1/31/1913 vs. 1/31/2013

Dora:
Mother having sat up with Grandfather did not come home until noon.
Ironed and sewed.

Ray:
28-30 Snow
Went to town in am
home in pm

Cayla:
Went to work out at the Neuro office today.
It was a long but productive day.
I didn't get home until 7:30, so I didn't get to see my babies today...

Note: I've been thinking about how Dora makes note of cleaning, laundry, and family goings-on.  And then, I suppose, because I'm a woman too, I've been thinking about how when I clean the house or do laundry, I don't really consider it noteworthy enough to include in a journal posting. Clearly, Dora considered Keeping the House, her job. It was her role. Interestingly, in looking at the old census records from 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930, they list the occupations of the head of household, typically the man.  Women's occupations were not noted, or if they were, it was something like, 'Keeps House.'  It's what women did.

For me, though, what I consider to be my highest priority is my kids.  How much time I spent with them, if it was a struggle to control them, if they learned something new, if they did something cute or naughty. I feel that if I didn't have a significant interaction with my children, then my day was a failure.

I also have a 'real' job in addition to being Mother and Keeper of the House.  It's really interesting...the roles of women today and how they've changed in the past 100 years. 

For me, having an education, being in the role of a Nurse Practitioner, and then deciding to stay home with my kids has been an interesting journey. I was initially content with being home with my kids.  However, as time went on, I found that my social isolation was most definitely impacting me and my children in a negative way. I came to realize that I am most personally fulfilled by filling all of the roles I dance between.  I love being a Mom. I also love being Nurse Practitioner. I know that our current balance is a good one for me and for our kids. We've been blessed with a wonderful nanny and the kids have blossomed with another consistently positive female influence.  I've been very blessed to not be financially obligated to return to work, and blessed to have a husband who doesn't mind that my first priority isn't the status of the dust bunnies under the bed, or the amount of crud coating the bathroom sink, or the....never mind.

Needless to say, it's not a unique issue, mine.  Women all across America struggle with returning to work after having kids. They feel guilty, stressed, pulled in too many directions. Ask any mom who works...they'll vacillate between being jealous of the stay-at-home moms and being defiant about their need to return to work. Some don't feel guilty because it really wasn't a choice, it was a necessity.  But I still think those moms wish they didn't have to work. Then there are those in my sub-set who chose to return to work because they wanted to. Then there are the stay at home moms (at least some of them, because I secretly used to feel this way although I'd never admit it publicly at the time) who look down on the working moms because clearly those moms just wanted to toss their kids in daycare and get a break.  Or, aren't they willing to make a financial sacrifice to stay home and nurture their own children? Yep, I've had that thought too.  And I'm sure there are myriads of other responses...

My point is, though, that the roles of women have changed so dramatically in the past 100 years.  Was Dora happier 'just' keeping house? Or did she long for the opportunities that I have been blessed to have had? Was she a Suffragette? How did she feel in 1919 when Senate approved the 19th Amendment or in 1920 when it was ratified (Michigan ratified the Amendment June 10, 1919, the THIRD state to do so)?  We know that both she and Ray were quite progressive (a bad word to some these days), insisting that all of the kids go to at least one semester of college in an era where it wasn't a given that girls would attend college.  So, I think we can say that she did strongly value education.  She stayed single in a time when almost all 'spinsters' were looked at in pity.

I feel somehow, that Dora would be happy that I'm able to dance between both worlds.  She probably wouldn't be so happy with the condition of our house, but I think she might forgive me....






Women marching for Women's Suffrage in February, 1913
photo taken from Wikipedia



1/30/1913 vs 1/30/2013

Dora:
Done up the work
Mother not feeling well
Mopped the kitchen a.m.
P.M. we went down to Grandmas
Grandpa ill in bed. Aunt Mate up from Three Rivers.

Ray:
30 degrees am. 44 degrees pm. Fair
at home all day

Cayla:
Worked at the sleep clinic today.
Spent time with the kids in the afternoon.
Tarek came home early because I was planning on going to a Medical Botox talk in the evening.
We fed the kids and I went to the talk and dinner. My boss gave the talk, which was primarily about Botox and spasticity although we also talked about Botox and migraine as well as tremor.  Botox is really a fabulous drug.  It's something that would have killed people 100 years ago, but now it gives tremendous relief to people who are truly suffering...

And on that note with this blustery winter weather, I leave you with a poem of Robert Frost's, a contemporary of Dora and Ray, and also a farmer. Robert Frost died 50 years ago yesterday.

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening

 

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village, though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

 

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen Lake

The darkest evening of the year.

 

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

 

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

1/29/1913 vs. 1/29/2013

Dora:
Did ours and Grandmas washing a.m.
Mended and sewed P.M.
Went to Perrin Heinbachs to prayer meeting at night.

Ray:
19 degrees am. 32 degrees pm. Snow
Went to Centerville to get Aunt Mate.
Cleaned clover seed in pm Went to Heinbachs to prayer meeting.

Note: The casual reader may not pick up on this, but if you'll notice, Dora is doing "Grandmas washing" and Ray went to Centerville to get Aunt Mate. I have the foreknowledge that Grandfather Stahl (Dora's mother's father) has taken ill and they've all been taking care of him. And Dora almost always does the wash on Monday...
Cleaning clover seed? I am pretty sure that would involve picking out the individual seeds, right? Or I suppose you could take a dried pod and just crush it between your palms...  Tom?  This clover would have been mixed in with his Timothy seed, right?

Cayla:
Busy morning today. I took Maurice to pre-school and then ran errands with Ada. Met a friend for coffee and gave her all of Ada's baby clothes 6 months-12 months, two big garbage bags of stuff. Then I stopped at the tile place and paid a down payment for the kitchen back splash. Picked up Maurice from pre-school then came home for lunch and naps.
It was unseasonably warm today and the kids played out on the porch with their bikes, which was nice. We met Tarek for dinner at a little deli for the fun of it.
Still looking into ancestry.com and am now doubting if people are who we thought they are. Example, are we really sure that Daniel was George's father? I'm not so sure right now....

1/28/1913 vs 1/28/2013

Dora:
Went to Farmers Institute for the first time in my life
Got Dinner for 20 cents in hall below.

