Introducing Shirley's Diary: A Depression-Era Girl's Story

 

Eighty-five years ago today, a 10-year-old girl named Shirley received a diary as a Christmas gift from her mother in Norton Township (now Norton Shores) on the outskirts of Muskegon Heights, Michigan.  She wrote in it nearly every day in the coming year of 1936; she missed a few days, but came back and filled them in later, a common occurrence, as any diary-keeper can tell you.

Dec 25, 1935
Dear Daughter
Wish you a Merry
Xmas & many of
them - Mother
 [added later, Marie's birthday "May 15" and "June 5 Dad."]

This girl's name was Shirley Marie Robbins, and she was the third child and oldest girl of my great-grandparents, William Bryan Robbins, Sr. and Marie (Lewis) Robbins. She was a younger sister of my paternal grandfather, Robert Louis Robbins.

I discovered this diary just a few months ago in my paternal grandparents' things that had been shipped west from Michigan to Washington State after they passed away in 2003 (Grandpa) and 2012 (Grandma).  Some of the things came to my dad as the oldest son, and some came to me as the family historian.  After Dad's death in late 2019, the boxes of family history photos, documents, and books were stored in my spare room.  Life is finally settling down after his death and the chaos of the pandemic; recently, I started sorting items and storing them in better containers for future preservation and sharing with family, which is how I found the diary.  How I wish I had found this diary before 2020 started, because 1936 was a mirror year of 2020:  they were both Leap Years and election years and the days of the week match.  For example, today, December 25, 2020 is a Friday.  Christmas Day 1936 was also a Friday.

This book is for the
year 1936.
Shirley Marie Robbins

Additionally, I would have liked to have published this blog last year, because it poses many questions that probably only Great-Aunt Joyce, Shirley's little sister and the youngest of Bill and Marie's five children, could answer in full.  Sadly, Joyce passed away five days ago, on December 20, 2020 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  She would have been 87 years old tomorrow, December 26th.

Shirley (left) and Joyce Robbins
Mother's Day 1944
5 Acres farm, Coopersville, Michigan

I don't have a lot of knowledge about Shirley's life, nor have I (yet) located a good photo of her taken in 1936 or in that general time frame.  What I do know is that she was born August 14, 1925 in Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan. I know her parents started their married life in nearby Muskegon Heights, and lived in Conklin, Ottawa County, Michigan early on.  At some point, they returned to the Muskegon Heights/Norton Township area, where this story take place.  I don't know if they were living in Muskegon proper at the time of Shirley's birth, or if she just happened to be born there.  Some of these puzzles may be solved as I research during the coming year.  I'll share more about what I do know about Shirley's post-diary life at the end of 2021.  I will let you know that she passed away February 17, 1992.

Join me on this journey as we learn more about Shirley's life as a 10- and 11-year-old girl, our Robbins and Lewis family history, the history of Muskegon County, and life during the Great Depression.