Winter Has Arrived

Tuesday, December 7, 1926: It was raining today turning into snow, loading trees and bushes with ice & snow. Luckily, on Monday, Len went to town with oats to grind. Dad, Ma & I went too. We took Aunt Tillie along to take a kiropathic* treatment. Roads are kind of rutty.

Friday had been a very nice day. It was a little too warm and the roads got soft. They finished husking shock corn. Ma & I were busy baking as usual on a Friday.

Saturday was rather cold, so we did not go to town. Then it snowed during the night. Sunday Len, Ruby & I went up to see the Uncles and Aunts in the evening.

*The Illinois Chiropractic Society (ICS) is an organization that represents the chiropractic profession in the state of Illinois. ICS was established in 1926 as a non-profit organization and is acknowledged in the Illinois Medical Practice Act of 1987. ICS works to promote and advance professional standards of ethics, education, training and quality health care for all of their members.

"I Say Thank You For The Music"

Thursday December 2. 1926: It was quite a nice day. Dad, Len, Dan & Ruby were busy husking & hauling corn. We got a card from Aunt Rachel. Uncle Thomas is about the same. They had heard from Anna [Trudgian-Bates] when she was on her way to Arizona.

Wednesday was cold. We finished ironing. Dad & Dan husked. Len & Rub hauled in corn. Tuesday, Dad, Len & Ruby went to town in the forenoon. Dad & Uncle Dan husked corn, while we baked, ironed some & etc.

Monday we washed as usual. Uncle Dan came down that morning to husk shock corn. Len went up to R. Baus’ that afternoon to get the bull calf.

Sunday we all went down to Tresidder’s in the afternoon. The Aunts and Uncles were there also. We heard the new Atwater Kent radio* [see photo above] they had put in last Monday. It was very clear and nice. The best I ever heard. The roads were quite muddy that afternoon. Fiedlers were to church that forenoon in their new sedan. It was the second time we saw them with it, fear it got a bit muddy.

Saturday was a very nice day. That evening cloudy & chilly. Len went up to Ray Baus’ and bought a young bull. He wanted to get it next week. I put the heater on the car in the afternoon.

* Arthur Atwater Kent produced his first radio components in 1921, selling the do-it-yourself kits consisting of "breadboards" that could be assembled by early radio enthusiasts. In 1923 his firm started producing complete radio sets, using a facility on Stenton Avenue. In 1924 the company moved to a new $2 million plant at 4745 Wissahickon Avenue in North Philadelphia. This plant, constructed in sections, would eventually cover 32 acres (130,000 m2). In 1925 the Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company became the largest maker of radios in the nation. The company also sponsored the popular The Atwater Kent Hour, a top-rated radio concert music program heard on NBC and CBS from 1926 to 1934. The show featured top entertainment and became one of the most popular and acclaimed regular radio programs of the era. At its peak in 1929, the company employed over 12,000 workers manufacturing nearly one million radio sets. The plant itself was an architectural sensation and received hundreds of visitors annually. By 1931 the company boasted that it had produced over three million radios. source : Wikipedia.com

Happy Thanksgiving ~ a day later

Fri. November 26, 1926, we were busy with baking, ironing and etz.

Thursday,was Thanksgiving. It was cloudy and foggy with a drizzle about all day. Nobody appeared for dinner. We had chicken, dressing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, crab pickles, cole slaw, bread, butter, saffron bread, cookies and pumpkin pie. This afternoon the Uncles & Aunts came down. The Aunts didn’t want to come but Uncle Edd wanted too. I suppose he was feeling badly because Johnnie’s didn’t ask them to their dinner. The Aunts thought the weather was too bad to come. They went home again before dark. It was warm today and very slushy this afternoon. There were several thunder storms this evening with rain and hail.

Wednesday was a nice day. Mother made some saffron cake & pies, Ruby made cookies. We asked Aunts Mag & Til & Dan to come down for Thanksgiving if Uncle Edd & Aunt Annie were going to Johnny’s but they hadn’t been asked yet as of Sunday.

Winter On Its Way

Tuesday,November 23,1926: We washed and baked today. It was quite a nice day. Got a letter from Aunt Rachel. Uncle Thomas [Trudgian]* is very poorly. His blood pressure is 240.

Monday was cloudy with a light snow. We mended & etz. On Sunday it was very cold. That morning the windows were all frozen up. We had thought perhaps the Tippet family would be down but no. So that afternoon Dad, Ma & I walked up there. Then we came home in the beautiful moonlight. It had been a nice clear day & evening.

Saturday Dad, Len & Ruby went to town by car in the afternoon. They brought home a supply of eats. The roads were not so bad or good. They are the worst if you have to turn out of the road. Some sleighs going along now days.

