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Monday, January 30, 2017

My Grandmother's Diary ~ Part 8 (March 28 - April 14 )

Hoogerzeil, Hitchings and Healey family members in Beverly, Massachusetts
Date unknown

This is the 8th installment of my grandmother's diary from 1920.  Her name was Gertrude Hitchings (1905 - 2001), and she was living on Elliott Street in Beverly, Massachusetts.  The diary is a tiny 3", and every Monday I publish a new section, with transcriptions of the tiny handwriting.  You can read the first installment HERE.  I'll post more of this diary every week for Amanuensis Monday.


[Pages out of order]

Sun. Mar. 28, 1920
Got up at 8.30 had break
fast went to church.  Ma
and Pa went down to
Nana’s after dinner. I went
for a little walk with Eunice & Rozella
Home all evening played the
Victrola Ma home 8.15 bed at 9.30

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Monday 29
Got up at 6.45 went to
school came home at
1.15 stayed home all
the afternoon. Stayed
home all evening and
played games.  Pa over
to Russell’s went to bed 9.45

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Tuesday 30
Got up at 7.00 went
to school got home at 1.15
worked awhile and then went
down A&P with Marion
stayed at home all
I ??? went to bed 9:30


NOTE:   Here Gertrude goes to church, which was a rare event according to her diary.  I don't know which church she attended.  Her parent's went to "Nana's", which would have been her mother's mother, Mary Etta (Healey) Hoogerzeil, who lived on Bartlett Street near the harbor. She mentions her sister, Eunice, and friends Rozella and Marion.  Russell is her newly married brother, who lived in Lynn. 



[missing pages]
TUES. APR. 6, 1920
                          Fair Windy
Got up at 7.00 went to
school came home at 1.15
had dinner, stayed home all
the afternoon.  Ma went Salem
Pa went to Helen’s got supper stayed.
Pa drown on jury
Home alone all evening and
went to bed at 8.45 PM

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WEDNESDAY 7
                                 Snow
Got up 7.00 went to school
snowed hard this AM came
home at 1.15 had dinner stayed
home all afternoon. Had
supper and stayed
home all evening went
to bed 8.00

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

THURSDAY 8
                      Windy
Got up at 6.45 AM went
to school got home at
1.15 Nana up all day
Stayed home all afternoon and knitted
After supper went pictures with Ellen
And Brick.  Home 10.45 bed at 11

NOTE:   On these pages Gertrude started to note the weather, which continues for most of the rest of the diary.  There are many missing pages in this section, and some of the pages are no longer sewn into the binding.  Pa went to visit Helen, the eldest daughter who lived nearby, but later moved to Weymouth.  Gertrude mentions, knitting, which was her lifetime hobby until she was in her late 80s. 



FRI. APR. 9, 1920
                      Fair
Got 7.15 went to school
had assembly home at 1.15
Helen & baby up.  Took the
baby down A & P after dinner
Ellsworth came up to supper
Mill & Eunice gone to pictures. Helen
Went at 8.00 home all evening bed at 8.45

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

SATURDAY 10
                         Fair
Got up at 7.30 had
breakfast worked around the
house all day.  Eunice over North B.
Mr. Lowell came up
at ?? After supper went to
Harold H???’s party had swell time
home 12.15 went to bed at 12.30

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

SUNDAY 11
                            Fair
Got up at 9.00 had break
fast home all the morning
Went to walk after dinner.
After lunch went to walk with Eunice
and Alice.  Lou & Mrs. Hall up in
afternoon.  Went to bed at 9.30

NOTE: Here Gertrude's sister, Helen was visiting with her baby.  Apparently Gertrude took the baby for an outing to the A&P (the local grocery store).  Her two sisters Mill [Mildred] and Eunice went "to the pictures" [the moving picture shows].  The next day Eunice went to North Beverly.  I can't figure out Harold's last name, but he had a "swell" party. 


MON. APR. 12, 1920
          Cloudy
Got up 6.30 had breakfast
went to school home 1.15.  Went
down Ella’s 4.30.  Got supper
Marion, Ella up.  Ma & Pa
gone over to Russell’s
Eunice down to Helen’s
Went to bed at 10.45 PM

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

TUESDAY 13
            Rain
Got up at 6.45 had break
fast went to school
home 1.15  home all afternoon
Rained hard all day
Went down Marion’s
after  supper Ma & Pa over
Butlers – I went to bed at 9.30

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WEDNESDAY 14
                 Fair
Got up 6.45 went to school
7.45.  Went to Helen’s to dinner
Took the baby and all after
noon home 5.45  Home all
evening went to bed at 9.30

NOTE:  Gertrude mentions her friends Marion and Ella.  Her parents are at brother Russell's in Lynn, again, and her 17 year old sister is with her married sister Helen on Tuesday. Gertrude went to Helen's on Wednesday.  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Grandmother's Diary ~ Part 8 (March 28 - April 14 )", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 30, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/01/my-grandmothers-diary-part-8-march-28.html: accessed [access date]).     

4 comments:

  1. I can bond with Gertrude / we could knit together! I'd love to know what she played on theVictrola! And it snowed and they still went to school! They cancel school now when one snowflake hits! Big difference how kids were raised, I just love this little diary and reading along!

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  2. Heather - I think your mysterious Harold might be Hansbury. 1920 City Directory & 1920 Census. Is Charles St, near to where they lived? There's a Harold Hansbury age 10 on the 1920 census.

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    Replies
    1. Charles Street is nearby. If Harold Hansbury was 10 years old, he might have been a friend of Gertrude's brother Gordon, age 12

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  3. woohoo one night she stayed up until 12:30! I notice a lot of 9:30 betimes!

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