Datebook 1919

Thursday, February 6, 1919

Fair. Rather mild. To college from 8:30 to 12. In P.M. Candled eggs. Studied and went downstreet. K.S.P. in Evening. Bowled at Y with C.W. [Charles Wagner] & L.B.L. [Lewis Larkin] Retired 10:30.

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What a busy guy!

Wednesday, February 5, 1919

Cloudy and rather cold. Cleared up in afternoon. Bright. To college 8:30 to 2:30. Studied. To Armory to see about drill for students. Payed [sic] tuition for second term at College. Supper. Candled 6 cases eggs. Studied. No snow on ground. To bed.

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I wonder if this was the first time Stanford signed up for ROTC drill?

Tuesday, February 4, 1919

Cloudy. To College 8:30 to 4:30. Studied. A little rain at night. In Evening to Classical Club. Prof. Bennett spoke. Down town. Bowled at Morse & star. To bed 11:30. Thankful.

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Professor Bennett was John I. Bennett. He taught Greek at Union College. Unfortunately, he died the following year summer (1920).

Monday, February 3, 1919

Bright. Mild. Ideal Spring day. Streets bare. No snow. To college 8:30 to 2:30. Bowled at star (184). To Library. Supper. Studied. To bed 10 P.M. Thank God for all good.

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Did Punxsutawney Phil miss his prediction? Is winter almost over? We'll see.

Sunday, February 2, 1919

Ground Hog day. Sun shone bright all day. Cold. Bright & Windy. To Church & S.S. In P.M. walked with H.H. and Lewis Larkin. To Epworth League. Home. To bed 9:30. Thank God for peace, a dry nation, parents, food, clothing, shelter etc. Scarcely any snow on ground.

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Groundhog Day is apparently a very old holiday, also known as Candlemas. This website gives some of its history: Groundhog Day.

Saturday, February 1, 1919

Cold. Windy. To College 8:30 to 12. Delivered eggs. Took a nap. Studied. To Church. Down town with H.H., Charles Wagner, Everett Young & Lewis Larkin. Bowled at Y. Retired 11 P.M.

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What did they do down town?

Friday, January 31, 1919

Colder. Slight snow flurry in A.M. Bright. To College 8:30 to 2:30. Down town. Bowled at Y. To Dr. Stearns for treatment. To armory. Moving pictures. To bed 11:15.

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I'm still wondering what the "treatment" was for . . . ?

About this blog . . .

I've created this blog to make a record of the hand-written journals of Stanford Stillman Closson (1900-1982), who was in his life a Methodist Minister, grandfather, father, brother, husband and son. I'm starting with the first one, written in 1919, but I plan to record subsequent years (they continue into the 1970s). I'm matching the days--May 5, 1919 to May 5, 2013, for instance--with one entry per day. So it will take a year to get through the first diary.

The daily entries are pretty short, though, so in addition to recording the diaries, I'm also annotating them, giving additional information about the people, places and events mentioned by Stanford. By doing this, I hope to convey a sense of 1919 Schenectady, New York and the people Stanford interacted with. Of course, I'm also hoping to give Stanford's descendants a fuller picture of who he was as a young man.