Friday the sun had peeked out once. It was the first time for a week I guess. We washed and baked as usual we were always busy.

* Thomas and Rachel Trudgian were my great grandparents. They are buried in the Miner Cemetery with Lillian and her parents, as well as my great-great grandparents -Joseph and Mary [Pellymounter] Trudgian.

Another Dittmar Leaves This Earthly Life

Thursday,November 18,1926: The snow is deep and it is still snowing. We had to wear high overshoes and leggings. Len, Ruby & Ma are busy taking some cattle over to the Weis’ place and choring about all day. Wednesday was another cloudy day with snow late in the afternoon. It came down fast and was quite deep by bed time. Len went to town with feed to grind twice that day.

On Tuesday, the weather was dark & cloudy. All but Dad went out to Hulda Dittmar’s* funeral in the forenoon. Len took his car. The roads were very muddy. It was nearly noon when the funeral got to Schapville. A very large crowd was there. But I guess it would have been very much larger if the roads had been good - about half the people there had their teams. Bessie was here from Dakota. The pallbearers were cousins. 4 Cooks and 2 Dittmars. Hulda did not look natural. She was very thin and so much older. The funeral car had a hard time getting thru the mud. It got mired several times. Uncle Ben & Uncle Joe Dittmar and his family were there. The roads were some better coming home. Uncle Dan had came home Monday morning to tell us that Hulda had died Saturday evening at 5 o’clock. She has been sick for a long time with heart trouble. The funeral was to be on Tuesday morning at 10 at the house in Elizabeth then to the Schapville Church. Uncle Dan had also said that John had been killed by the train in Galena on Sunday.

* Hulda Dittmar was only 20 years old when she died, having been born in 1906. She was the daughter of John H.Dittmar[1867 - 1937} and Anna H. Dittmar {1874 - 1921} who were also buried in the Schapville Presbyterian Cemetery {Thompson Township} pictured above, but Hulda was buried with Joseph, {1875 - 1938} and his wife Regina C. {1879 - 1968} Dittmar - or I guess I should say they were buried with her.

Armistice Day ~ No, Veterans' Day!

Sun. November 14, 1926 was very cloudy and showery. We were at home all day. Yesterday it rained some in the morning and also rained that night. So we didn’t go to town Saturday. Friday we stayed home and baked bread, coffee cake, apple kuken and a cake. We also churned.

Thursday was Armistice Day*. Eight years ago the war ended. Dad, Ma & I went to town in the afternoon. That eve. we all went up to see the Aunts & Uncles. Wednesday was a nice clear day but cold. We ironed. Len & Ruby husked the standing corn. Dad helped too.

* From Military.com we learn, “Veterans Day gives Americans the opportunity to celebrate the bravery and sacrifice of all U.S. veterans. However, most Americans confuse this holiday with Memorial Day, reports the Department of Veterans Affairs. What's more, some Americans don't know why we commemorate our Veterans on Nov. 11th . It's imperative that all Americans know the history of Veterans Day so that we can honor our former service members properly.
Veterans Day, formerly known as Armistice Day, was originally set as a U.S. legal holiday to honor the end of World War I, which officially took place on November 11, 1918. In legislation that was passed in 1938, November 11 was "dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day.'" As such, this new legal holiday honored World War I veterans.
In 1954, after having been through both World War II and the Korean War, the 83rd U.S. Congress -- at the urging of the veterans service organizations -- amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation on June 1, 1954, Nov. 11 became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
In 1968, the Uniforms Holiday Bill ensured three-day weekends for federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. Under this bill, Veterans Day was moved to the last Monday of October. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holiday on its original date. The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on Oct. 25, 1971.
Finally on September 20, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed a law which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of Nov. 11, beginning in 1978. Since then, the Veterans Day holiday has been observed on Nov. 11th "

The Status of Church Attendance

Tuesday, Nov. 9, 1926: The clothes didn’t get dry yesterday. Mother took them off the lines last night as some were down on the ground. She rinsed them and hung them out again today. It was a very cold day.

On Monday we washed and hung the clothes outside. Then it started to rain in the afternoon and was a very stormy night. Mr. Stauss came down today. He husked corn.

Sunday was a real warm day. We all went to Galena to church in the forenoon. That afternoon we went to Council Hill to church*. The roads to the Station had all been widened and graded lately. It is a great improvement. This eve we went up to Aunt Annie’s but they weren’t home so we came home.

Dad, Ma & I went to town Saturday afternoon. It was another nice warm day. I wore a spring coat.

