A Glimpse of Sixteen

Randy Seaver at Geneamusings suggested that for this week's Saturday Night Fun we choose one of Lisa Alzo's blog prompts for Women's History month.  I decided that the one for today worked for me. It is: “Did one of you female ancestors leave a diary, journal or collection of letters? Share an entry or excerpt.”

I am fortunate enough to have a journal, of sorts, my grandmother and her friend wrote when they were about sixteen. There are just under 50 pages, and in it the girls recreate dialogue, write a very short play and occasionally include sketches. At the time, the fall of 1934, Peggy and her friend Caroline were living near the Buchholz resort on Long Lake. The girls liked to go out almost every evening, build a fire and roast apples or marshmallows. When they didn't do that they sometimes played bunco.

One entry is as follows:

“Peg and I went for a walk looking for cocoons. It was very uncertain days so of course Peg & I got caught in a rain & hail storm (mostly hail). We walked and ran by turns all the way home but it didn't help and 'cause we were soaked and frozen when we arrived at Pegs. [sic] The hail stung our faces so that we had to hide our faces under our collar. Peg's mom told us it was good for us if we were dumb enough to go out in such weather.”

Even though the entries only describe a few months in my grandmother's youth, I treasure it for giving me a glimpse into her life. I also appreciate the mention of my great-grandmother and her no-nonsense comment after the girls went for a walk when a storm was brewing.

The girls included the following exchange:

“Are you putting everything we do in there?” asked Peggy the other night.

“Of course. Why not?”

“Gosh, if anyone reads that they'll think we are crazy.”

Well, I don't think they were crazy, but I sure am glad they wrote down what they did for a few months and, more importantly, that it survived to come to me.