Thanksgiving

On Thursday November 30, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Warm, Sultry. THANKSGIVING DAY Arose at 8 a.m. Oysters for our breakfast. Papa came over at 10 a.m. and he and I went to see Mrs. Mullins. I carried Norman up to Mrs. Raines. Papa and I went to the office wrote a letter to Blaine. Went to see Capt. Rowan. Met Miss Fox, Proffit, Neville. Ate Dinner with Loam at Mama's. Ate supper at Raines'. V.P.I beat V.M.I in football. Really not much has changed it seems like when it come to Thanksgiving. Now I didn't have oysters for breakfast the other day, but if I had it would have been fine. Mostly it seems like Bonnie did lots of eating and visiting with family and friends. He does mention the V.P.I. vs. V.M.I. football game. Today we know VPI as Virginia Tech and this game vs. VMI in the early 1900's was quite the tradition as I understand it. It was held in Roanoke as a kind of neutral site and it was a day full of parades and pageantry and oh yeah a football game. It was THE event in Roanoke on Thanksgiving Day. Another sign of changing times, my daughter needs the computer to finish homework, so this will conclude today's post. We'll start Bonnie's December diary tomorrow. By the way, pictures of some of those mentioned in this blog from 1916 will be coming shortly!

Payday

On Wednesday, November 29, 1916, Bonnie Elmore wrote: Warm, Cloudy. Arose at 7:20 a.m. Mary made fire. Got to work at 8:40. Very cloudy today. Read paper. Got our checks. I ate supper over home. Jake and I walked over together. I carried Capt. Rowan's check. Mama showed me letter from Blaine about about Ronk's bill. I shaved at night. Read the paper. We retired at 11 p.m. Payday right before Thanksgiving, that's how it worked at the county in 2009 too. Again nothing real remarkable. I still need to find out who some of these people are like Capt. Rowan and Jake. We got a lot done today around the house with Christmas decorating. Small crowd at church today, 1st Sunday of Advent. Remember not to overload electrical outlets with too many Christmas lights or run extension cords under rugs etc.

Nothing

On Tuesday, November 28, 1916, Bonnie wrote: Frost, Foggy. Arose at 7:20. Made a fire. Walked up street with Minnie Sullivan and Lilly Bishop. Got to work at 8:40. Busy all day. Mrs. R and Aunt Annah went up to Louis'. Austin is sick. I got papers at Mrs. Raines. Wrote on book for Mr. W. P. Wiltsee, read some in afternoon. I indexed and filed mail in morning. Read after supper. Retired at 10:30. Nothing real remarkable today. Same in 2009. Running errands, some more decorating to come. Sermon tomorrow is "God's Christmas Preparations"

Bushman and Bayne

November 27, 1916, a Monday, Bonnie Elmore wrote: Frosty cold. Hot in afternoon. Arose at 7:30 a.m. Mary made a fire. I ate stewed oysters for breakfast. Mr. Schick came back to the office. Francis X. Bushman and Beverley Bayne here today in person showing "Romeo and Juliet". Dr. Lawson examined Mary this morning at Jefferson Hospital. I gave Jake my gray trousers. Wrote Effie. I shaved after supper and played with Norman. Bushman and Bayne left. Bushman and Bayne were pretty big silent movie stars in 1916 and apparently in 1918 it was revealed that they were having a longtime affair. They were traveling together in 1916 in Roanoke, VA. They later had a child together. Bushman was married 4 times. We got up a little after 4 this morning, "Black Friday" and went and did a little shopping, ate breakfast at Famous Anthony's and are home now decorating for Christmas. Along the fire safety line: the Wal-Mart I was in today supposedly locked doors with customers inside which is a fire code violation and the Toys-R-Us in Roanoke was rumored to have been shut down by the city fire marshal due to over crowding.