Note: $0.20 then would equal about $4.64.  Wonder what she had to eat!

Ray:
19 degrees in am. 28 degrees in pm Weather: Fair
Dora & I went to Institute all day.
Went [illegible, looks like either "& hatring" or "Shmatring"] at night.

Note: I suppose Ray could have gone skating. It was certainly cold enough. But I wonder if he'd skate at night? Rig up lanterns around the pond? Hm?

Cayla:
Finished up laundry. Got hopelessly addicted to Ancestry.com. Found out what Maurice Pearl looked like according to his WWI draft registration card. Black hair, blue eyes, medium height and slender build. Oh, and he had no missing limbs or eyes.  He was listed as being a 'Mechanist'.  That's the most information I think I've ever heard about him...
To those of you non-family members, or to those family members who don't know, Maurice Pearl was the father of Alice Pearl, future wife of Ray, future mother of Phyllis and thus, future grandmother to me. Maurice disappeared quite suddenly around 1921 (that is when he drops off the radar on Ancestry.com anyway) and no one knows what became of him. Some have speculated that he went out west seeking fortune, perhaps and ended up  John Doe somewhere in some cemetery. Or somewhere I may have heard he may have been an alcoholic and fell of the radar due to shame or some such fact, although, I can't tell you where I heard that or even if that is a figment of my over-active imagination as a child. Anyway, we don't know what happened to him. My mother obviously never met him as she was born in 1936. And from what I recall, her mother didn't talk about him either, although she would have been around 16 when he "disappeared".
So, if anyone wonders where Brian got his blue eyes?  Maurice.  And I think Alice had blue eyes too, right?

1/27/1913 vs 1/27/2013

Dora:
Ill. Arose at 10 A.M.
Went to Grandmas & Pas in the afternoon.
While Ray went to Farmers Institute in Parkville.

Ray:
24 degrees am. 29 degrees pm. Weather: Fair
at home in a.m.
Went to Farmers Institute at Park.

Note:
In the back of Ray's journal, he has kept a log of when he put his sows in with the boar and when other people have brought their sows over to his boar.  The Hog Mating began today.  He notes, "John Doolan had 3 sows here Jan 27-1913.

Cayla:
Ada was much perkier today, but we still didn't go to church since she hadn't been fever-free for 24  hours. I'm pretty sure no one else keeps their kids home from church nursery for such a thing, but it's a major pet peeve of mine. If people kept their kids home MORE when they were sick, then MY kids wouldn't get sick as much. Ok, now I'm off my soap box.
Today we re-arranged Maurice's room yet again, building the bunk beds and putting stuff on the walls. Looks nice and he absolutely loves it. He keeps looking around and saying, "Boot-i-ful!"
Ada's fever came back in the evening, poor baby...

1/26/1913 vs 1/26/2013

Dora:
Quarterly meeting Sunday
The first using Individual C.Set
Fine day but muddy
Visited P.M.
Ray and Laura started out about 6 p.m.
We went to church at night.

Ray:
32 degrees am, 46 degrees pm. Weather: Fair
Went to church in am
at home in pm. Took Laura home went to church over there.

Note: I have no idea what Dora means when she is talking about the "Individual C. Set" and I really do think that Ray must have been interested in this Laura. I have no idea who she was. Anyone else have an idea? Sounds like she may have originally been from West Park.

Cayla:
Spent the day getting things ready to have our new beds delivered. We moved Maurice's old bed to Ada's room and re-arranged all of her furniture.  Then the mattresses got delivered on time. The people who delivered the beds were horribly late, so we only just got finished getting the new beds made and Maurice to bed.
Ada's fever improved throughout the day, but she still isn't feeling at her best yet. We may stay home from church tomorrow since she hasn't been fever free for 24 hours.

1/25/1913 vs 1/25/2013

Dora:
Went to Quarterly Meeting afternoon and eve. [this sentence is squeezed in at the top of the entry in small writing as if it were added in after the fact]
Baked pumpkin pie, cake. mopped kitchen, etc.
Visited with Laura.
We made divinity
3/4 cup water 3/4 cup Karo corn syrup 2 cups Gran sugar cook till it breaks and then beat in white of 2 eggs & nuts.

Note: Anybody want to make this recipe and tell me how it turns out? I have never in my life used Karo syrup and skip those recipes that call for it. I know that's silly. It's one reason I've never made Pecan Pie. But now, I may be obligated to go and get a bottle the next time I'm at the grocery store....
According to the Karo Syrup Website, Karo syrup was first available in 1902.


Ray:
32 degrees am. 40 degrees pm. Weather: Fair
Went out to get Grange members in am
Went to church in pm

Cayla:
Cold is worse. Went to work at the sleep clinic. It was a snowy day so people were either late or didn't show up. Came home, got the package to mail to Christian in Japan, mailed that (did you all know that you can mail things via the US Postal service from the UPS store?) Came home again and the kids were down for a nap, so I tried to rest a bit too. Another slow afternoon with the kids. Ada had a 102.7 temperature as I put her down for bed. Gave her some Motrin and am hoping she won't sleep too poorly tonight.

1/24/1913 vs 1/24/2013

Dora:
Cleaned and swept nearly all day. up stairs and down.
Ray went over to West Park and fetched Laura over after church.

Ray:
26 degrees am. 36 degrees pm. Weather is Fair.
at home in am
Tested milk & cream
Pa & I went to town in pm  Went over to West Park Laura came home with me.

Note: More mentioning of Laura. If you'll notice, he and his father went to West Park, but his wording is, "Laura came home with ME" not "Laura came home with US".  Perhaps I extrapolate too much, but it would seem that Ray was interested in Laura...
Not quite sure what he means when he says he tested milk and cream. I know they sold their cream to a creamery, so perhaps it was some quality control testing?  Mom? Aunt Jan? Anyone know?

Cayla:
Worked out at the neuro office today. Not a terribly busy day. I am coming down with Maurice's cold, unfortunately. Came home and Tarek had fed the kids. It was Bath Night. I intend on retiring early.

What did you do today?

1/23/1913 vs 1/23/2013

Dora:
Cleaned the range good and cleaned up the corn upstairs
Went to the Lecture Course No 4 at Mendon at night
The Carroll Smith Co.

Note: I think Dora is cleaning up from Ray shelling corn.


