Detective strikes Preacher

On Monday, November 28, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Warm-Mild. Arose at 6:45. Made a fire and dumped ashes. Left home at 7:45. Had lot of work today. Mary is not feeling well. I came home at 5:45. (walked). Read after supper. Mary had rolls from Mrs. Crowley. Quite warm. Helped Mary move furniture. Talked to Loam.

On Tuesday, November 29, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Fair-Cloudy. Arose at 6:45. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Left home 7:55. Worked hard all day. Stayed in at noon. Walked home in evening. Got rolls at Mrs. Crowley's Norman attended scout meeting. I read until 10 o'clock. Got to bed about 11:00. Tired and sleepy.

On Wednesday, November 30, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Warm-"Summery". Arose at 6:20. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Shaved. Left home at 7:55. Busy all day. Got my check cashed and paid bills. Mary feels very bad. I didn't attend supper at church. Richard Gee and Mr. Parsons came down home after supper. Brought bed pan. Baby Jane went to Wood's in car with Burch's pm. Warm tonight.

End of month note for November 1927:  Premier of Rumania (Britanis) died on 23rd. Mama is till very sick. Can't hear from Christine. We took supper with Loam on the 3rd. She had no fire in furnace, and it was awfully cold. We drank some wine. Got home about  10:50. Hurried to bed. Paid J.T. Bristow $23.10 to tear furnace down and make repairs. Norman has a severe case  of poison oak on his face, hands, arms, breast and behind his ears. Mr. Lucian H. Cocke, General Attorney for the N&W died on Monday night 14th instant. Mary is quite heavy and has difficulty in getting around. She has suffered a great deal.

On Thursday, December 1, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Cold-Sunny. Arose at 6:30. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Left home 7:55. Sent order to Sears-Roebuck for baby blanket, etc. Sent Fleck a check for $5.00. Came home on car at 6 p.m. Read after supper. Put paper and wood in furnace. Real cold tonight. Mary took bath and shivered. She put up curtains. I shaved. Got to bed 11:00.

On Friday, December 2, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Rain-Cloudy-Chilly. Arose at 6:45. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Left home at 7:55. Mary had a hard vomiting spell. I paid insurance at 1:45 p.m. Not so busy. My eyes hurt today. Raw, rainy, cold, "sloppy" night. Norman went to scout inspection at Auditorium at night. I went to Jackson Junior play with Annah Lee and Baby Jane. Home at 9:30.

On Saturday, December 3, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Snow-Rainy. Arose at 6:20. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Left home 7:45. Mr. Noel came in at 8:35. He felt bad; didn't dictate one letter. He went home at 12 noon. I got home at 1:45. Cut wood from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Wet and cloudy. Baby Jane carried wood into the basement. I took a bath at 5:15 p.m. Shaved 7:45.

On Sunday, December 4, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Sleet-Cold. (Snow). Arose at 8:30. Mary got up at 7:30 and made a fire. Baby Jane and Norman went to Sunday School. Annah Lee and I went to church. Good sermon. Fairly good attendance. Mr. Scott told about detective striking one of our preachers. Harry ate supper with us. I read in afternoon. The children rode sleds all afternoon. We got to bed 10:00.

On Monday, December 5, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Fair-Warmer. Arose at 6:25. Made a fire in stove and furnace. Shaved. I went to work on 8:15 car. Baby Jane also rode with me. She paid carder $3.69. I deposited $37.95 for Mary's P.T. Assn. Left the office at 5:40 p.m. Home on car. Read after supper. We went to bed about 10:30 p.m.

I know this has been a long single post because I had gotten behind last week as I did a bit of short traveling, but there is lots of good stuff to write about. Also, I have some extra time to write today as I am off from work to go and have my annual Chest/heart tests.  I brought Beth to work this morning and we traveled through SE Roanoke which also kind of inspired me to write some more today as I went right through the areas that Bonnie writes about and it my thoughts go back to what life must have been like in 1927 and what Roanoke looked like.  I thought that Bonnie's Nov. 28 entry was funny when he talked about Mary not feeling well and yet he helped her move furniture.  Mary is obviously great with child as they are ordering baby blankets and Bonnie speaks of her being heavy and having trouble getting around.  I am not sure though that he ever mentioned that she was expecting back earlier in the year.  Maybe that wasn't something to talk about?  Or maybe it got lost among making fires and dumping ashes? Mary is also "nesting" as we call it today, moving furniture, hanging curtains etc.  She is getting ready for that baby to come. It also struck me that life in 1927 was not all that different than 2011 with the pull and tug schedule of the children.  One has a scout meeting, two have a program at school, Mary doesn't feel well, etc.  Sounds a little like us with soccer games, church, work, and school. The weather was also interesting.  Bonnie had been writing about it being mild and summery and then all of a sudden it snowed, sleeted, and the children rode sleds.  It has been mild here in 2011 too so maybe there is still some hope for some winter weather soon. Bring it on!