*Lillian's family was pretty faithful in attending church each week. But what church, what week is the question. I cannot find the church that Lillian mentions in this entry. The only old church I can find a history on is Lutheran and although the church history includes names of Lillian's neighbors, I don't think the family would have attended a Lutheran church - most mentions of churches pertain to either a Presbyterian or a Methodist affiliation. This visiting one church after another makes it really hard for a genealogist to find the valuable information that is often present when an ancestor was a long standing member of one particular church.

A Break in The Weather & Maybe The Fence

"Sat 9, 2009: All but Len went to town this afternoon .There were a great many cars going along this evening, in fact the road was busy all day.. Today was a nice warm day. Yesterday was another beautiful day. It was quite warm, but we didn’t get many potatoes dug today. Dad spent most of people’s time running after the cow & calves* etz. Len, Ruby & Dad hauled some hay this afternoon. We baked a cake, churned, and finished ironing.

Thursday was a most beautiful day. It was the first one we had had for a long, long while. I* would liked to have gone on a long ride somewhere but felt we could not afford the time. All but Dad dug potatoes a while Thursday forenoon. Our potatoes are very poor potatoes. It is very discouraging. In the afternoon Len went to town to try to have his car fixed. It wouldn’t run on the magnets. He took it up to Paul Stauss’* and he fixed it in a few minutes. Almira, Wesley & Eleanor Dittmar [cousins] came in the afternoon for some of our apples. After they had gone Uncle Joe Dittmar and his family called on their way home from Galena. Dad, Ma & I went up to Aunt Annie’s Thursday evening."

* Lillian loved cars. She spent hours of her life after that first car in 1917, fixing and grooming the family cars, as well as driving here and there. And, she was quite good at it! Rather unusual for a woman in those days.

* We can assume that, once again, the cows have gotten through the fence and run off. It wouldn’t be the first time. If the Trudgian cows weren’t in someone else’s pasture, then someone else’s cows were in the Trudgian’s pasture. Everyone knew whose animals were whose. Don’t ask me! I’ve never been a farm girl!

* Paul Stauss appears to be a man of all trades. In the first volume of Lillian’s Diaires he is always bringing parts in the Trudgian farm and helping to fix the radio, now he is fixing Len’s car. I think he is related to Leonard Stauss, Ruby’s husband. Perhaps he is a nephew.

Same Old, Same Old ...Work, Work, Work

"Wed, Sept 6, 1926: Sunday was rainy in the morning and Uncle Henry and his family did not come to visit us. But, the Aunts (Annie, Tillie and Maggie )and Uncle Edd came down for dinner. Then in the afternoon Uncle Edd, Len & Dad went over to see Billie Bastian as he has been sick. He was up and around again. It threatened to storm this afternoon but didn’t. On Monday Len and Ruby & Dad picked apples. Mother dug some potatoes. There was a terrible windy forenoon and the apples were falling so. Tuesday Len,Ruby Dad & Ma dug some potatoes. In the afternoon Len & Ruby picked corn. I hulled some walnuts and sliced some large cucumbers for slicer pickles. Today we washed laundry and baked bread We also made six qts. of slicer pickles."

Cooking Chow-chow and Cars

Sat, Oct. 2, 1926: The last day of September was cloudy and misty all day. It has been cloudy since Sunday. We ironed and dug some very dirty potatoes. We were afraid that they would rot in the ground. We made sliced pickles. That night we ground things for chow-chow*. Dad & Len went to town. It stormed about all night with a very heavy rain. Friday, Aunt Till went up to Aunt Annie’s in the morning. We baked and put up chow-chow. I washed the car. It was quite warm , which was nice. Today, we did our Sat. work in the forenoon. Just before we had our dinner Aunt Maggie came. Uncle Edd brought her down to tell us that Uncle Henry had called them up. He wanted them to tell us that they are coming in here tomorrow. Dad, Ma & I went to town this afternoon. It looked like threatening weather before we went and started to rain as we got to town. We hurried to get our trading* done and it rained quite hard. The rain let up a little before we started for home. The roads were quite muddy. Mother and I washed the car* yet this evening and I shined it some after dark. I just got through shining it this morning. It surely draws rain.

* You can find Lillian’s recipe for chow-chow on p. 648 of Lillian’s Diairies. They would have chopping or grounding up the green tomatoes, ripe tomatoes, onions, green or red peppers and cabbage and let it sit overnight with spices and vinagar.