Ray:
32 am 36 pm. Weather: Fair
at home in am. Cleaned [illegible] Dora, Lydia & I went to Lecture Course Carrol Smith Courses.

Note: Lydia is the daughter of Kate Schneider and would have actually been Dora and Ray's aunt, although she was probably closer to Ray's age.

Cayla:
Worked today in the sleep clinic. Came home and had a slow afternoon with the kids. Maurice is still not feeling well and I'm thinking Ada is beginning to have some symptoms too. Tarek had a dinner he had to go to for work, so he did not come home after work. He should be home in a few minutes and then we'll go to bed most likely.

1/22/1913 vs 1/22/2013

Dora:
Went to visit Laura
School an hour went home to dinner and back to school for another hour then went to Tobins to Prayermeeting in the afternoon and spent the rest of the time visiting.

Ray:
30 in am. 32 in pm.
at home in am
worked in woods pm.
went over west

I'm wondering if Laura, whose name keeps popping up, was teaching in the one-room school house that was just down the road from the house, kitty-corner from the church.  And I'm also wondering if Ray may have been interested in her. She seems to have lived over by West Park. And Ray often refers to going 'over west.'  Just a thought....

Cayla:
Bitterly cold again today. I kept Maurice home from pre-school today. The wind chills were around 15 below zero and it just didn't seem prudent.
Had a slow day with the kids. Sorted out old baby clothes to give to a friend with a little one. Made a nice dinner, which the kids didn't eat.
After the kids went to bed, I made a quick trip to Target. Came home and began reading "Bloodlines" by John Piper, a free download, which I highly recommend!

1/21/1913 vs 1/21/2013

Dora:
Mother was down at Grandma [s] all day.
Ironed did the work Baked bread etc.
At night went over toe West Park and I stayed at Shelly's.

Ray:
18 degrees Weather Fair
at home all day
Shelled corn
Put hogs in Pen

Note: Second day shelling corn. Bet his thumbs were aching come evening!  Ray is also getting ready to start putting his sows in with his boar.  I'm thinking that is why he made note of putting the hogs in the pen.

Cayla:
Absolutely frigid temperatures today, wind chill was sub-zero. Despite that, it being MLK Day, and Tarek having the day off, we decided to go to the Children's Museum  It was a bad decision. Not only was it freezing, but it was packed and we had to part a long way away.  Kids handled it all OK though.
Came home, put them down for naps, and I went and got groceries.  Tarek fixed dinner (what a fabulous hubby I have!) and the evening went on as usual. Will finish this posting and read neuro sitting by the fire with my cozy husband.

1/20/1913 vs 1/20/2013

Dora:
Washed A.M. and got dinner.
Mended & sewed P.M.
Read in the eve.

Ray:
36 in am. 32 in pm. Weather Rain
Shelled seed corn.

Note: I'm pretty sure, based on upcoming journal entries, that Ray was shelling his seed corn upstairs in the house.  He would have most likely used his hands to shell the corn-a rough task.  His thumbs were probably red and aching when he was done.  I can only assume he did it inside the house because it was warmer than in the barn.  And shelling corn is a sit down kind of job, nothing about it gets the blood pumping.  Still though, it's a messy job.

Cayla:
Went to church. Tarek & I napped while the kids napped. Tidied up and started laundry because we have a busy day tomorrow. All in all, a slow, quiet day.

1/19/1913 vs 1/19/2013

Dora:
Read A.M.
Went to church & S.S. P.M. [Sunday School in the P.M.]
Called on Wise's in evening.

Note: In the front cover of Dora's journal she has this written. 
This world that we're a livin in 
Is mighty hard to beat.
You get a thorn with every rose
But ain't the roses sweet?
Jan. 19, 1913

Ray:
29 degrees am. 44 degrees pm. Weather is cloudy.
at home in am & night church in pm.

Cayla:
Today, Saturday, Tarek and I went out shopping. We've not been out alone together for the day since Maurice was born, probably! Anyway, we had breakfast, then went to Menards and bought cabinet knobs and drawer pulls for our kitchen cabinets. Then, Bed Bath and Beyond for a new coffee pot since ours gave up the ghost Thursday morning. Then, to the lighting store to get ceiling lights for the kitchen. Then, to a menagerie of furniture stores looking for beds for Maurice and Judah. We ended up finding a set of twin beds that can also be bunk beds, so we were happy with that. We finished our outing/spree with lunch at a sushi place and buying mattresses for the beds.
I had another migraine all day and came home and went to bed only to wake 2 hours later with a worse headache.  Considering my options for migraine prevention....

January 18, 1913 vs January 18, 2013

Dora:
Went over to Kates to eat Turkey.
Walked.
Came home about 4 o'clock.

Ray:
36 degrees in the am, 28 degrees in the pm. Weather is: Snow.
Went over to Kates for dinner.

Note:  A little bit of family history can come out at this point.
Kate was actually Ray and Dora's step-grandmother.  Their grandmother, Catherine (with a 'C') died in 1890 (born 1820, according to her gravestone). Apparently shortly after his 70 year old wife's death, Daniel, Ray and Dora's grandfather, went back to Germany and returned with a new bride. Her name was also Katherine, but with a 'K' and they called her Kate.  Kate's gravestone indicates that she was born in 1876, which would make ten years older than Dora, her step-grand daughter.  Dora was born in 1886.
Now, Daniel and Kate had two daughters, Lillie (born in 1892-6 years younger than Dora) and Lydia (born 1895-9 years younger than Dora).  Daniel died in 1907 at approximately 77 years of age.  Kate would have been 16 years old when she gave birth to Lillie.
The story is that people in the family (we don't know who, exactly) were either scandalized by this extremely young bride Kate, or they didn't like her for some reason.  So, I was surprised to find that they were going over to Kate's house for dinner.  I was also surprised that they walked to her house; she must have lived close by. The weather certainly wasn't very warm to be out walking for any great distance.  My mom has no idea where Kate may have been living at that time.
When I recently spoke with my Uncle Bob, he indicated that Dora and Kate were good friends, despite whatever bad feelings may have existed elsewhere in the family.  We (every one I've spoken to about the Kate story) are not sure who it was that objected to Kate.  We know, though, that she was not allowed (maybe that is a strong word) to be buried by Daniel and Catherine. She is buried next to her daughter Lillie in the Mendon cemetery.