Oh! I almost forgot.  What is up with detectives striking preachers?  I sure would like to know more about that story from December 4.  What did the preacher do?  Was it mistaken identity?  City detective or Railroad detective? That was a great Sunday post though.  I loved it. Snowy Sunday, good sermon, good attendance, great story, and family over for a meal! Ahhhhhh.........

Trip to Bristol

On Friday, September 2, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Hot-Sunny. Arose at 6:00. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Left home at 7:55/ Wrote for Harry Crumpacker. Not much to do. Called Mary up at 11 o'clock a.m. Harry came over home at 8:30 p.m. Stayed until 10:00. I shaved, washed my hair and took a bath, We are getting ready to leave for Bristol in the morning. Retired at 11:00.

On Saturday, September 3, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Hot-Sunny. At home a.m. At Bristol p.m. Arose at 7:30. Mary made fire. We left home at 9:15. Went to Bristol on train 25. Richard, Fannie and Virginia went up with us. Tom took me downtown after supper. We had a long walk. Quite tired when we got home. Baby Jane went to town with Grace and Tom. Retired at 10:50.

On Sunday, September 4, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Hot-Sunny. At Bristol, Va. Got up at 8:30. Shaved. Wilson took me for a drive to Blountville, TN at 10:30. Went to creamery. Norman is at Joe Leslie's. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson and Cleveland Leslie came over in p.m. Tom, Baby Jane and I walked to the cemetery. We all went to the Christian church at  o'clock p.m. Went to bed about 9:50. Tired.

Happy Birthday Mary!

On Wednesday August 31, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote:  Sunny-Warm. Arose at 6:50. Made a fire. Dumped ashes. Left home 7:45. Busy all day. Got my check cashed at noon. Paid bills. Had the girls' shoes repaired. Got haircut at 5:30 p.m. Mary has sharp pains in her side. Mr. Noel left at 5:20 p.m. for York, Pa. I wrote to Mrs. Gee. Went to bed early.

End of month note for August 1927:  General Leonard Wood, Governor General of the Philippines, died. Great sensation over Sacco and Vanzetti affair. Judge Elbert H. Gary died on 15th. J. Ogden Armour died in London. Dr. Spanell Gale died on 19th, of auto-intoxication and Paresis. Mr. J.R. Richmond died on 23rd.

On Thursday, September 1, 1927 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Sunny-Pleasant. Mary is 32 years old today. I got up at 6:30. Made  fire. Dumped ashes. Shaved. Ethel Wade phoned that she was coming over at noon. I got to the office at 8:30. Walked around at noon. Got home at 6 p.m. Read after supper. Don't feel good. My cough is still with me. To bed 11:00.

Happy Birthday Mary! I notice that there was no real mention of a celebration for Mary"s birthday.  Maybe she didn't want one or there wasn't time or money.  Also, neither Bonnie or Mary seem to be feeling well still.  The end of month note is kind of neat, lots of death mentions.  We discussed the auto-intoxication thing in an earlier post.  I did look up this Sacco and Vanzetti affair. It would have been national news in 1927 and all the events took place in Massachusetts.  These 2 are Italian immigrants and were "anarchists", which I would describe as what we would today call terrorists.  They were accused of a robbery and murder in 1920 and were executed on August 23, 1927 and there is apparently great debate even today about their guilt or innocence.  Again this is another reason I love Bonnie"s diary so much, is picking up on these historical events mixed in with the daily life of side pains and coughs!

