Wednesday, July 15, 1931

Leona & the kids where here for lunch this morning.  We heard that George Parker’s baby Virgil died, they had him at the hospital, had trouble with the teeth, they wouldn’t come through.  We cleaned the chicken house, papa is setting posts.  Henry went threshing today.  The machine was by Parker’s yesterday, but account of the baby died, they moved up to Kemp’s & are threshing there now, & from there to August Blackburns’s.  There was lady here this morning selling a bottle vanilla for 99¢ & a set sugar bowl & pitcher.  We washed the machine this afternoon & fixed the tire.  Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came up this evening, they told us about Pete Hoffman, from Mayestown, he was driving a wagon & fell off & broke his back, the horses ran away.  A man down by Red Bud, they didn’t know his name he was ground all to pieces through the seperator [sic].  Mr. Keonig from Columbia was here, he was the guy that was looking for the score book, ball games.  He took it along.  Henry had found that book by the school house some place.

Tuesday, July 14, 1931

Papa went out in the woods this morning to get some poles.  Today Slyvester [sic – Sylvester] Miller & Hilda Bertram are getting married.  Leona went to church to see it.  Her sister & brother where the attendants.  We got the report this morning that Henry S. Braun died last night at 7 o clock & will be buried Thurs. morn.  We heard he had heart failure & indigestion trouble & then again we heard, he went to get a drink of water by the well & fell over dead.  Clarence Wittenauer was here, he wants 3½¢ to haul wheat from Pabst’s to our place & takes 3 to Red Bud & 4 to New Athens & 5 to Freeburg.  So Papa got Eichenseer’s to haul it, they will do it for 3¢.  Bertille was by Mrs. Rennecker about a half hr. this evening.

Monday, July 13, 1931

Today is wash, iron & patch day.  Papa went out to Henry’s to get the posts for a shed, Henry brought them up on the wagon.  This afternoon Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came, they where here for lunch, & supper.  He helped papa with the straw shed.  The Karr Range Co wind [? – unclear] through this afternoon & played the radio, it was nice.  George Wagner & the kids where here this evening.  Bertille got a recipe book from Mrs. Rennecker this afternoon.  Alfred Stahl had awful bad luck the other day.  Some thing caught fire & it came up to the seperator [sic] & started burning the fire stuff there & he tried to fight it, & got his hand all scorched & burned & also his arm, he hooked the engine too it & broke 4 links, so there it was, so the water wagon came then & it got it out, then he was on the engine & fell off & broke the same arm.

Sunday, July 12, 1931

Henry & family where here for dinner.  We & Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary went up to Smithton to the Turner pinic [sic], but there wasn’t much of a crowd there.  We met Jim Beese, & wife, & Liddie, & a few other we know.  There was people here this morning looking for shoats.  Papa went over to Freeburg church this morning.

Saturday, July 11, 1931

Papa & Rosalia went out to Henry’s again today to help haul oats bundles in the loft.  Uncle Fred & Aunt Mary came this morning, they where here for dinner, lunch.  He went to Red Bud.  We had cucumber salad for dinner.  Papa & Rosalia where out at Henry’s for lunch, dinner.  There was a man here selling different things for the orphans at Belleville & also two men from St. Louis, to see if we had any eggs for sale.  Jake Friedrich has another barn dance this evening.

Friday, July 10, 1931

Henry is putting up hay today, Papa, Rosalia went out for lunch, dinner, lunch.  I baked bread, coffee cake, doughnuts, cake, today.  I seen in the paper that Mrs. V. Heck, & Mrs. Zeno Mendel gave Miss Hilda Bertram a surprize [sic] Miscellanous [sic] shower, on her approaching marriage next Tues. July 14 to Slyvester [sic – Sylvester] Miller, at the Miller residents.  Mr. & Mrs. Archie Whiel left for a 10 day trip to Chicago & Minnesota.  Hy. Minneman of Fults Ill, died & was buried last Wed. afternoon, he is a brother to Chas. & Ed. of here.  Mrs. Ed. Shmidt of Waterloo, Jake & Dan’s mother died Thurs & will be buried Sat. morn.

Thursday, July 9, 1931

It is raining this morning.  We got our beets in from the garden here & the truck patch, we got 5 quts & 1/2.  Mrs. Katie Klotz was here this morning to see if she could get a can of cistern water at Uncle Fred’s place, because they are getting the thrashers this evening, & they wanted the water to wash the dishes.  Papa went up to Eichenseers, & went along out with Vic & Odillo, to fix Henry pump, they put 5 ft. pipings on it, there is 30 ft. of water in it yet.  Papa called up for Rosalia to come out & bring some wrenches along from the store.  Mrs. Klotz was telling me about a fire at Albert Gregson’s on Tues. night, the road men had a fire burning the grass on piles, & they left without putting the fire out, & during the night the fire creeped & burned all the way through the woods, nearly too the house, they just got it out in time.  George Lorberg was called with a tank of water on his truck & also Joe Shilling’s, Louis Armstutz’s & a fire apartment, I don’t know if it was Smithon’s [sic] or Red Buds, fire out later, it happened around 12 o’clock in the night that is when George Lorberg left.  This evening we went out & lawend [sic] at the cemetery, & looked at Frank’s pigs, sheep.  Eggs are 12¢ now.

Wednesday, July 8, 1931

We went out to Uncle Freds, & finished the hay & also a dress, we where there for lunch, dinner.  We took her along up as far as Hy. Birkner’s to help for thresher’s, on our way home.  This afternoon Mr. Hill was here collecting telephone dues.  In the evening we drove to Freeburg to see Ed. Classin about some wire, but it is the same price as Hecker, so we didn’t take any.  We stopped at Barthel’s & paid the Whippet battery recharged for $1.50.  When we got home George Wagner came over & said Henry was calling for us, so I called out but got no answer.

Tuesday, July 7, 1931

This morning we went out to Henry’s it told us about a cheap team of horses.  From there we went over to Uncle Fred’s to help put up hay.  We where there for lunch, dinner, lunch.  Hy. Armstutz was also helping.  This evening papa went out to Barthel’s & had the battery recharged for the Chev. for 85¢.  When he came back, we all went out to Mrs. Hover & inquired about a Kelley having a team of horses for sale.  We went then to see him, he lives on Mrs. Donahue place along the hard road by Red Bud.  He has 2 horses, but will only sell 1 now & askes $35.00 for him.  On our way home we stopped at Henry’s.

Monday, July 6, 1931

Today is wash, iron, patching day.  It is awful warm again this afternoon.  About 4 o’clock this afternoon there was an awful smoke east from here, it was Ruhils place, the smoke-house & pasture, Mrs. Ruhl had fire out side & it got away & burned the smoke-house nearly all down, that is the place from Joe Gregson’s South.  As far as we know the house wasn’t damaged.