* Trading is shopping, not bartering

* Since the 1920-1924 diaries are missing, I am not sure what kind of car the family has in 1926 – I am sure it is not the original Ford that Lillian’s father purchased on Monday, April 2, 1917. Lillian had gone along with her father to town and Mr. Anton Grube took them for a ride in a Ford car. They rode out toward Apple River on the south road and then went out north of town, where Lillian’s father moved to the back seat and Lillian got behind the wheel. It was her first trial of running a car and she drove very crooked at first. Her father sat in the back saying “Look out for the ditch” and “Turn this way and so on, all the time”. She fell in love with cars that day and was thrilled when her father ordered the first family car. The car was driven to their home on June 25 and Lillian took her first driving lesson. On her third lesson Lillian was going to shut the throttle and instead opened it as far as it would go. The car jumped the ditch and the results are shown in the picture* above.

* The picture was sent to me by one of the Lillian’s Diaries’ readers, Agnes Coletta Weis Schultz, the oldest child of Albert Weis and Clara Weis who lived next door to the Trudgian property. Coletta’s father took a picture of the car the day Lillian drove it in the ditch.

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

"Sun, Sept. 13, 1926: Friday and Saturday was spent doing the usual work. On Saturday we were busy with baking and etz. and etz. But in the evening Dad, Ma & I went to town. On the way home we stopped in at Aunt Annie’s. Today, we all went to town to church in the forenoon. Rev. Smith had a sermon on the sins of Galena. It was very interesting. He is quite worked up over the Eagles’ doing last Sunday. Lots of drinking went on there. This afternoon we all went to Scales Mound to Aunt Lizzie’s [Dittmar], while Len went to visit with his folks*."

The church was more than likely the First United Methodist Church on Bench Street in Galena - pictured above. The family vascillated back and forth between the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in Vol. 1 of Lillian's Diaries but evidentually Lillian's mother, Amelia Dittmar Trudgian and Ruby, Lillian's sister joined the Methodist Church. She never says in her diaries that she has joined also. The years 1920 thru 1924 are missing and it is possible that she did join during that period.

One of the treasures from the Galena house was a small Methodist Hymnal - the kind you see the women in the late 1880's carrying in their gloved hands as they enter worship service. Inside, written in black ink, is Mrs. Mary Trudgian's Book Sept 4th 1889. Below that in another hand is written Chas Trudgian. Mary is my great-great grandmother - the one who came from St. Austell, Cornwall, England to Galena in 1852. Chas is Charles Trudgian, Lillian's father.

*Ruby married Leonard Stauss in 1920 [one of the missing diary years. He was the son of Jacob and Sophia Sachs Stauss who also lived in Scales Mound. Some of Sophia's handwritten recipes are included in Vol. I.

Labor Day is Spent Laboring

Tue Sept. 8, 1926: Yesterday was Labor Day and the whole family labored. We didn’t go to the Eagles’* big celebration. It had been a nice day and there must have been a big crowd who did attend, as cars went by our house in great numbers. Meanwhile, we all were stuck at home. Dad, Len, Ruby & Mother dug potatoes. Even though they worked hard all day they didn’t finish digging the early ones.

Today we were inside all day as it rained hard all forenoon*. I sewed some on Mother’s black silk that we started to make over last year.

*Turner Hall: The Fire
“1926 was a huge year in the history of Turner Hall. In the spring, the Hall was sold to the Eagles for $10,000. The very popular show “Abbie’s Irish Rose” was brought to the Hall in April 1926. In May, 1926 the Hall was officially dedicated as a combined opera house, dance hall and general hall. Luck was not with the Eagles, however, for 10 weeks later, on July 1, 1926, the Old Turner Opera House was gutted by fire. The loss was considered nearly total or over $12,000. At 10:50 AM, Mrs. F.H. Rickeman of Prospect Street turned in the alarm. According to the Gazette:
“Others also noted smoke issuing from the cupola of this massive building at about the same time, but thought that bats or bees were being smoked out of the apex of this building. The custodian, Wiliam Wilhelmi, was working in the building at the time the general alarm was sounded and did not know that the structure was on fire until he came out to see where the fire was.

The cause of the fire was never determined. At least one person reported seeing lighting strike the cupola of the Hall. It was also suggested that faulty wiring might be the culprit. There was also a faction that believed a pigeon brought a lit cigarette butt up into the cupola. Whatever the cause, the Hall was severely damaged and the $8000 of insurance money collected by the Eagles was not enough to rebuild.

Rebuilding
The Eagles began fundraising efforts and made plans to build a modest hall. Their simple plans, however, caused an outcry from the public who believed that a grand, up-to-date building was called for. The support for a modern large Hall was so great that the Eagles relented and made new plans, but asked for financial support from the citizenry as well. In the September 16, 1926 Gazette a list of people donating money to the cause was printed.”* www.turnerhall.com

* forenoon is used to indicate the morning – hours before twelve noon.
* The rebuilt Turner Hall is pictured above. Today it remains a historic landmark in Galena, used for special events.