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!

 

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."

 

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!

Wednesday, February 5, 1936 - Calendars for the Bedrooms

 

"I went down to Elsies and ate supper.  I made a calendar for Bob, Bill, and Jack to hang upstairs.  I made one for our Bedroom.  I gave Joyce my crayons so as to color.  I didn't have to go to school today.  The snow is so deep and the roads not plowed, so they shut the school up."

What is interesting about this entry is that it explains the sleeping arrangements.  The boys slept "upstairs", which I believe was probably a half story or attic, given the photos we have of the house.  There is a window in the south gable.  It appears that Shirley and Joyce shared a bedroom.  Where did Bryan and Marie sleep?  Did they share a room with the girls or did they sleep on a fold out sofa in the living room?  Were there two small bedrooms on the main floor?

Zillow states this house has only one bedroom and one bath, and 552 square feet, but then again, it states the house was built in 1938, which is obviously wrong!.  The square feet is probably considered usable space only and the upstairs is likely not counted.  Another real possibility is that there was no bathroom at the time my family lived there.  They likely had an outhouse and used a tin tub for bathing; and then later on, one of the bedrooms was converted to a bathroom.

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.

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.

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!

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!

 

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Shirley's Immediate Family

 

The Robbins Family
Back row, left to right: Jack, Bryan, Bill Jr.
Front: Marie, Bob with Joyce, Shirley
October 1942 - six years after the diary was written
5 Acres farm, Coopersville, Michigan

In nearly every entry of her diary, Shirley mentions either one or both of her parents and at least one sibling.  Her family was obviously an important part of her everyday life.  Here's a little background about the family she grew up in and how old they all were at the time of this diary.

Shirley's dad was William Bryan Robbins, Sr.  Born June 5, 1896 in Hesperia, Michigan (which lies on the Newaygo-Oceana County border), he was named for that year's Democratic presidential nominee  and famed orator, William Jennings Bryan.  Sometimes he was called Bryan and sometimes he was called Bill.  He came with his parents and siblings to Muskegon Heights, Michigan from Ensley Township in Newaygo County around 1916.  I'm calling him Bryan in this diary when I mention him, to clarify that it's not Bill Jr.  He was 39 and 40 years old during the year this diary was written.

Shirley's mother was Marie Lewis.  She was born May 15, 1902 in Whitehall, Muskegon County, Michigan.  Her family moved to Muskegon Heights around 1913.  She was 33 and 34 years old the year this diary was written.

Bryan and Marie met when Marie's maternal grandfather, John Wilkinson Sr., died September 10, 1917.  Bryan was working as a chauffer and drove the hearse for John's funeral.  They started courting the next few years, through Bryan's service during World War I in North Russia as part of the American-North Russia Expeditionary Forces (read more about his service at my AnceStories blog here).  When Bryan returned to the U.S. after his service, he and Marie married on Christmas Day 1919 at her parents' home at 1132 Hoyt Street, Muskegon Heights.  They lived there until after the birth of their first two children.  They had been married 16 years the year the diary was written, and celebrated their 17th anniversary the last week of 1936.

Robert Louis Robbins ("Bob") was their first child, born September 21, 1920 in Muskegon Heights.  He was my paternal grandfather.  Two years later in the same city, William Bryan Robbins, Jr. ("Billy") was born, on May 22, 1922.  Bob was 15 and 16, and Billy was 13 and 14 the year this diary was written.

Marie, with Shirley and Jack
Probably around 1929 or 1930

In 1923, the couple was enumerated for the Michigan census of WWI Veterans in the city of Muskegon, which borders Muskegon Heights on the north and west.  In 1924, they lived in Conklin, Ottawa County for a short time, before returning to Muskegon by the summer of 1925, where Shirley Marie Robbins was born August 14, followed by Lloyd Jack Robbins ("Jack") on June 3, 1927.  The family was enumerated in 1930 15 416 East Broadway, Norton Township, Muskegon County. However, Joyce Elaine, the "bonus baby", was born in Muskegon on December 26, 1933, 87 years ago today.  They lived on Broadway at least until 1935, then moved to their home on Austin Street, at what is now 2874 Austin, where this diary takes place.  Shirley was 10 and 11, and Jack was 8 and 9 when the diary was written.  Joyce was mostly two years old in 1936 and turned three the last week that the diary was written.

Joyce and Bryan (with doll), 1935,
 at the house on Austin Street,
 where this diary takes place.

At the time of this diary, Bryan was an unemployed, disabled WWI veteran.  He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and one of the triggers of his disorder was sudden, loud noise.  Because of this, it was nearly impossible for him to work in his trade, automobile mechanics, for a while.  In addition, there was wide-spread unemployment due to the Great Depression.  Bryan stayed home and cared for toddler Joyce, while Marie worked at the Amazon Knitting Mill, also known as the Amazon Hosiery Mill, in Muskegon.  Bob contributed to the family income by working on a farm in Grant, Newaygo County, about 30 miles east.  Billy, Shirley, and Jack attended the local elementary school (I'm still researching which one).  Billy had a paper route and Shirley did a lot of the household chores and even prepared meals and baked.

In skimming through the diary, I have not come across a mention of any family pets.  But I've seen photos of a dog named Jack taken around this time.  That has got to be confusing, given the fact that Shirley's younger brother had the same name!

Joyce with Bryan and a dog ("Jack"?)
on the back porch of the Austin Street house, 1934.
Notice the electric wringer washer.