Friday, February 28, 1936 - Mother Got Paid Tonight

"Mother got paid tonight.  Grandpa Kenfield fixed Joyce's chair.  Mother and Daddy went to the show.  Jack went over to Junior's and played.  Bill went down the hill with is schoolmates then he went to his [Junior's?] house."


Junior is another friend I don't know about.  I guess it's time to plan more researching!

 

Thursday, February 27, 1936 - Mother and Daddy Went Away

 

"Jack and I went over to Moore's house.  Mother and Daddy went away.  Before Mother went she gave Jack medicine and told him to go to bed, but he didn't.  Mother gave us each a sandwicth.  It had lettuce, Meat, salad dressing and butter in it."

My goodness!  I have so many questions!  Who were the Moores?  (I'll have to research them)  Where did Marie and Bryan go?  Why did Shirley cross out the last two sentences.  

And Jack!  He was always being naughty, ha ha!  I'm guessing Shirley often was exasperated with him because she was probably supposed to be watching him.

Wednesday, February 26, 1936 - Joyce's Perfume Bottle

 

"Jack is sick in bed with a cold.  I went to school today.  Joyce has got a perfume bottle and lets everyone smell it.  Daddy went after Mother.  Jack feels better now.  Mother made Joyce's doll a bonnet."


I'm guessing Joyce was given an empty perfume bottle to play with.  I wonder if Marie knitted, crocheted, or sewed that doll's bonnet?

Tuesday, February 25, 1936 - The Thaw

 

"I went out doors and played.  Bob came home this morning.  Aunt Elsie got her hair waved.  It is awful slushie out doors.  Marie came over to play we played school.  Mother & Daddy went to Angie's and Elsie's house."

Monday, February 24, 1936 - The Fifth Grade Arithmetic Book

 

"Tomorrow I think we are going to be through our fifth [grade] arithmetic book.  Bob is staying at our cousins house.  I fell down twice in the water going to school.  I baked a cake while Daddy went after Mother."

I wonder which cousins Bob was staying with?  They had so many!  I'm guessing Shirley fell because it was icy and slushy.

Sunday, February 23, 1936 - A Movie and Sunday School

 

"Mother clean the bedroom for me.  Billy and I went to the show.  We had to wait about 2 hours before we could get in.  I went to Sunday School today and got 12 papers.  I washed my stockings out so they will be clean for School."


I wonder what movie it was?

Saturday, February 22, 1936 - Trying to Make Candy without Kerosene

"Mother, Daddy and Jack went to the show.  I got some candy ready to cook and there wasn't any kerosine.  When Mother, Daddy and Jack got home we had lunch.  I cut pictures out of papers for Billy."

 

Thursday, February 20, 1936 - Mr. McCrilles Sold Us a Radio

 

"I went to Elsie's to day.  Mr. McCrilles sold us a radio.  Mother went to work today.  Elsie gave me two doughnuts.  Daddy let me go with him after mother.  We saw three boys riding on the back of a car."

There is a Clarence W. McCrilles, born about 1900 in Arkansas, enumerated with his wife Cleo and his two daughters, Lawanda and Anita, in Muskegon in 1930.  By 1940, they were living in Hazelton, Shiawassee County, Michigan, but stated they had lived in Muskegon in 1935 (a question unique to the 1940 census).  The 1936 Muskegon City Directory also has him living on Route 5, the same as the Robbins family.

Wednesday, February 19, 1936 - The Busy Bee Club

 

"Mother didn't go to work this morning because she didn't feel very good.  Mother and Joyce went over to Server's to the busy bee club.  Daddy went to Grandma Kenfields."

This was the second day in a row that Marie didn't go to work, yet she attended the Busy Bee Club.  I am wondering if she was having "female issues."  Searching for Busy Bee Clubs online yielded lots of results, mostly women's church groups not limited to any particular denomination, but also as social reform groups.

Tuesday, February 18, 1936 - Another Letter from WKBZ

 

"Mother didn't go to work today.  Marie didn't come to school.  I got a letter from W. K. B. Z. Spelling bee.  Mother is making Joyce a neckscraf [sic].  Mother also made a hat.  Mother made the beds for me.  I don't know if I am going to the Spelling bee."

