Sunday, January 31, 2021

Friday, January 31, 1936 - Mother Got Her "Knew" Coat

 


"Marie Server came over and Jack poped corn and I got some apples out and we had lunch.  At school today we played games.  Mother got her pay today.  She got her knew coat.  I got a ride home with Mrs. Rosengren from school.  Mother got her dresses back from Evans dry cleaners.  You can get one garment cleaned for fifty cents and two for fifty one cents."


Evans Dry Cleaners was at 1121 Third Street in Muskegon.  Google Street View shows that the building now houses a game store, The Griffin's Rest.

Thursday, January 30, 1936 - Shirley Goes Skiing

 


"I went down the hill with Bob and Jack.  Jack got cold and started to go home.  Bob told him to wait till we got to the top of the hill, and we would go home with him.  Jack didn't wait.  I had a apple when I got home.  We took skis to the hill.  I fell down about two or three times.  Marie Server was over when I was down the hill."

Wednesday, January 29, 1936 - Arithmetic and Uncle Angie's Job

 


"I went to Marie Server house and played school.  Uncle Angie got a job working at the Norge.  Mrs. Rosengren showed me how to do a problem in arithmetic.  I think I did it the way she told me and I got it wrong in arithmetic class.  I must to have not watched her very close.  Bob, Bill, Jack went down the hill."


I found this online article, which explains the history behind the building that held the Norge, a refrigerator company: "Norge Corp., which came to Muskegon in 1891 as the Alaska Refrigerator Co., bought the factory building in 1936 as part of a huge expansion program. Within two years, Norge would employ an estimated 4,500 workers."  I'm sure this was a huge relief to the many previously unemployed families in the area.

This Facebook page for Muskegon Heritage Museum has some photos of a Norge refrigerator at the museum.  And this photo on Pinterest shows the Norge building likely around the time Uncle Angie worked there.

Thursday, January 28, 2021

Tuesday, January 28, 1936 - Mid Term Results

 


"We got our mid term tests back today.  I got B on mine.  I got a new tablet at school today.  Mother and Dad gave Joyce, Jack, and I a penny.  Jack pulled us over to the store on the sled.  Joyce had a sucker.  Jack and I had a candy bar.  Mother and Daddy went over to Grandma and Grandpa Kenfeild."

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

Monday, January 27, 1936 - The Veterans Are Awarded Their Bonus

 


"Great News!  The bonus became a law!  Today at school Mrs Rosengren and Mrs Smith our teachers was late.  We played colors till they came.  I b[r]ought a grit for Billy to my teacher.  I brought my playmate magazine to school.  I went Down to aunt Elsie's house."


In 1932, 17,000 World War I veterans and their family members (totaling 43,000), marched on Washington D.C. to demand early cash redemption of their service certificates.  They came to be called the Bonus Army.  The World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924 had awarded them bonuses in the form of these certificates but they could not redeem them until 1945.  The Bonus Army set up makeshift  housing, called Hooverville, in "honor" of the president, Herbert Hoover, who then ordered the U.S. Army to clear out their campsites.  The veterans were also met with resistance by the Washington city police who shot at the veterans; two were wounded and later died.  When Franklin Roosevelt became president, he offered the participants of a smaller Bonus March in 1933 jobs in the Civilian Conversation Corps, most of whom accepted.  On January 27, 1936, Congress overrode Roosevelt's veto against early payout and paid the veterans their bonus nine years early.  This was very good news for all those unemployed veterans whose families were suffering.

Grit was a weekly newspaper that was published out of Pennsylvania.  It was very popular in rural areas.  I remembering getting it when I was a girl, living in Alaska.  Billy must have had a subscription route.



Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Sunday, January 26, 1936 - Doughnuts, Cake, and Cupcakes

 


"We went to Sunday School today.  Billy went down the Heights to get the Sunday paper.  I wanted to go down to Angie's but couldn't.  Jack and I went over to Grandmother and Grandpa's house.  Grandpa gave us each a doughnut.  We had cake for supper.  We are going to have cupcakes tomorrow for lunch."


Wow!  Lots of sweets that week!

Monday, January 25, 2021

Saturday, January 25, 1936 - Magazines for Shirley and Jack

 


"Mother bought Jack a Mickey Mouse magazine.  She got me a playmate magazine.  Mother and Daddy went to the show.  We read stories out of them.  One storie out of my book is Tick Tock Tower.  We want to get the March magazine of Children's Playmate.  We've got the January magazine now."