Cayla:
Worked at the sleep clinic today.
Maurice had another potty training success.
In the evening, Tarek took the cat to the vet and Maurice went too. Ada and I went to McDonalds and had dinner and waited for the boys to come meet us. She was so cute, babbling to me in a conversational tone, smiling and generally being adorable. After that I took Ada to the UPS store and mailed out the family calendars to everyone in the family.

Jan. 17, 1913 vs Jan 17, 2013

Dora:
Done up the Sat. work. Sweeping and mopping, etc.

Note: Dora was doing the Saturday work on a Friday...  "Why?" you ask.  You'll simply have to read tomorrow and find out. Riveting, I know.

Ray:
36 degrees in am, 50 degrees pm. Weather is Fair.
Cleaned timothy seed in am. Went to woods in pm.

Note:  Timothy seed is a form of hay. Today's farmers, when they grow their fields of hay, it will be a specific mix of alfalfa, different types of grasses and if they are growing the hay for horses, it'll likely have Timothy seed mixed in.  My brother Tom, whose fields are often sown for hay, notes that his fields have Timothy in them.  Apparently, different farmers have their preferred mixes, often customizing to their preferences.

Timothy Grass

If you can imagine my grandfather cleaning Timothy seed, in the deep silence of the January barn, no cars driving by, no cell phone in his pocket. Only the sounds of the farm, the cats in the barn, no flies buzzing, the animals stamping their feet and making their animals sounds.
My brother Tom and I were wondering how he cleaned the seed. Tom wondered if he actually threshed it. I thought he might have sat there over a bag of some sort thumbing the seed out.  We don't know how he did it, but we are sure that once he had his seed prepared, that he would have had a certain sense of pride. That when he saw his fields of hay, when he saw his livestock sustained by the tedium of a few January days, that he would have been satisfied.

Cayla:
Worked in the neuro office today. Got home a little before 7 pm. Ate, loved on, and played with the kids before putting them to bed and snuggling.

Jan. 16, 1913 vs. Jan. 16, 2013

Dora:
Finished tieing up the sausage and putting away.
Ironed.
Read and mended pm.

Ray:
36 degrees in am, 44 degrees in  pm. Weather is Misty.
at home in am. went to woods im pm. cut 2 trees.

Note: I spoke with my parents and my brother Tom tonight about butchering pigs and what not.  My mom says, that yes, they had a smoke house and my brother Tom remembers playing in it as a kid. He said they made it into a club house at one point. Mom recalls that as children they were NOT allowed to go inside; we speculated that they didn't want the kids going in and out and letting all of the smoke out.
Tom thinks that Dora baking the jars of sausage was her baking the sausage as a way of cooking it and then taking the baked sausages and then canning them, perhaps in a hot water bath.
Mom does NOT recall them making liverworst as a child and we speculated that since liverworst is a recipe that is spiced based on the region of Germany that one is from, this liverworst recipe was probably handed down from Ella or George.  Perhaps they stopped making liverworst after Ella and George passed away and unfortunately, the recipe has disappeared.
Mom was also surprised that Ray took sausage into Mendon. I wondered if maybe the Schneider sausage had a reputation and that people had spoken for some.
Mom also remembers rendering lard. They would have built a big fire outside and put a heavy cast iron pot or cauldron on it. They would have filled it with the strips of fat and slowly cooked it down. It would have melted and boiled and any residual meat would have cooked and risen to the top. Grandpa Ray would skim it off and give it to the kids and Mom remembers this with obvious delight.  Then they would have poured the liquid fat into containers and as it cooled, it solidified. It was kept through out the year for cooking purposes and perhaps other purposes too. It had to be kept cool in the summer otherwise it'd go rancid.
My dad was also raised on a farm and recalls butchering hogs too. He said they would use green hickory sticks and they'd smoulder all day. They'd also bore several holes in the ham and pack it with Mortons Salt to help aid in preservation. He also recalls his mother canning the meat.

Cayla:
Worked today at the sleep clinic. Had a hair appointment in the afternoon so after work I went to our corporate office to drop off papers for me to get hospital priviledges. Got my hair trimmed and colored (GRAYS GO AWAY!) and then came home and fixed dinner. Ran to the grocery store quickly to pick up a few items. Put the kids to bed and chatted with Tom for a bit.

Jan 15, 1913 vs. Jan. 15, 2013

Dora:
Fried sausage nearly all day. Washed up all the butcher tools. baked 8 jars sausage
Fried 5 gal of sausage [and] 4 gal liverworst.
Too icy to go to prayer meeting.

Ray:
36 degrees in am, 40 degrees in pm. Weather is Rainy
Took sausage to town in am.
At home in pm.


Cayla:
Here is more fuel for my idea that they got way more than 2.27 lbs of sausage out of all of those hogs. She fried sausage ALL day, 5 gallons of sausage and 4 gallons of liverworst (bleh!), and then BAKED 8 jars of sausage.  I'm going to need more information on sausage preservation in 1913.  Who knew you could bake a jar of sausage?
I did do some reading today and fresh sausage needs to be cured in some way to keep it.  And I don't hear of them smoking the sausages... Hmmm... Can anyone enlighten me?
I do find it strange though, that they don't mention a ham or chops or ribs or what they did with anything else.  Does anyone know if they had a smoke house back then?
Today was another 'at home' day for me. Took Maurice to pre-school and then picked up dry cleaning. Went to a lighting shop with Ada to look for kitchen lighting. Ran some other errands and then picked Maurice up from pre-school. During nap time I did some prep work for our outing this Saturday. Afternoon was slow. Maurice had a potty training set back in the evening. It's OK. I think he forgot.

Jan. 14, 1913 vs. Jan 14, 2013

Dora:
Butchered
2.27 lbs sausage
350 lbs lard
Was tired when night came.

Ray:
28 degrees in am, 36 degrees in pm. Weather is Fair.
Butchered hogs today.
One weighed 685 other 500 also little white one 130-135.