Will Marie get to participate in the radio station's spelling bee?  Or will she be disappointed like last time?

Saturday, February 15, 1936 - Trying to Take Mr. Taylor Home

 

"Mother and Daddy are trying to take Mr. Taylor home.  I hope they don't get the car stuck.  Mother and Daddy got home alright.  Mother bought Joyce a pair of shears.  She dosen't know how to use them.  Mother bought us some candy."

Between the deep snow, the bitter cold, and the rural roads, I can imagine trying to travel anywhere by car would be an anxious venture.

Monday, February 10, 1936 - "The snow comes up to my waist in some places"

 

"Mother and Daddy and Billy went to the show.  Jack and I made Valentines.  Bob made Johnny cake.  for dinner.  We didn't have to go to School.  The roads are not plowed.  The snow comes up to my waist in some places."

Interesting that they couldn't get to school, but they could get to the theater!

Sunday, February 9, 1936 - A Homemade Puzzle

 

"Jack, Joyce, and I played Sunday School.  It is so cold out that they didn't have Sunday School at our School.  Jack and I didn't know what to play.  Mother cut a picture into peices.  She gave it to us.  We tried to put it together.  It was a hard puzzle to put together.  Mother and Daddy went o Grandma Kenfields."


It's obvious that the snow and cold are starting to take a toll.  No school, no Sunday School.  I'm not sure if Sunday School was held at the school building or the church, after reading Shirley's entry.  I'm guessing that the frequent visits by Bill and Marie to the Kenfields were to help out the elderly couple with the snow removal and to check up on them.

Thursday, February 6, 1936 - Wool Socks for Jack and Family Photos

 

"Grandpa Kenfield bought Jack a pair of wool soxs.  Uncle Angie and Aunt Elsie visited to our house today.  Elsie has a new dress.  Mother showed some pictures of Angie, Daddy, Mother's brothers and family, her sisters and family and us kids, etc.  I gave Elsie a picture of me.  Mother gave her one of Angie."

My grandfather Bob told me that when he was young, he and his brothers and cousins would work all summer at Grandpa Kenfield's farm.  At the end of summer, Grandpa Kenfield would purchase each boy an outfit for school.  This makes me wonder if Jack did some chores at the grandparents.

I love that Marie was showing family photos to Elsie, making her feel like part of the family.  I wish I could time travel and see what family photos were being shown and given.  Perhaps one of them was the Robbins family portrait seen here.

Monday, February 3, 1936 - A Hair-Do, Dice, and Sweet Popcorn

 

"Mother went down to get her hair curled.  She said I could get mine curled in spring.  I went down to Aunt Elsie's.  I played dice with Mother and Daddy.  Jack poped corn and put sugar on the corn because he liked it sweet.  We had a half a hour noon at school.  We get out a half a hour earlier."

I remember my Grandmother Robbins (Jeanne - Bob's wife), who was a beautician, talk about how perms were done in the old days, with electric curlers, each one of which was wired.  Sometimes hair would burn.  I imagine it would also be dangerous, with the possibility of electric shock if there was a short.  The price of beauty!

Sunday, February 2, 1936 - Sunday School, Paper Dolls, and Candy

 

"I went to Sunday School today.  We bought a Sunday paper.  I cut the paper dolls out of it.  Jack and I went to Grandma Lewis.  She gave us peanuts and candy.  She gave me some paper dolls for Joyce and I to play with.  Bob gave us a penny to buy candy.  Mother gave us some candy too."

Saturday, February 1, 1936 - Time with Aunt Elsie

 

"Mother had to make her coat shorter.  I went down to Elsie's house.  While I was down there she washed a few clothes and baked biscuits and a cake and moped the floor.  Mother and Daddy went down town.  I had supper at Elsie's.  Angie got a job, he has to work in the after noon till 8 or 11  P.M.  I stayed at Elsie's about four hours.  Mother bought me a pair of mittens.  Joyce got shoes and broom."

At only four-foot-eleven, my great-grandmother Marie had to make a lot of her clothing shorter, I imagine!

It sounds like Angie worked a swing shift.  I'm sure Elsie appreciated Shirley's company (and probable help) while her husband was at work.

Was that a toy broom for Joyce?

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.

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."

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.