I found a copy of the January issue of Children's Playmate on Amazon with photos here.  While I found information online about the history of Mickey Mouse magazine, the precursor to the comic books, I didn't find specific history about the publication of Children's Playmate. 




Sunday, January 24, 2021

Friday, January 24, 1936 - A Letter from Phyllis


"I went to school today and started to do some of my mid term test.  I got a letter from Phyllis Taylor today.  I went down to Angi's and Elsies house.  Billy came after me to come home.  I was making the beds here at home and Bob said 'Look what you left under the lamp.'  I looked and there was a letter from Phyllis."


What a nice surprise that must have been for Shirley to get a letter from her friend!

 

Thursday, January 23, 1936 - The Snow was Very Deep

 


"I didn't go to school today because the snow was very deep.  I didn't get ready.  Mother told us not to go to school.  When it was time to go it wasn't so deep as I thought.  I missed part of my mid term test.  Mother and Daddy went down to Aunt Elsie and Uncle Angie's."



Friday, January 22, 2021

Wednesday, January 22, 1936 - Shirley is Ill

 


"I didn't go to school today because I was sick.  Joyce brought me some papers to look at.  I stayed in bed.  When we were eating supper, I layed on he davenport.  Joyce called for me to come to the table.  I didn't come.  I was hungry at suppertime but I didn't eat very much."


Joyce had had an earache only five days earlier.  Perhaps this was a shared illness.

Tuesday, January 21, 1936 - The Locked Geography Book

 


"We are going to have questions in Geography tomorrow.  Grace Bidney brings a school case to school.  Marie Server and Grace use one Geography  book.  Grace brought her case to school today and forgot the key to the case.  Marie couldn't take the book home to do questions.  I let her take my book.  Daddy forgot to take me to the spelling bee."


Shortages of school supplies is not a new thing!  It was kind of Shirley to share her book with Marie. Grace Bidney was a classmate of theirs.  Her parents were Peter and Helen Bidney, and she had a brother, Robert, who was two years younger, according to the 1930 Federal Census.  Her parents were immigrants, having been born in Poland and Germany.

 How disappointing it must have been that Shirley's daddy forgot to take her to the spelling bee!  I believe it was the one sponsored by the radio station, WKBZ.



Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Monday, January 20, 1936 - A Cold Walk Home from School

 


"It was snowing outdoors.  We had to face the snow on the way home.  I was walking with Marie Server home.  We got cold and stop to her sister's house.  She has one boy and one girl.  The boy's name is Donald and the girl's name is Gloria.  Donald is five days younger than Joyce."


Marie's older sister, Genevieve, was married to Graydon Brooks Wheeler (b. c. 1907).  Donald (b. 31 December 1933, if he was five days younger than Joyce) and Gloria (b. c. 1936) were the first of at least five children born to them, according to the 1940 Federal Census.  Mary Ann was born c. 1937, followed by Lillian (b. c. 1938) and Thomas (b. c. August or September 1939).  The latter two children were named for Genevieve and Marie's parents.

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Sunday, January 19, 1936 - A Letter from WKBZ


"I didn't go to Sunday School because I didn't get up in time to get ready.  Yesterday I got a letter from W.K.B.Z. Spelling bee.  Billy got the mail and mislaid my letter, but he found it in is [sic] pocket.  Jack is in bed, he doesn't feel very good.  Joyce had three or four pennys, but I can't find one.


A mislaid letter and mislaid pennies!  I wonder what the spelling letter from the radio station was all about.  There's some history online about radio station WKBZ

Monday, January 18, 2021

Saturday, January 18, 1936 - A Wedding Supper


"We went to Don and Bertha's house to eat a wedding supper.  We gave the supper for Angie and Elsie Robbins.  We gave them a basket of food.  I put a coffee cup in for their coffee pot.  Our cousin Don wanted to hug Joyce.  Joyce didn't want him to."


Angelo Merrick Robbins, II married Elsie L. Vogt on January 17, 1936 in Muskegon County.  I have not yet been able to obtain a copy of their marriage record.  It would be of interest to me who the witnesses and officiant were.

Don Robbins Jr. ("Sonny"), Don Sr. and Bertha's first child, was almost 18 months old.  Joyce, the youngest of Bill and Marie's family, had just turned two years old a few weeks previously.
 

Sunday, January 17, 2021

Friday, January 17, 1936 - Three Movies

 


"I did not go to school this morning because Joyce had a ear ache, but I went this after noon.  I went to the Strand to see Shirley Temple in the littlest Rebel, and our gang Frollies [sic], and The little mice.  The little mice were in color."