Cussed Out

On Thursday, September 28, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Fine weather. Arose at 7:00. Made a fire. Got to work 8:30. Mr. Schick gave Mr. Raitt, Capt. Rowan and I a complimentary fair and car tickets. Got off work at 12 noon. Rode home in tricycle car with Pete Guerraut. Gave Skin my ticket to the fair and Everett and I went to the picture show. Cleaned up the back yard. Took a cold bath at night. Heavy Rain. On Friday, September 29, 1916: Cloudy-cold. Arose at 7:30. Got to work at 8:30. Indexed and filed mail. Got a card from Bob Elmore and letter from Chauncey D. Elmore. Carter Thompson came to our office. Mr. Schick went to Bedford, Va. to go over church matter. Came back #3, 4:30. I got hair cut at 6:00 p.m. Stopped by Mrs. Raines' Read paper at night and retired at 10 p.m. On Saturday, September 30, 1916: Cool-Clear. Arose at 7:10. Cut wood and made a fire. Got tobacco at Joe Milan's and to work at 8:35. Went to bank twice. Got my check cashed. Talked with Skin about Blaine. Very fine day. Mary and I went uptown and paid some bills. I went to show at night at "Virginia" Theater. Came home on car at 10 p.m. End of month note for September 1916: The fair was reputed to be the largest and best of all. Blaine at home this month on 30 day visit. Very fine autumn weather this month. Infantile paralysis is scaring the people here this month. 4 cases in all. Very hot month. Joint American and Mexican Commission of peace to meet this month. We are worried about Annah Lee's condition. Louis Layman of Troutville, Va. killed in France on August 12th. "Infantile paralysis" reported to be prevalent in Roanoke. Great scare. On Sunday, October 1, 1916, Bonnie Elmore wrote: Very Cool. Arose at 8 a.m. Made a fire and shaved. Went to First Christian Church. Aunt Annah went to spend day with Mrs. Hughes, while ill. We ate dinner at home and took the children up to Mrs. Raines and ate supper. Ruth Edwards and Miss Brooks came over. Aunt Annah, Mr. and Mrs. R went to Auditorium. Harry went on his vacation West. On Monday, October 2, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Cold-Clear. Arose at 7 a.m. Got to work 8:30. Paid some bills. Wrote Bob Elmore. Mary went to Dr. Lawson's office with her mother, called me on phone. Mrs Raines ate dinner with us. Got 3 tons coal from Pitzer $12.00. Went to Bank for Mr. Schick at 3 p.m. W.K.B. Steffey employed. Talked Bill Fisher. Mr. Schick "cussed me out" for being late. Stayed home at night and read. On Tuesday, October 3, 1916: Very cool. Mr. Schick left on #1 to go over N. R. H&M Rd. Went out to Mr. Schick's house for legging at 9 o'clock. Wrote specifications for Mr. Wiltsee. Cut wood at 6 o'clock. Mary took Norman to Mrs. Raines'. She and Fannie Miller came down. I shaved and read the paper. Took a bath at 10:30 and retired at 11 p.m. Just quickly: The end of month note for September was interesting. I would really like to know what Annah Lee's condition was. They are really concerned. She was my grandmother and I know that she lived to be in her 90's and was really pretty healthy most of her life that I knew her. So, it couldn't have been anything real serious. Do they think she has this "infantile paralysis"? Also, wow, Bonnie got cussed out by his boss for being late! That was a new one for me. I also got a kick from yesterday's entries when everyone watched the aeroplane flight from the office window as a part of the fair that is in town. Airplane flights in and out of Roanoke are now so common that no one hardly notices. Only when Air Force One is in town doing touch and go's do some people take notice.

Seining

On Thursday, August 17, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Arose at 8 a.m. Robert came to house at 8:30. I took a bath at Mrs. Raines and Mary rolled Norman to station with me. Ate dinner at the hotel in Buchanan. Left Buchanan at 6:30 p.m. and got to New Castle at 9 o'clock. Ate supper, smoked cigars, and spent the night at Aunt Mary Elmore's. Susie Scholtz on train with us. On Friday, August 18, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Very Warm. Arose at 7:00. Went down to Aunt Florence's with Chauncey. Met Patsy Craft's wife and Leslie. Talked to Max at store. Met Byrd Carper. Bob and I watched the boys play croquet. I took pictures at Bel Air. Met Bill Bedinger. Wrote cards home. Ate dinner and supper at Pearl Elmore's with Bob Kelly and Aunt Fannie Elmore. On Saturday, August 19, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Very Warm. Arose at 7 a.m. Shaved and went with Bob and Chauncey to Ed's house. Took pictures. Ed ate dinner with us. Very sleepy in afternoon. Bob left at 4 o'clock p.m. for Cincinnati. Wrote Mary a letter. After supper, "John D" and I went seining from 7 to 9:30. J.D. stayed at Aunt Mary's with me tonight. Mrs. Hampton and Annah went home. I really thought that I could not read Bonnie's handwriting again when he wrote that he and John D. went seining. I tried to make it all kinds of different things, because I didn't know what seining was. When spell-check didn't catch it, I figured out that it must indeed be a word and so I looked it up and found that seining is to fish with a net vertically in the water. The net has sinkers on the bottom and floaters on the top. After finding that out, it made sense that they went fishing. Bonnie is I suppose in New Castle, to visit family with all the Elmore last names we are reading about. I think it is neat that he went through Buchanan, as that is where I now pastor a church.