Note: I'm thinking that Dora meant to say 227 lbs of sausage. That little dot there in the text isn't quite where it should be, and I can't imagine that if they butchered three hogs weighing over 1315 pounds that they would have gotten just 2.27 lbs of sausage. I think Dora was really tired.
Speaking of butchering...today most farmers send their animals off to be slaughtered and butchered elsewhere. I've watched my brothers cut up deer. It's hard physical work. Gruesome to the unseasoned, I suppose.  Hogs, though? I can only imagine how hard that would be.
Another thought: I really wish I knew what spices they put in their sausage and how they did it. I'm thinking they would have done it the 'old' way, in the pigs own intestines, which in itself, would have added immensely to the amount of work of making sausage. The intestines would have had to be cleaned very well...

Cayla:
Had a great day with the kids. They played together very well, napped, and Maurice continued his potty training successes much to my absolute delight. I did laundry, and did other things around the house that needed to be done, like clean the coffee pot with vinegar, top off my nearly empty spice bottles, tidy up, put things away and so on.
Tarek came home and after dinner we made a Costco run.
I finished folding laundry after the kids went to bed.

What about you?  Did you do anything close to butchering three hogs?  Thoughts on sausage?  Bueller...?

Jan. 13, 1913 vs. Jan. 13, 2013

Dora:
Washed and got things ready to butcher.

Ray:
14 degrees in am. 30 degrees in pm.
at home in am. Took a big log over to Baers in pm.

Cayla:
While Dora was getting ready to butcher pigs, and Ray was hauling a big log, I had a restful day. We didn't go to church this morning. The road we usually travel to church was covered in water last night when we came home from the movie and the rain continued all night. We decided to stay off the roads and had a quiet peaceful day at home. After the kids went down for the night, we sat by the fire and I read Neurology stuff and then Tarek and I discussed whether or not he has narcolepsy.

How about you? How was your Sunday?

Jan. 12, 1913 vs. Jan 12, 2013

Dora:
Read A.M.
Went to S.S. (Sunday School) and church P.M.
Mr. Webster of Kalamazoo held the servise.
Mother and Ray went to West Park at night.
I stayed with Father and retired early.

Ray:
22 degrees in am, 18 degrees pm. Weather is fair.
at home in am.
church in pm. Ma & I went over west to church.

Note:
Ray was wholly unaware that 23 years in the future, he'd be the proud father of a baby girl, my mother, Phyllis, who would become the proud mother of Geoffrey, Jonathan, Thomas, Brian, Daniel, Matthew & Cayla and grandmother to Christian, David, Daniel, Meagan, Travis, Matthew, Heidi, Nathaniel, Tiffany, Rebekah, Judah, Lily, Maurice and Ada....one hundred years later.

Cayla:
Puttered around, organizing things and purging drawers and closets. Got groceries. Maurice pleased us beyond anything by finally pooping on the potty. We went out for a movie (Les Miserables...I was sobbing at the end...) with a friend. On the way home, the road was flooded, a small river flowing across in multiple places. Tarek got us home safely.

Jan. 11, 1913 vs. Jan. 11, 2013

Dora:
Baked cake
Swept and cleaned up, mopped kitchen
Got ready to go to Mendon.
Got home at 6 p.m.
Installation of officers.

Ray:
36 degrees. Weather is rainy.
At home in am.
Went to grange in pm.

Note:
I've noticed both Ray and Dora mention the Grange quite frequently. You can read more about the Grange here and here.
I'm trying to not do any correction of spelling or punctuation. And I am going to try to enter the sentences in as they are in the journal, including when the author begins a new line.

Cayla:
Rainy again today. The snow is basically all melted now. It's the longest that snow has been on the ground in a long time. We started getting snow that stuck Christmas night and then a blizzard the next day.  It's been snowy ever since.
I worked today at the sleep clinic.
The kids were napping when I got home so I finished the family calendar and put an order in to send Joy some clothes in Uganda. Then I heard Ada making a few noises and I was excited because I didn't get to see her at all yesterday. So I went up to get her although I knew she hadn't been asleep all that long. Big mistake. She ended up waking Maurice up and then they were both exceptionally cranky.
We met Tarek out for dinner and then stopped at Target to get a new floor lamp. Talked to my brother Tom on the way to dinner. He is looking for some photos of Ray and Dora that he has somewhere in his house. I'd love to have them scanned in for this blog!

Items from Inside the Journals: Dora

On the very back of Dora's journal, just inside the cover she has written two sayings, one of which was underlined for emphasis.

This is how they read:
Do not forget to be kind and liberal, for with sacrifice of that sort God is greatly pleased.
and
You have more'n likely noticed
When you didn't when you could
That jes' the thing you didn't do,
Was jes' the thing you should.


In the little pocket in the back of the journal are several newspaper clippings. Here is one of them:

The Modern Farmer

I got an idee, says Farmer Brown

That there ain't much use in movin' to town,

And crowdin' into a four-room flat

Where there ain't nuff room to hang yer hat.

Where eggs cost about a nickle apiece

And the butter is about like axle grease.

We gotta admit there's a lot of charm

In livin' right out on the good old farm.

When the wife and the children want to go

And see a good movin' pitcher show,

When they're showin' a pertickler fancy reel,

I kin git 'em there quick in the oatmobile.

The town folks ain't got nuthin' on us

In spite of all their featers and fuss.

We got good plumbin' all through our place

And fine washstands fer your hands and face.

A bathtub, too, we kin fill right quick

And we don't have to go jump in the crick.

So fur as the day's news is concerned,

There's durned few things that we haven't learned.

About as sudden as one-two-three,

Fer we've got a party phone, you see.

And we never are late in gettin' our mails,

For the rural delivery, it never fails.

We do all the things the city folks do.

Our children go to the colleges, too.

And there isn't a durned new-fangled idee

That we don't grab quick as quick kin be.

We've got all the latest in machines,

We git all the high-toned magazines.

We've got new thoughts in our old think tanks

And quite a lot of dough in the city banks.

When it comes to eats, why we have to laff;

We have got them all skinned by a mile and a half.

For "rubes" you can nlonger put us down.

'Cause the "rubes" nowadays are all livin' in town. 

Jan. 10, 1913 vs. Jan 10, 2013

Dora:
"Business a.m.  Making out order to S.R & Co. [Sears Roebuck & Co.]  Baked bread. Mended, Ripped and Sewed pm. Wrote letters at night."