I could not find a movie or cartoon named The Little Mice by searching Google, IMBD, or Wikipedia.  I did find a short color cartoon called Three Lazy Mice, released July 15, 1936 which can be viewed on YouTube here

According to CinemaTreasures.org, the Strand Theatre, 22-27 East Broadway Avenue, was built in Muskegon Heights in 1923 in a mixed-use retail and apartment building.  It had one screen and 843 seats.  A photo of what it probably looked like when Shirley attended movies there can be see here.  Since 2001, attempts have been made to restore and renovate the historic building.

Thursday, January 16, 1936 - Helping Uncle Angie

 



"today I went to Angie's house.  Jack helped Angie carry some wood to his house.  Jack ate supper to Angie's house.  Marie Server came over to play tonight.  We played cards.  I wanted to go to the show tonight but I couldn't go."


It sounds like the family was helping Angie prepare his home in anticipation of his marriage.  I need to figure out where this house was located.  




Friday, January 15, 2021

Wednesday, January 15, 1936 - Mother Showed Me How to Tat

 


"Mother showed me how to tat.  I think I can do it, but the thread I'm using seems to knot and break.  I started to make a calendar at school today.  I think I can finish it tomorrow.  I made my bed before I went to school.  I made it after school the last few days."


Tatting is a form of lacemaking, made with a shuttle or crochet hook.  Below is an illustration of a tatted collar:

from Wikipedia

Thursday, January 14, 2021

Tuesday, January 14, 1936 - An Evening with Friends

 


"a family named Dixon moved.  a boy named Billy is their boy.  I don't like him very well.  I change my set to where he sat in school.  Jack and I went to Marie's house to-night.  We played with colored buttons.  We made flower gardens and houses out of them.  Bob & Llye Server went skiing.  Bob stayed and played cards."


How clever to make flower gardens and houses out of colored buttons!  I'm thinking this was something like mosaic pictures.  Also, I learned something about my grandfather, Bob:  that he skied...probably cross-country, as downhill skiing is limited to Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Monday, January 13, 1936 - Marie Server Came Back to School

 


"Today Marie Server came back to school, she stayed home because she had a fever sore on her lips.  today mother got home from work at 4.30 P.M.  She got out of work at 15 to 3. P.M. and waited for daddy.  Jack and I went to Marie's house to play.  Daddy & mother went to Grandma Kenfield's."

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

Sunday, January 12, 1936 - Uncle Angie's Marriage License

 


"Today I went to Sunday school.  When I got home Grandfather and Grandmother Lewis and Uncle Don Lewis were here.  Last night I saw Uncle Angie's marrage licesence in the paper.  He's going to marry Elsie Vogt.  I poped corn for my Grandfather, Grandmother, Uncle, Mother, Dad, and us kids."

Saturday, January 11, 1936 - Mutiny on the Bounty


"We went to the show today and saw Mutiny on the Bounty.  I didn't like it.  I didn't get up early this morning because I have to get up early on school days and on Sunday so we sleep on Saturday.  we got back from the show about 15 to 6. P. M.  I poped some pop corn."


Shirley was a tough movie critic!  Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, was "a huge box office success, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1935 and one of MGM's biggest hits of the 1930s. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture." [Wikipedia]

Shirley probably went to the movie with Jack, since their mother had given them permission to attend earlier in the week.
 

Friday, January 10, 1936 - A Spell Down and Sledding

 


"Today at school we had a spell down. our side won. next week we are going to have a mid-term-test.  Bob, Jack, I and Lyle Server and Marie Server went down the hill.  I took Joyce out doors today.  We went down the hill on Lly's toboggan.  he made it himself.  Billy Bought a toy airplane to make."


This photo of Joyce playing in the snow, Winter of 1935-6,
may well have been photographed on January 10.


Saturday, January 9, 2021

Thursday, January 9, 1936 - The D.A.V. and Sour Ice Cream

 


"Today mother, Daddy Mr. Taylor & I went away. Mother & I went to the D.A.V. meeting.  Daddy and Mr. Taylor went to a wrestling match.  I met a girl named Margeret.  I forgot her last name.  on the way home we stop to a cafe in the Hieghts.  I asked for chocolate ice cream and it was sour.  I got some coca cola." 

Marie and Shirley probably attended a Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary meeting, as wives and daughters of disabled veterans could join.

Sour chocolate ice cream sounds terrible!  I wonder if the Coca Cola was an exchange for the ice cream?

Friday, January 8, 2021

Wednesday, January 8, 1936 - Geography, Fractions, and a Pig

 


"Today in Geo.[raphy] we had 41 questions. I got 100 in them. Mother and Dad salted down part of the half of the pig we got. Tomorrow in school we are going to have problems like this 

2     x     3
12 x 21
7 x 6

Just starting to learn fractions."