Trip to Bedford

On Tuesday July 18, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Cool-Cloudy. Arose at 7:30. Got to work at 8:30. Very bad headache. Norman feeling weak and "all in". Work was very slack all day. Wrote 3 letters for F.P. Turner. Mrs. Raines and Aunt Annah went to St. Charles hospital at 7:30. I rolled Norman out from 7:30 to 8:30. Shaved at night. Mrs. Raines came down with Aunt Annah and left at 9:30 p.m. On Wednesday, July 19, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Sultry, close. Arose at 7:15. Got to work 8:30. Wrote letter for Mr. Turner. Mary, Aunt Annah, and I ate supper at Mrs. Raines. I took Norman up on car at Noon. Ms. Hurst Blanch Mr. and Mrs. Price Hurst ate dinner at Mrs. Raines'. Mr. Schick left for Wayne C.H. on #3 this p.m. I wrote stuff for Mr. Wiltsee. Wrote Lena a letter about trip to her home Sat. On Thursday, July 20, 1916 Bonnie wrote: Pleasant Day. Arose at 6:30. Rolled Norman to Mrs. Raines' and got vegetables. Spoke to Marjorie Merchent. Got to work at 8:30. Wrote to Frank Fisher. Wrote for Mr. Wiltsee. Talked to Skin. Aunt Annah, Mary and I took kids up to Mrs. Raines' after supper. I shaved and took a bath up there. Woodmen of the World held a parade at night. On Friday, July 21, 1916 Bonnie wrote: Very Warm. Arose at 7 a.m. Rolled Norman out Roger's Pond Road and back. Mr. Raitt away today-fishing. No correspondence. Mr. Schick came back from Wayne. Mrs. Raines and Harry took lunch with us today. Wrote for Mr. Wiltsee. Rain, thunder and lightning at night. Aunt Annah and Mrs. R went to hospital to have finger dressed. We retired at 11 o'clock. On Saturday, July 22, 1916 Bonnie wrote: Very Hot. Carter Thompson in. Arose at 7:30. Got to work at 8:45. Preparing to leave on train #4 for Bedford City. Made up payrolls. Mr. Schick gave me $3 for eggs and butter. Mary phoned to me. Met Edison Lockard on train #4. Walked up town. Met Jess and Luther at Warehouse. Rode to Lena's in buggy with Jess and Louis Smith. Caught in big electric storm. On Sunday, July 23, 1916 Bonnie wrote: Bedford, VA. Very Hot. Thunder. No Rain. Arose at 7:00. Went over to Mr. Fisher's and ate dinner. Lewis Smith there. Met Miss Burroughs and brother. Louis Smith, Andrew Beamer and I rode horses to station and I missed no. 3. Met a Mr. Giles and son and walked up track to Elk"s Home. Came home on #5 at 8:40 with Frank Nelson Jr. and Tom Mayo. Mary sick at night. Kids ate well.

Papa in Trouble.

On Thursday, July 6, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Cool-Pleasant. Arose 7:30. Got to work at 8:45 a.m. Went to Joe's for tobacco for Mr. Raitt and myself. Wrote letters for Capt. Anderson. Mrs. Magann and Ms. Booze down at night. Mary went uptown and bought kitchenware at Woolworth's I went over home at 6:30. Papa in trouble. Got hair cut. Retired at 10:30. On Friday, July 7, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Hot-Sunny. Arose at 7:00. R.S. Kerfoot in. Wrote letters for Capt. Anderson. Norman is much better today. Mr. Schick attended Dr. Gale's funeral this p.m. I talked to Mazie and Herman Merchant in evening. Cut grass from 7 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. Went up to Mrs. Raines' after Mary, Aunt Annah and children. Retired at 10:30. It sure has not been Cool-Pleasant here in 2010. At 100 degrees today! I don't know what Papa's trouble was in 1916. That would have been my Great-Great, Grandfather. Maybe we will find out more in coming days. I hope everything was o.k. I have been very intrigued by my reading in Acts recently. Paul gave up his freedom in Chapters 24 and following but also gained an audience with people that otherwise he never would have in order to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them. What about our preferences? Are we willing to give those up in order to follow God's will? Wow.

