A Shooting in Galena

Friday, June 13, 1919: Mr. Palmer went away this morning. Hot day today. We wanted to go to Scales Mound to the Sunday School convention tonight. The weather wasn’t looking good when we started. When we got up there it lightened so came right back. Just got home before it rain. Didn’t rain much. But I guess they got it in some places, maybe Scales Mound. Saturday was very busy. Stormy looking all day but it cleared off a little better towards eve. So we got ready and went to Galena. Didn’t get there till after nine oclock. The town was crowded. Got home alright.

Sunday we all went to church in the afternoon. Mr. Cavanaugh is going to stay. The Elder wouldn’t accept his resignation. Ben said at church he wouldn’t be over this evening. He has a little business in Galena. So we all went down to Tresidder’s this eve. Monday, Ruby & I picked cherries in the forenoon till a storm came up. Rained the rest of the day. We put up seven quarts of cherries. Have a few more to pick yet. I picked two soup bowls of strawberries. Have some more to pick yet.

Tuesday, I picked another bowl of strawberries, also picked more cherries. We washed. Wednesday, we ironed and baked bread. Made cherry cream pies. Ma worked some in garden. Dad cut some alfalfa. Had another hard storm and rain during the night. Thursday, June 19, 1919 Ma & Ruby cleaned the cellar. A shooting occurred in Galena. Frank Willy shot Earl Fitch at noon. I suppose they had some trouble. Mr. Fitch was a cashier in a bank. Aunt Tillie came in to Aunt Annie’s today.

Happy Easter!

Friday, April 18, 1919: We baked bread and coffee cake. Also ironed. Saturday, Dad, Ruby & I went to town in the car. The roads wasn’t so bad as I thought they might be but the car didn’t go very good. We brought home a big load. 100 oyster shells, plow, groceries, & etc. Got thirty-seven cents per dozen for thirty-one dozen eggs. I made an appointment with the dentist for next Monday at two. Sunday

Sunday was a  Beautiful Easter day. Warm. Ma, Ruby & I went to church in the afternoon. Picked some flowers to put in church. Agnes, Milton & Blanche walked home with us to pick some flowers. Our sow had four little pigs today. Tuesday Uncle Edd, Aunt Annie & John were here this evening. But didn’t have any other company. Monday was another nice day. Ruby & I drove Pet to town today. Had a xray picture taken of my two front teeth and two teeth pulled upper jaw left side. Awful hard getting out broke off a good many times. In a way it didn’t hurt but wasn’t very pleasant. In a little while it started to ache and ached till I went to bed. Ruby bought a pair of brown shoes for five dollar and I a brown pair oxfords for four dollars.

Tuesday my jaw or whatever it is doesn’t ache any more. Another lovly day. Washed. Also ironed all but the starched clothes. I baked a batch of cookies in the  afternoon. Also made rhubard sauce. Ma & Ruby cleaned some weeds out of the strawberry patch. Dad hauled manure on garden also started to plow it.

Wednesday, we finished ironing and  also baked bread. Had an awful storm and heavy rain early in the morning. Can’t plow the garden now for a long time. I wanted to go to Scales Mound too awfully bad to get the car fixed up. I painted three chairs this afternoon.

Thursday April  24: Ma and Ruby cleaned Ruby’s room today. Also went up to Aunt Annie’s and got three bushels of potatoes. Also went over to Hammer’s and got one bushel of early potatoes. Quite cold today. We got our parlor paper from Montgomery Ward.

Galena's Social Life

Friday, March 7, 1919: We ironed, baked bread, coffee cake and a cake today. Had a calf dehorned and a ring put in the bull's nose. Had to drive them down to Tresidder’s. Saturday I baked a batch of cookies today. Snow is going fast today. Sunday, Dad & Ma went to church this afternoon. Ruby & I didn’t go because our colds were to bad. Aunt Annie came down and staid with us while Uncle Edd went to church. They spent the evening here. Didn’t have any more company tonight.

Monday, A lovly day. Doing a little sewing. Dad hauling manure.Tuesday was another nice day. Snow about all gone. Sewing some today. Heard today that there is going to be a social at Independence School Friday night. I guess Bernetta is going to try her luck. Ruby & I also got a card inviting us to a novelty shower at Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Tippet in honor of Irma Falancer Saturday afternoon.