It's evident that Shirley was an intelligent girl who enjoyed school.  She was probably in the fourth grade here.  I happen to have the high school yearbook for her senior year in Coopersville, Ottawa County, Michigan, which actually belonged to my maternal uncle (Bob's brother-in-law) who was her classmate classmate.  A quick look through it showed Shirley was very active in extra-curricular activities and was the Senior class secretary.  She obviously came by her love of learning at an early age.

Thursday, January 7, 2021

Tuesday, January 7, 1936 - Today I sewed up a Jacket

 


"Today is Tuesday. Mother said Jack and I could go to the show Saturday or Sunday. I wore my new brown dress to school today. Tomorrow in geography we are going to have questions. Today I sewed up a Jacket so I can wear it to school instead of my heavy coat. I went played out doors two hours this afternoon."

I'm impressed that a 10-year-old had the skills to sew a jacket!

Wednesday, January 6, 2021

Monday, January 6, 1936 - Christmas vacation is over

 


"Today we have to go to school. Christmas vacation is over. We are just starting to learn fractions. Today I wore my new green dress to school for the first time. Tomorrow in school we will have health instead of reading. Every other day we have reading or health."

Just as I don't know which church the family attended, I don't know for sure which school the children were attending.  However, the 1936 Muskegon and Muskegon Heights City Directory lists Edgewood School, part of the Muskegon Heights School District, on the southeast corner of Howden Street and Summit Avenue.

There is still an Edgewood Elementary on that corner; however, the existing building is not the one that would have been there when the Robbins children attended.  I've looked online for a historical picture but haven't yet been able to find one.

Tuesday, January 5, 2021

Sunday, January 5, 1936 - Jack and I went to Sunday School

 


"Today Jack and I went to Sunday School. When I got home I washed and dried a lot of dishes and mother gave me a nickel. I brought note-book paper for my note-book. Taylors are going to stay here tonight. tomorrow is Monday, we'll have to go to School. Today is My girlfreinds nephew birthday, he was two years old."

I'm not sure which church the family attended, if they attended other than the children going to Sunday School. Marie had probably been raised Episcopalian, as her mother Mary was a member of that church in Whitehall.  Bryan had probably been raised Methodist, as that was his mother Lula's church.

Although Shirley doesn't say, I wonder if the girlfriend she mentions, whose nephew had a birthday, was Marie Server.  Later on, she mentions visiting Marie's older sister, niece, and nephew.

Monday, January 4, 2021

Saturday, January 4, 1936 - Mother & Daddy went shopping

 


Mother & Daddy went shopping down the [Muskegon] Heights. Mother got out at 3.30 P.M. from work. The snow house we had almost melted down to the ground. it came almost up to Jack's neck. Now it's up to about his knees. Mr. & Mrs. Taylor visited at our house today. They brought us some candy, apples, presents. They gave me a ball, ten jacks, and a handkerchief."

Since it was payday, Marie and Bryan went shopping. They probably also did shopping because the Taylors ended up staying for the weekend (see tomorrow's post).

Sunday, January 3, 2021

Friday, January 3, 2020 - I hope daddy gets a job

 


"Jack and I put snow in some of the cracks in the snow house. Jack and I played cards. Billy popped corn. Joyce had a orange and gave Mother, Jack, and I a peice of it. She's very unselfish. Mother is working at the Amason. Today was pay-day. I hope daddy gets a job."

It was poignant that at 10 years old, Shirley knew when payday was, and that her wish was for her father to get employment.

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Thursday, January 2, 1936 - The Snow House

 


"today Bob, Jack, and I built a snow house. We have every thing but the roof built. Jack, Bill, and I had a snow ball fight. Mother and daddy went to the show. Daddy and Jack and I took down our Christmas tree. Joyce wanted to scribble in this diary. Joyce went to bed tonigt at 9.30 P.M. instead of 8.30 P.M."

This photo of Bob Robbins was taken in the backyard
 of the Austin Street house, January 1936.
It's possible that is the snow house behind him and to his right.

Friday, January 1, 2021

Wednesday, January 1, 1936 - New Year's Day

 


"I went to the show today and saw Will Rogers in old Kentuckey. Grandma and Granfather Kenfield visited at our house today. I showed Grandma my Christmas present. I got a diary, sewing set, dishes, color book, story book, paper dolls, eversharp, new testament, stable cut out for Christmas."


It looks like Shirley had had a very nice Christmas!