Family Letters from Fall of 1931

Just returned from seventh Annual House Girl Cousins' Reunion; it was close. If things had worked out on a slightly different time schedule, I may not have been able to go.  But as it was, DH was very lucky, and I was lucky to get to go to the reunion, too.

Our Uncle Jim passed away in March, and his son sent along several paintings Jim had done, as well as family pictures and bundles of letters: love letters between our grandparents dated 1900, and another bundle of letters written to our Uncle Ernie by his two sisters and mom, dated 1931. I am enjoying reading them, and am going to scan all for the other cousins who want them. Thankfully, our aunts and grandmother had legible penmanship, so they are quite easy to read.

Things were very tough, financially, in 1931, much like they are today. My grandmother was being nagged for the ten dollar washing machine payment, and my aunt had to pay her creditors half of what she usually did. At one point, my grandmother was in danger of having her electricity turned off. One aunt and uncle and their baby had to move back to the little house next to her parents, and she ate lunch with them everyday. Being invited to eat at someone else's house made groceries last a little longer. One of the letters gives prices for flour and sugar, and I'll post those later.  Mills had cut hours to six hour days and three on Saturdays, and they'd cut wages, as well. All this has a familiar ring to it as teachers in WA state where I live had a 1.9% pay cut this year--the first pay cut ever in my recollection. It's hard not to worry, but it's also encouraging to read these letters from 1931 and see that my relatives found ways to deal with hardships and go on to thrive. We can do that, too.

Introducing Wool Boy

I made this doll from parts of two recycled thrift store sweaters, one partly felted when I bought it. I like to buy them when they are 75% off, which makes them about 60 cents each. I wash them and then I turn my imagination loose.

Wool Boy was made in one sitting while I listened to a rerun of Part one of Ken Burn's The Civil War on PBS. (I was a hard working, very new first grade teacher when it was first shown in 1990 and didn't have the leisure to watch tv except on Fri and Sat nights, so it was new to me.)

I liked this film very much, and realized anew what sacrifices people during that time made to allow our country's government to survive. We take so much for granted, you know? We either don't know history, or we forget what we've learned. Kids taking history today are lucky they have access to such great programs. Seems like all we did in OUR history classes was memorize facts like dates of wars and treaties, etc. and never really had any understanding of how those wars, etc. affected the lives of average people. I like history from the bottom up, which is what this film tells. When you hear excerpts from the diaries/letters of ordinary people, you get a much more interesting view of history, and one that you tend to understand, relate to, and remember.

Art Fabric Mills Doll, c 1900

This doll was sold as a piece of fabric that the buyer cut out at home and sewed together; my friend Karen generously gifted me with it the other day and I was so glad to have it! Most of these you see on the market are very dirty, holey, and faded from years of loving by children, but this one is very clean and almost new looking. It was sold from about 1900 until the 1920s, I believe. If you copy and print out the front and back of the head on a fabric sheet like Printed Treasures, you can make a doll that looks much like the original, in just about any size you want. The original is about 24" tall and I am making a "clone" the same size, but I will also make some little ones. I will post pictures here as I make this doll.