Mon. P.M. with her & to stay to supper.

(Noted at top of page: Called at Hake's after church.)

After lunch I went to Rose's & we went to the Baptist Church. saw Mr. & Mrs. Carpenter, & Ruth, Dwight Hunt, Mrs. Gardner, met Wanda Hammond, & her mother & Miss Nearing.

When we reached home Merton had a pan of popcorn for us.

Mon. forenoon, I visited "School Law Class" & "Language Class" & part of a Geometry class. It seemed very natural to go about the old school & it hardly seems 14 years since I graduated from M.H.S.

Met Anna Naylor, Ruth's Neice, Mon afternoon I went to Miss Curtis', Mother E. came. I embroidered a towel for Mother E. We staid to a very nice super & came up here about 7:30. I wrote post cards to my children. Went to bed with a soap stone & slept well.

Tues. Morning Mother E. & I went down to help Bobbie while Rose & I went to school. In A.M. we visited Helen & Ruth & in the P.M. Miss Nearing & Miss Gardner.

About 3 I went up to see Mr. & Mrs. Hakes-- had a good visit as Mrs. H was able to sit up. Left about 5:15 & for a walk went up to call on Mrs. Eugene Davis. Staid till 6 & got back here for supper & staid here Tues. night.

Wed. slept till 8:30. About 10:30 started for Rose's called on Mr. & Mrs. Leonard. Bot 5 aprons. Wed. afternoon called on Georgia Hurlburt Strait & saw her & George. Went to Sewing Circle at Tillie Card's & the to see Mrs. Bedell. Went home & dressed for dinner. Rose had invited Mr. & Mrs. Crandall, Mr. & Mrs. Howard Sloan, Helen & Ruth to accompany us to supper & the Methodist church. We went had a well supper & later spent the evening playing "tinken pens" & auction bridge. We had a very pleasant evening.


Thurs. A.M. called on Nellie Foote, Miss Grafton (whom I didn't find home) & Mabel Flagg Bromwell. the latter made my heart ache & I pray that happiness may yet come to her. Got home just in time for a nice chicken dinner. In P.M. went to see Grace Woodard Sloane & boy (16 months old) Adolphus Sloane. Came to see Mrs. E & called to see Mr. Hakes on porch. Went back to Rose's to supper & spent the evening playing Muggins with the children & telling Rose of my trip last summer.

Today I've been at Mother's with Bobbie & expect now to go to Rose's & get ready to go to Mrs. Davis' to spend the night.

Notes: Whew! This was a marathon entry! Lots of names here, almost all of which turn up easily in the census records for Morris, NY. I believe that the people referred to by last name in the entry are actually the following: Elida Bachus (or Backus), Vincent Curtis and Fannie Curtis, Scott Lull, and Hattie Lull, Rev. Fred Leonard and Jennie Leonard, Edward Carpenter and Jennie Carpenter, Eva Nearing, William Hakes and Grace Hakes of Butternuts (note she said she went "up" to see them), Matilda Card, George Bedell and Mary Bedell, and Mable Grafton.

I have not successfully determined who "Mother Edwards" is, or how the family members mentioned here actually fit into Calla's tree, though I am working on building a tree for her.

Things in this entry that I would love to have explained to me: sleeping with a soap stone, and the game of "tinken pens" (if I transcribed that correctly.) I would also LOVE to know the life story of Mabel Flagg Bromwell and why happiness seems to have eluded her so far! UPDATE: Note from a reader: "In this entry you wondered what a soap stone was. It was the name of a soft rock. It was a rounded like a loaf of bread, heated on top of the stove then wrapped in towels and taken to bed. You could rub it over the sheets, hold it over your cold spots or put it under your feet."

Calla skips forward almost a year in her diary at this point, but there are several letters and articles that fill the gap that I'll be scanning in the meantime.