Kids, kids, kids

On Sunday, November 26, 1916 Bonnie Elmore wrote: Cold, Clear. Arose at 8 a.m. Mrs. Raines came down. Also Ethel Wade. Dr. Burks came down to see Mary at 1 p.m. I went by the office. Saw Jess. Got prescription filled and went over home for supper. I rolled Norman up to Mrs. Raines. Papa ate supper at Doris's and went to church. Jake gave me striped tie. Mrs. Raines came down at night. Mama gave me bottle of "bitters". Ok, after visiting with my mother today I have figured out a few other things. Bonnie is about 25 when he is writing this. His oldest son is Norman who is 21 months, his next oldest child is my grandmother, Annah Lee, who is 11 months old at this writing and Mary is pregnant again with "Baby Jane" who is born in February of 1917. It is hard for me to picture Gran-daddy as a 25 year old, as when I knew him he was already rather old. Apparently, Mary may not feel well, or is just getting a check up from the Doctor (tomorrow she also makes a visit to the hospital) and also I think Bonnie is still not feeling well, hence the bottle of "bitters". Today, in 2009 it is Thanksgiving. In 1916, Thanksgiving did not happen until November 30. Apparently in 1916 Thanksgiving was on the last Thursday instead of the 4th Thursday as today. We will just have to wait to see what Bonnie, Mary, Norman, and Annah Lee did on Thanksgiving in 1916. We have enjoyed a wonderful meal today of Roasted Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, dressing, green beans, carrots, rolls, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie for dessert. We are getting ready to take a walk. We are awaiting Amy, Paul, Autumn and Drew's arrival for left overs and then we will get down from the attic Mom's Christmas decorations before we leave.

Books and Movies

I didn't post yesterday as I just ran out of time, so I will try and post 2 diary entries today to stay on schedule with Bonnie. On November 25, 1916 a Saturday, Bonnie Elmore wrote: Cold, Clear. Arose at 7:30. Made a fire. Got to office at 8:50. After puzzling and worrying about "When a Man's a Man", Mr. Raitt brought it down. I loaned the same book to Mr. Eiffert in Valuation Dept. Made up payrolls. Cut wood after dinner. Mrs. Miure came down at 2:30. I went to St. Chas. Hospital. Also Mr. Raitts went to "American". Alright, there were a couple of puzzling things about today's entry and after some research I have figured one out and one is still a mystery. Interesting that Grand-daddy went to the office on Saturday. The first mystery really had to do with his handwriting. I had a hard time making out the title of the book that he was worried about, but again with Google help I was able to figure that out. Apparently the men of the area had quite the book exchange going. Again, no TV so entertainment after work was reading, movies, visiting, etc. I have noted that the 2 books Bonnie mentions both have had to do with being out west. The western part of the US must have still been somewhat of a mystery and a dream and something to fantasize and write about. Now for the second mystery that remains unsolved. Bonnie says he went to St. Chas. Hospital. I am not aware of any hospital in Roanoke by that name and while he did travel by train a good bit, tomorrow's entry has him back in Roanoke. So, I don't think he would have gone to Missouri and back in the same day. He could have been referring to a movie because in the next line hem mentions that "Also Mr. Raitts went to the 'American'", which was a grand old theater here in Roanoke that has long since been demolished. I may seek some help on these kind of mysteries from either Roger, who is Bonnie's son or from Nelson Harris, a Baptist minister and noted Roanoke historian. Today is Thanksgiving. We are at Mom's house today. Very thankful that she was able to get her heart artery cleared up with a stent! Another post maybe later today.

Underwear

On November 24 (a Friday), 1916, Bonnie Elmore wrote: Arose at 7:20. Mary made fire. I got to work at 8:35. Corrected specifications for Mr. Wiltsee. Wrote a letter for Mr. Turner. Read "American" Magazine. Talked to Mr. C.M. Steffey on Nelson St. at 5:30. Bought second suit of underwear. Mary and I ate at her Mother's. Came home at 8:30 p.m. I won't elaborate much today as I am tired from Mom's hospital stay, but interesting that Mary made the fire today, I think we will see that they often take turns, maybe a week at a time. Also, that Grand-daddy felt the need to record his underwear purchase! Did he really only have one "suit" before that? Like I said before, times were different and maybe he means something different than what we call underwear today. Maybe it was long-johns. No real world events recorded today.