Dora's correspondence: Mrs. Leisemer

Dora's financial ledger indicates she purchased a "Robespierre collar" for a whopping $0.33 and Mission Society books and tracts for $0.16. You can see what a Robespierre collar looks like here.
$0.33 would be $7.67 in today's money.

Ray:
 24 in the am. 36 in the pm. Weather: Cloudy.
"Pitched hay. Cut down a tree."

Also on the 10th Ray purchased: Stamps for $0.05, a Battery (who knew?) for $0.12, Socks for $0.39, A Razor Strop for $0.34 and I'm not sure how this differs from stamps, but also Postage for $0.08.


Cayla:
Awoke to rain drumming off the skylight above our bed. Went out to the office an hour away and caught up with phone calls on the way. Busy day at work. Home at 7:20 pm, but I did get to snuggle with Maurice before eating dinner and catching up with Tarek.


Family History Note: Ray and Dora's mother, Ellen (or Ella as she was commonly called) suffered from goiter and severe hypothyroidism. She also had congestive heart failure, probably due to the hypothyroidism causing her heart rate to go so low that she was pretty much confined to sitting in her chair. According to my mother and Uncle Bob, Ella never really moved out of that chair because she couldn't.  Ella also suffered from seizures.  I asked the neurologist that I work with today if it was more likely that she had an actual seizure disorder or if she could have had seizures due to hypoperfusion because her heart rate was so low (and yes, I know this won't interest anyone who is not in the medical community, sorry.).  All of that to say that it is impossible to say without knowing more information, like if she had and aura or lightheadedness, etc.  Its interesting to try to diagnose conditions that existed 100 years ago....

Jan. 9, 1913 vs Jan. 9, 2013

Dora:
"Finished ironing. Got things in shape to go to W.M.S. meeting [Womens' Missionary Society] at Mrs. Mercures.  Mrs. Scott promised me her name at the next meeting. So I will remember. Went over to West Park to meeting at night."

Ray:
22 in the am. 28 in the pm. Weather: Fair
"Help [ed] load a load of hay for Kline. Drawed a load of wood in pm. Dora, Ma & I went over West at night."

Cayla:
Started out the day with a headache. Worked the morning in the sleep clinic. Came home, kids were napping. Painters finished today around 4:30, and everything looks great! Played upstairs in the newly painted kids rooms tonight after dinner. Put the kids down after a bath. I will retire early in hopes this migraine will finally go away.

Items from inside the journals. Ray Schneider: Teetotaler

Items from inside the journals:

In the back of the 1913 journal my grandfather Ray has a slip of paper that is actually filed in the wrong journal. He must have carried it around for a while and then slid it into the 1913 one by mistake.

This slip of paper is from the "Anti-Saloon League of Michigan". The phone number is "Main 3347".  It is dated February 20, 1914  and at the bottom Aril 20, 1914.

The text reads as follows:

Ray Schneider,
We are pleased to acknowledge the receipt of 4.00 dollars for the full payment of subscription for the Anti-Saloon League of Michigan.

Interestingly, if you look at an inflation calculator, $4.00 in 1914 was equal to $92.09!!  That's quite a chunk of change both now and then. I can't think of anything I'd subscribe to for almost $100 unless it were a requirement to stay up to date for work.

I can only assume they recieved his payment in February, and then mailed his receipt in April.

Take a deep breath, nephews of mine. Your great-grandfather was probably dancing a jig when the 18th Ammendment was passed....  And remember, in Feb-April, 1914 he would have been 21 years old.... Perspective.

Jan. 8, 1913 vs Jan. 8, 2013

Dora:
"Ironed. Cleaned the cream seperator. Mopped kitchen. Made apple pudding. Prayer meeting was at James Holmes' at night."

Note: See what a cream separator looks like here. Granted it's a photo from a Swedish museum, but you get the drift. This also makes me wonder why she doesn't mention cleaning the separator on a more regular basis. I know they milked daily and would let the cream sit for a few days before they'd churn it for butter. But I'm pretty sure they separated the milk daily.  Did they just rinse the separator out after use and only clean it sporadically?
One can only assume that apples in January were either canned or in cold storage.  Would love to know what Dora's apple pudding tasted like!


Ray:
20 in the am. 24 in the pm. Weather is Fair.
"At home in am. Took a cutter ride in pm to Were, Hallams, Pollers & Tarter [handwriting very poor, these appear to be surnames]."


I guess Ray didn't go to prayer meeting at the Holmes'.  Unless "Hallams" is really "Holmes".

Cayla:
Still painting at our house and the painting moved downstairs. Maurice had his first day back in pre-school. The kids watched an obscene amount of TV today in order to keep them out of the paint. That is, until I remembered the kids got bikes/tricycles for Christmas and we went out to the garage and had some fun.

Jan. 7, 1913 vs. Jan. 7, 2013

Dora:
"Puttered around. Wrote 2 letters. Cleaned silverware and put things in shape. First day of sleighing. Frozen rain fell nearly all day. Wrote letters at night."

Note: Dora kept track of who she received correspondence from and when she replied. She lists the following women as those she replied to on Jan. 7th: Nettie Prescott, Mildred Prilmer, Grace Meyer, Christina Faist, and Mrs. Seager.

Ray:
24 in the am, 28 in the pm. Weather: Sleet
"At home all day."

Note: Ray's financial ledger indicates that he spent $.26 on envelopes on Jan. 7th.


Cayla:
Painting at the house today! Ada & Maurice's rooms are mostly done. The only snafu this created was that cribs were not available for nap time. So I drove around town hoping the kids would sleep in the car. Ada did for a whopping 25 minutes, nosily slurping on her thumb. Maurice did not. We came home for a bit and then left to meet Tarek at a tile place to try to pick out tiles for a kitchen back splash. The kids began to show the signs of no naps there at the shop. We ended up putting them to bed early. Still working on folding laundry.


I am heartened slightly by the fact that Ray was at home all day. I suspect, though, that his "Home all day" was only due to the fact it was cold and sleeting all day. What can you really do on a farm in 1913 besides milk the cows, feed the animals, and collect the eggs?

First day of sleighing sounds fun, doesn't it?

Jan. 6, 1913 vs Jan. 6, 2012

Dora:
"Washed a.m. P.M Hecklemans called.  Started coal fire. Blacked radiator. Spent the evening at John Millers."