Fire Insurance

On Sunday, June 25, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Raining slowly. Arose 8:30 a.m. Paris Leslie called me up by phone. I went to First Christian Church. Talked to Frank Fisher about war. In afternoon we went up to Mrs. Raines'. Loam came by. Also Paris Leslie and Fred Hurst. Read "Washington Post" and ate supper at Mrs. Raines'. Mrs. Raines went down home with Mary and Aunt Annah. Retired at 10:30. On Monday, June 26, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Sunny. Arose at 7:30. Got work 8:30. Wrote "Instructions to Engineers". Paris Leslie phoned Mary he was going to Eggleston. I shaved at Mrs. Raines' at night. She came down. Bob McLellan came down home and we talked over fire insurance. I read until 11:30 and retired 12:00. On Tuesday, June 27, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Very Hot. Negro troopers from Fort Myer came through. Arose at 6:30. Mary and I left home at 7:30 and went to station to see soldiers off. Told Frank Fisher and Capt. Figgott good-bye. Howard Fisher and I met. Also Aunt Dora, Net, Edith and Papa. Large crowd. Mayor Brown and Sergeant Richardson spoke. Cut grass after supper and Mary rolled Norman up to her Mother's Retired at 10:30. Glad Grand-daddy is thinking over fire insurance.

Cherry Harvest!

On Thursday, June 15, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Raining. Sent Norman's pictures to Leslies and Loam. Arose at 7:20. Helped Mr. Woodson fix Davenfold and pain him quarter. Mr. Raines came down at night and fixed pantry door and put up center table. He gave Norman 10 cents for his bank. Rained all day. We have been having cherry pies for two days. Filed and indexed mail and copied descriptions. Retired at 10:30. On Friday, June 16, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Damp-Cloudy. Arose at 7:15. Mr. Schick came back from Phila. feeling ill. Walked to work with Cromer Kinsey. Picked cherries. Put strips on screen door to back porch. Mrs. Raines came down after supper and stayed until 9 o"clock. Very dark night. Retired at 10:15. Mary feeling badly. Bonnie has still been busy with home repair chores, or at least getting someone else to do them, which is how I operate too. Wow, I would really like to have some fresh cherry pie. I bet Mary and Mrs. Raines made some good cherry pie and sounds like maybe they could have used some help getting rid of the cherries. Yesterday, June 15, was our 19th wedding anniversary. We went out to eat at Abuelo's and then just enjoyed the kids being at Grandma's. Gulf oil spill still going on. President Obama met with BP officials today and addressed the nation last night. World Cup soccer still going on Spain and South Africa lost today. USA plays again on Friday. I plan to take the day off and watch the game and do yard work. Read today from 1 Kings 17 about Elijah and the widow. Again another example of how following God, through Jesus and the Holy Spirit is often counter-intuitive. We have to learn to lean not on our own understanding but to follow in obedience the voice of God through the Holy Spirit. I think a davenfold is like a couch. When I did a Google search for davenfold, I actually came up witht his blog, as I have mentioned it before in here. That's cool I guess.

The Joys of Home Ownership

On Tuesday, June 13, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Sunshine. Arose at 7:15. Mr. Smallwood fixing porch. V.P.I. Special (2) went to Blacksburg. Wrote descriptions. Men came and paper kitchen and dining room. Went by Mrs. R and shaved 6 p.m. Talked Sam Thompson. C.D.T. in. Re-copied reqsn. for typewriter desk. Mrs. Raines bled. Mary went along. Cut grass and raked yard after supper. There is so much about this entry that I just do not understand today without actually being inside Grand-daddy's head. His sentences today...well, his phrases today are so short and choppy and some just don't seem to go together. Some time I need to put a picture of the actual diary on here so readers can see it. The space is small and I get that, but today everything is very choppy and the pencil writing gets very light as it is written. I will try to intrepret maybe a little a bit, but I will probably raise as many questions as you already have. Something has been wrong with the porch though I don't know what. We have been reading about materials being delivered for that and so today, Mr. Smallwood (funny name for a carpenter) got started on that repair. The V.P.I. special is a train that runs to what is today called Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. This was a special run train that is apparently usually the #2 train. I don't know what the occassion was for today. Graduation at Tech maybe? While Mr. Smallwood fixes the porch there are also men wall papering the kitchen and dining room. Oh, the joys of home ownership. I am a little stumped as to why Bonnie seems to shave and bathe at other places so much, especially Mrs. Raines, his mother-in-law. Sam Thompson is a close friend of Bonnie's and C.D.T. is some sort of work colleague who was in the office today. I remember Bonnie writing a requisition for that typewriter desk before. Reckon somebody lost it? Or did it get denied at the time and so Bonnie is trying again. This last sentence is the one, I just don't get. I don't know why Mrs. R bled, and I don't know where she went that Mary went along. But, while they were gone, Bonnie mowed and raked the yard.