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.