Wednesday, was nice day. We washed and ironed and baked bread today. Quite good I think. Thursday Milton brought us up a box of honey for our colds I guess. Cloudy and windy today. Ruby & I walked went over to the Station this afternoon to get some things. But couldn’t get no fruit for our basket very troubled about it. And we haven’t anything yet for the shower yet. Don’t know how we shall make out yet. Friday was called up this morning to tell us the Independence Social is put off. Some of the children are sick. Dad went to town today with Johns. The roads are terrible. Dad bought us several dishes to take to the shower tomorrow. Uncle Edd went to town this after. Aunt Annie came down to stay all night. Raining tonight.

Saturday,rainy today. Didn’t know if we should go to the shower or not. Sometimes it looked brighter. Josie said if we could go she thought she could to. It started to rain when we got down there. It rained awfully hard. So when it stopped a little we came home. Don’t think there was many to the shower. Bernetta didn’t come. She thought she would come and go with us. Uncle Edd didn’t come home so Aunt Annie is going to stay with us again tonight.

Sunday, the weather wasn’t very good this morning so we didn’t go to church. Aunt Annie went home this afternoon. Didn’t have any company this eve. A nice evening, but muddy of coarse. Monday, a lovly spring day. Ma fried down pork. I made a petticoat for myself. Dad chopping posts and stakes. Got thirty eggs tonight most for the season. St. Patrick’s Day but didn’t celebrate in no way. Tuesday, another spring day. Saw the first robin today. Ruby & I dressed in pantaloons went up the woods to chop this afternoon. Chopped off a haw tree and piled brush. Wednesday, we washed today. A nice day.

Thursday, March 20: We ironed baked bread and filled cookies. Ruby also cleaned out the chicken house. We all went up to Aunt Annie’s this eve. Uncle Edd offered to go with us to the social if we wanted to.

Sat, Sept 25, 1926: Thursday was a cloudy, rainy day, a very bad day for the Elizabeth Fair. We intended to go if it had been nice weather. We washed in afternoon and made some yellow tomatoe preserve. There were storms and heavy rain that evening. On Friday, we were busy baking and etz, & etz. We made two kinds of jelly. I wondered if the Fair would be put off, as the weather was cold and wasn’t much better than Thursday.

Today is a very cold day but sunshiny. We wanted to go to town today, but Dad has about 3 weeks’ whiskers on and wouldn’t shave so we didn’t go. We spent about all afternoon and evening gathering in tomatoes, peppers, sting & lima beans, cucumbers and etz. Ruby & I went over to the garden at Weis’ place and picked lima beans at eleven tonight with lantern & flashlight - everything was all ready frozen."

Having been a social worker for years before retiring, family dynamics always fascinate me. Here we have Charles and Amelia Dittmar Trudgian[see today's photograph], Lillian's parents living in the house that Charles grew up in with their two adult daughters - Ora Ruby Trudgian Stauss and her husband, Leonard Stauss and of course Lillian. They are living on 88 acres of land - what remains of the original purchase made by Joseph and Mary Pellymounter Trudgian [Charles' parents]. The rest had been sold off in years past [The land the neighbors -Fiedlers - live on once belonged to Charles' parents and then my great-great grandparents - Thomas and Rachel Kloth Trudgian]. In the first volume of Lillian's Diaries: Whispers of Galena's Past there seems to be a division of labor, with everyone helping out when a particularly large task had to be done like husking corn in November.

Now it appears Ruby and Lillian are working, working, working and occasionally their mother helps out. In the meanwhile Charles is out gathering nuts and Leonard is out helping the neighbors and his parents but not at the Trudgian homestead.

In the 1913-1919 period of the first book we see what might be questionable behavior of Charles......everyone is busy working and he takes off and to chance a ride* to another town and stays overnight, sometimes without telling his family who he is staying with or how long he will be gone..... or being so sick that all the womenfolk are worried about him and he is again leaves to chance a ride in the cold and rain to go somewhere.

In today's entry he hasn't shaved for three weeks and is refusing to do so. It seems that the whole family will stay home because he won't shave. Was it necessary to shave before going out in public? Was he growing a beard? I am sure that period of time had many more guidelines as to what was proper to wear or do while out in the community than we experience today......do you agree?

* to chance a ride is to hitch hike