Ray:
21 degrees in the am. 28 degrees in the pm. Weather is snowy.
"At home all day. Went down to John Millers at night. Very icy."


Cayla:
Went to church and then out to eat for lunch at our favorite breakfast place. Kids ate all of the bacon. Rested while the kids napped. Played with the kids until it became evident that their crankiness was due to hunger. Fixed dinner and then watched Arabic Baby Einstein DVD's with the kids. Cleaned out the kid's closets and took down all of Maurice's preschool paintings in preparation for painting tomorrow. Finished up some laundry (gasp!) and then finished the family calendar. Just waiting for some film (Travis, if your Air Force buddies got too creative you might need to re-do your photos!) to get developed and then I'll be done.

Sunday, January 5, 1913 vs Saturday, January 5, 2013

Dora:
"Spent the am reading. Went to S.S. [Sunday School] and church P.M. It stormed at night. Stayed at home."

Ray:
18 degrees in the am. 28 degrees in the pm. Weather is snow and rain.
"At home in a.m. Went to SS and church in p.m. Home at night."


Cayla:
You'd think I would be able to do something as simple as check the temperature first thing in the morning, but I keep forgetting. I suppose since my day's activities are not determined by the weather I don't really take notice unless the weather is particularly beautiful or particularly awful.
This morning we met with David, who will be painting most of the interior of our house next week. We ironed out color choices for all of the rooms he'll be working on. Then Tarek took Maurice while I took Ada to run some errands. We met up for lunch at McAlisters. Went home, put the kids down for naps and then I went to the grocery store, then stopped at a butcher shop to discuss what exactly is fed to the animals to see if I want to buy from them in the future. Came home, put away the groceries, fed the kids a snack and then went back out to go to a place to see if we can find tiles for a kitchen back splash. They were closed. So, we went and picked up a prescription.  As we were driving home, it started to snow. So we all played in the falling snow until everyone got cranky for dinner. After dinner we watched VeggieTales as a family and had popcorn.  Then bath time and bed for the kids. I put a load in the washer, started this posting and am planning on relaxing on the couch with Tarek before bed time.  I'll fold laundry as we watch a movie...

Jan. 4, 1913 vs. Jan. 4, 2013

Dora:
"Arose early to get Florence home by A.M.  Finished ironing. Pressed Ray's suit. Went down to Grandmas in the afternoon. Read and took a bath at night."

Ray:
20 degrees in the am. 26 degrees in the pm. Weather is Snow.
"Took Florence home in a.m. Worked around home in p.m."

Note: Ray recorded his height and weight on Jan. 4, 1913. He was 20 years old. His weight was 161 pounds and he was 5 feet 7 1/4 inches tall. By today's standards this would put him at the high end of normal (25) for his body mass index.

Dora weighed in on Jan. 3, 1913. She was 145 pounds and was 5 feet 2 1/2 inches tall. She was 26 years old at the time. Dora would have been considered 'overweight' by today's medical standards with a BMI of 26.1.

Cayla:
21 degrees in the am. 31 degrees in the evening. Weather is Sunny.
Please note: I am not weighing in.  I happen to be 5 foot 3 1/2 inches.  That's all you're gonna get, folks. Oh, and I'm never going to take note of whether or not I bathed since I bathe daily...
I got up this morning and left for work before the kids were up again, although Ada was intermittently warbling from her crib as I walked out the door. Saw some interesting patients in the sleep clinic (one of which told me,"You probably get this all the time, but you're really beautiful!" I laughed loudly and said, "Um, no. I DON'T get that all the time...not at all..."  I should also mention that she was on some very strong happy medicine.) Got home and played with the kids and then called my Uncle Bob to discuss this blog, the journals, and other factoids about the family. They (both Bob and Aunt Lynn) sounded great and it was wonderful to catch up with them. We had dinner and then played rather aggressively with beanbags (mostly Tarek and I while the kids intermittently joined in).  Put the kids to bed and then took down the Christmas tree and got everything all put away.

Jan. 3, 1913 vs. Jan. 3, 2013

Dora:
"Florence was here. Cracked nuts, ate chestnuts, Grape Fruit, drank cider and spent the day visiting."

Ray:
28 degrees in am. 32 degrees in pm.
"Took some feed down to Stahls [his maternal grandparents] to grind. Spent rest of time in home."

Cayla:
Forgot to look at am temperature, but it was really stinking cold. Temp on the way home from work was 31.
Left for work before the kids were up. Ran around the hospital all day seeing patients that would not still be alive back in Dora and Ray's day. Strokes, mostly. Some other strange stuff and lots of EEG's and seizure work ups. Talked about 'Obama-Care' on and off all day with my supervising physician as a good portion of the patients we saw were self-pay and thus will not ever pay their hospital bill.  It'd essentially be like walking into McDonald's, ordering one of everything on the menu, eat a little of everything, throw the rest away and then tell them that oh, by the way, I never had the money for all of this in the first place. Realized when we walked in to a room where there was a massive Code Brown how happy I was that I had left the bedside. Came home, we bathed the kids and I had a nice, prolonged snuggle-smooch time with Ada before switching over to Maurice.  It's so sweet to snuggle with your babies....

Items from inside the journals...

In most of the journals I have gone through, there are newspaper clippings and other little things of interest that were saved. These are such fun to go through. I'll periodically describe the contents. 

Here is a clipping of 'wise' sayings (I've picked out the best):

A babe in arms [is] worth two armed with toy pistols. (Yes, indeed!)
The remedy of tomorrow is too late for the evil of today. (Sure, why not?)
The woman who marries for a home pays the highest market price for it. (Isn't that the truth?)
The emptiness of things here below is most keenly felt about dinner time. (Ok, I don't get it. Maybe I'm too 2013-ish)
According to an old bachelor, female suffrage is cased by a scarcity of husbands. (Pshaw...)
Is is policy for little birds in their nest to agree--otherwise they might fall out. (That sums up how I was raised in a cute little nutshell!)
The comfort derived from the various walks of life depends on the condition of the feet. (Har, har, har...)
Many a fool has sense enough to get a good wife, but hasn't sense enough to know it. (Isn't THAT the truth?)
The average young man is always ready to embrace an opportunity when it comes along in the guise of a pretty girl. (Yep.)
To an engaged couple, wedded life appears to be like sunshine--but to a married couple it looks suspiciously like moonshine at times. (Pretty sure they are NOT referring the alcoholic version of moonshine here.)
Good flannels and good soldiers never shrink from duty. (Oh, really?)

