Sunday, Dec. 3, 1939

Went to Red Bud mass with Bill [Klein], he had Walter Helfrich, Les Becker along. Leo & family came this afternoon & pap went to see Perry May & guy back at Burksville. Bill came took Bert [Bertille] along & Mr & Mrs Walter Sternan & son Roland, all went to Ridgetop Tenn. at Nashville left at 3:30, got there at 10:30, plesent [sic] trip, Mr Sternan went to see his brother Henry who is sick in a sanatorium, had flat tire on way back, left down there at 10:30 Mon. morning & got home about 6 at Smithton, then Bill & Bert & Frank Klein & wife & Louis Schoenborn went to Edwardsville, took Frank to poultry meeting there, altogether made 838 miles trip from Sun. afternoon till Mon. nite. Bert won pencil at poultry meeting, brought a few rocks, like sponge from Tenn.

Saturday, April 1, 1933

Papa got crushing done this morn. Roy Stauenfbeil & Ed Meng was here. Papa went to town. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary & papa went to a sale by Fults, didn’t buy anything, they took the hard road to Waterloo, Wartbug, Maeystown to Fults & coming home they went to Prairie Du Rocher, Ruma & Red Bud. Papa rode along with them.

Sunday, Oct. 2, 1932

Perry May has shooting match today. Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came here awhile after church. Louis Armstutz & Elmer Rettinghouse came here to look at our cow. This afternoon we & Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary left about 1 o clock went to Red Bud, Ruma, Evansville, Ellis Grove, Springdale Park, Chester, drove to the Southern Illinois Penitrary [sic], but couldn’t go through it, only the restroom, see ferns & furs & such like, everything is so nice there. Papa was talking to Snitz Nollau. Then we went to what they call a Menard, where there are about 400 criminals there, walked up 165 steps & down again, to see them, they where out taking exercise & sun baths, seen there laundry, & there yards where the prisoners work; all the rocks got ready to crush; it sure is a beautiful scene. The Miss. River so close, especially went [sic-when] you are so high up you can see the river such a far distance, then we drove up around the river up the big hill,  then back into Chester again, then back home, it was sure a nice drive we covered about 70 miles was home again 5 o clock. We had supper at Uncle Freds. Henry & family came up we all went over by Aunt Marys, across the street. There is rosary devotion at Red Bud, but we couldn’t go, Henry was up they took a 3 gal. crock of bacon along home 38 lb. with crock. There was a bunch 19 from Hecker went over to Walter Deffabaugh in St. Louis on a visit in Clarence Wittenauers truck.

Saturday, May 30, 1931

Papa got crushing done.  There is School Picnic in Waterloo today, parade of the children is at 9:30.  Everything is closed today, stores, banks, barber shops, also because it is Memorial Day.  Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came up at 10 o’clock, then we drove down to Fr. Chartres, from there we went to Polaceki sale at Fults, the May’s where there from there we came home, we hit the hard road at Parrot’s Corner, we came through a quite a few towns, & good roads, drove along the bluffs, we covered 58 miles, was back at 4 o’clock.  Harry Kammler’s is giving a dance tonight, but it ain’t so nice, cool, it rained where we were today, but not much here at home.  The Hecker ball teams played today.  The Blue Capes against the Hecker All Stars, in favor or Blue Caps, the score was 13 to 14.