My Grandmother's Diary ~ Part 4

My grandmother and her siblings sledding in Beverly, Massachusetts

Probably around the same year as the diary

left to right: Mildred b. 1909, Gertrude b. 1905, Eunice b. 1904, 

and perhaps Gordon b. 1907,  and an unknown boy

Earlier this month I started to scan and transcribe my grandmother's tiny 3" diary and publish those pages on my blog.  Gertrude Hitchings was fourteen years old, and kept this little diary for the year 1920.  You can read the first installment HERE.  I'll be posting sections of this diary every week for Amanuensis Monday.

Mon. Feb. 9, 1920

Got up at 6.45 had to

walk to school and walked

home cars started running.

Went sliding over Crosby’s in

afternoon.  Went sliding after

supper over Crosby’s came

home 9.00 went to bed 9.45

---------------------------------

Tuesday 10

Got up at 6/45 went to

School but had to walk halfway

Home all afternoon Mrs. Butler over

Home all evening  Eunice and I

Went over to Mrs. Butlers.  Mildred

Got up today.  She is lots

Better.  Wen to bed 10.00

--------------------------------

Wednesday 11

Got up at 7 went to

School home at 1.15

Stayed home all afternoon

Ma and Pa went over to Butlers

Home all evening bed at 9.15

[NOTE:   It appears that Mildred is over the mumps (she was very sick in the last few diary entries last week).  I would love to know where the "Crosby's" is that the kids used for sledding, or who is Mrs. Butler? 

There are missing pages here.  On 13 February 1920 Gertrude's eldest brother, Arthur Russell Hitchings married Ethel Elizabeth Coleman in Washington, D.C.]  

Tues. Feb. 24, 1920

Got up at 7.30 had break-

fast went over to North

Beverly helped Mr. Lowell

Came home at 6.00

Went out sliding after supper

but didn’t stay, came home

and played games bed at 10.PM

---------------------------------------

Wednesday 25

Got up at 7.45. Snowing

hard.   Home all morning

Mrs. Butler over after dinner and

made Ouija board go.  Russell

and Ethel came down.  Took pictures.

home all evening played with

Ouija board went to bed 10.30

--------------------------------------------

Thursday 26

Got up 8.45 stayed

Around house all day

Home alone all evening played

Victrola folks over to Mrs.

Butlers went to bed

At 10.15 PM

[NOTE:  The mysterious Mr. Lowell appears in this diary entry again.  And it was very interesting to read about the "ouija board", I didn't know that they were popular in the 1920s!  I'd love to see the photos Gertrude took of this evening of games.  It's fun to read about the victrola, too.

Russel and Ethel are home in Massachusetts after their wedding in Washington D.C.   I don't know if any family members were in attendance at the wedding.  ] 

Fri.  Feb 27, 1920

Got up at 8.30 had break

fast stayed around the house all morning.  After

dinner Eunice, Gordon, Millie and I

went over to Mrs. Butler’s.  Stayed

home all evening and

went to bed at 10.PM

---------------------------

Saturday 28

Got up at 8.15 worked

around the house all

day.  Russell & Ethel gone to

Lynn. Mill and Gordon down town.

Rus got a room.  Home all

Evening went to bed at 10.30

--------------------------

Sunday 29

Got up at 8.45 took a

bath had breakfast. Gordon and I

went down to the depot with R. trunk.

After dinner went sleding up reser-

Voir.  Russell & Ethel gone housekeeping

Home all evening bed at 8 PM.

[NOTE:  There is more visiting with Mrs. Butler here.  Apparently Russell and Ethel removed to a room in the city of Lynn, because Gertrude and Gordon helped deliver his trunk on the 29th to the Beverly depot.  

[Out of order]

Thurs. Mar. 25, 1920

Got up at 6.45 went to

school went to Salem with

Ma after school to get my hat

fixed over.  Came home 4.30 had

dinner.  After supper went down

A&P with Marion and then

Went down ??  bed at 10.

--------------------------------------------

Friday 26

Got up at 7.00 went to school

Had a swell play home at 1.15

Worked part of the afternoon

Then went out with Bertha

?? on the bicycles cam in

got supper stayed home all

evening and read went to bed 9.30

-------------------------------------------

Saturday 27

Got up at 7. had breakfast

Eunice went to North Beverly

Worked all morning and after

noon went riding 4. O’clock

took a bath before supper home

all evening wrote letters bed at 9.30

[NOTE:  Gertrude and her mother (my great grandmother Florence Etta Hoogerzeil (1871 - 1941) went shopping in Salem.  Gertrude had her hat made over for springtime, which was a frugal way of saving money instead of buying a new hat.  There is another mention of the A&P grocery store, and of her friend Marion.  This is the first mention of Bertha, probably another school friend.  It is the end of March, and the girls are riding bicycles instead of skiing and sledding.]

Read Part 1 of Gertrude's diary at this link:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/amanuensis-monday-my-grandmothers-diary.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Grandmother's Diary - Part 4", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 26, 2016,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/my-grandmothers-diary-part-4.html: accessed [access date]).