Summing it all up, there is an ad reading:
When a Laxative is needed give Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin.

On the back of the clipping, legal advice is provided.
A note given by a minor is void.

A note drawn on Sunday is void.
It is a fraud to conceal a fraud.
Ignorance of the law excuses no one.  (I think this should be posted on signs along with all of the speed limit signs)
Notes bear interest only when so stated.
The acts of one partner binds all the others.
The law compels no one to do impossibilities.
An agreement without consideration is void.
A personal right of action dies with the person.
Contracts made on Sunday can not be enforced.
A contract made with a minor or lunatic is void.
A receipt for money paid is not legally conclusive.

And again, we see:
When a Laxative is needed give Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Pepsin.

January 2, 1913 vs. January 2, 2013

Dora:
"Ironed, baked pumpkin pies. Called at Poeths and telephoned. Went over to Shelly's at night. Florence came home with us at 12 P.M."
Ray:
32 degrees in the morning. 42 degrees in the evening. Weather is Cloudy.
"Drawed 6 loads of manure in am. Drawed 2 loads of rails. Dora & I went over to Shelly's. Florence came home with us."


**There is an address in the back of Dora's 1913 journal for a woman named Florence Erffmeyer. The address is: No. 15 Nichome, Yojodori, Chikko, Osaka, Japan.  I suspect that Florence was a missionary to Japan who was raising support and spent some time with the Schneiders.

Cayla:
4 degrees in the morning. 11degrees in the evening.
Went to work today. Initiated two new patients on CPAP for sleep apnea. Had a high no-show rate today. People must not have wanted to brave the cold. Came home. Ada was refusing to nap. As soon as I put her down, Maurice started rattling his door knob. Come to find out, he'd peed through his pull up and had to have his entire outfit changed. Played with him while Ada napped. We ate leftovers for dinner. Still trying to catch up from going to bed late two night in a row.


I find it so interesting that my Aunt Dora makes note of telephoning someone. I absolutely hate my cell phone and will text if at all possible. I've completely come full circle. I'm sure Ray and Dora found the telephone to be an exciting technological advancement.  I'm more inclined to let the battery die or 'forget' my phone in the car...
And 6 loads of manure? That's a lot of work!

January 1, 2013

About a year ago, I learned that my great-aunt Dora and her brother (my maternal grandfather) kept journals AND that these journals were in safe-keeping by my mother's younger sister, my Aunt Jan.  Aunt Jan humored me earlier in the year and allowed me to rifle through and read these treasured items of our family's history.
The journals that I read didn't possess any deep, dark family secrets. They don't even go into detail about how people felt about things. They are really a simple record of what they did that day, what work was accomplished, who they talked to, and where they went.
I found, though, that long after I'd read a few of those journals, that it made me more curious about how they lived their lives back then. How simplicity, beliefs, and just plain old hard work shaped the people who raised my mother, and consequently how my mother raised me. I never met my great-aunt or my grandfather, both had passed before I was born.  I still see echoes of them though, in me, and in my brothers.  Echoes of Dora and Ray, and their life on Portage Lake Road.
I found that after I'd first wrapped my greedy fingers around those remarkably intact booklets, that I'd changed a bit.  I started doing a few things different in my own life, making it a bit more regimented and disciplined.  Dora did her laundry on Mondays. I used to do ours whenever it piled up to the point where no one had any underwear left (a slight exagerration, yes...).  I started doing my laundry on Monday. Life is better.  It was also very clear to me that Sundays were truly a day of rest in Dora's and Ray's house. I decided that I should probably start getting my groceries earlier in the week so I wouldn't be tempted to do it Sunday.  Sundays are more restful now.
I've thought so much about these journals that I asked Aunt Jan if I could have a temporary loan of a few of them so I could blog through them for at least a month.  I think it will be interesting to compare and contract my life with the lives of my recent ancestors.
This blog is dedicated to me Keeping Up with the Schneiders.  Unlike Keeping up with the Kardashians, no one will be worried about breaking a nail, tan lines, or whose baby's daddy is doing what...

December 31, 1912
Dora:
Tuesday "Ironed and got ready for Langs Young People and Lizzie Haas for supper.  Settled with Pa for the Vac Deal. $83.15- $73.19. $9.96 to the good"

Note: Earlier in 1912 Dora made a deal with her father. He gave her the money for a vacuum sweeper (my aunt still has this). She worked the entire year, going to people's houses and vacuuming for them. She earned the money back plus some.

Ray:
36 degrees in the morning. 42 degrees in the evening. Weather is Fair.
"Loaded to [two] loads of hay for John Kline. Went to church. [Illegible]Brierness (?) meeting in pm.

December 31, 2012
Cayla:
Had a slow morning. Baked a cake for tomorrow. Tarek took Ada to the store while I played with Maurice outside in the snow. Put the kids to bed. Pierre and Anita came over. We had prosciutto-filo wrapped asparagus, puff pastry goat cheese with preserves, cheese plate, smoked salmon and capers, sangria and French baguette and crackers. We got in the hot tub with the snow piled up around us. Drank champagne, talked, and watched disgustedly as Kathy Griffen and Anderson Cooper made dirty innuendos on national television. Went to bed around 1:30 am.

January 1, 1913
Dora:
"Invited to Uncle Davids for New Years Dinner.  Went to Wm. Saylors for prayer meetings at night."

Ray:
29 degrees in the morning. 38 degrees in the evening. Weather is Fair.
"Went down to Uncle Davids for dinner staid [sic] all day."

January 1, 2013
Cayla:
Made pancakes for breakfast. Tarek talked to his family in Lebanon. We got ready and left to go to Rabih and Mariam's house in Lafayette. I forgot to bring the cake I had baked the day before. We spent most of the day there. The kids were remarkably well-behaved despite no naps. Came home. Fed the kids, Tarek bathed them and we put them to bed. Started blogging.


I find it interesting that both of us had people over to our house for New Years Eve and then went and spent New Years Day at someone else's house...