Wet mild muggy rainy day. To college 7:45 to 2:00 P.M. Down town on errands. Bowled at [drawing of a star]. Over to church fooled around. Lots of people on street at night. Out to Dorothea Reynolds house. Fooled around. Dot Gallup & Finch along. To bed 2 A.M. Union-Columbia football game score 0-0.
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Well, a tie is better than a loss, I guess. I wonder if Stanford attended the game?
Thursday, October 30, 1919
Cool wet damp muggy day. To college 9 to 12 M. Fooled around in P.M. Candled eggs, played piano etc. Over to social at church at night. Down after Wilber Hayes. Fine time. Hallowe'en decorations. Home with Doris Smith. To bed 12:30 P.M.
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On the internet, I found a page from the Ladies Home Journal, October 1919 issue that shows various ways of decorating your house for Halloween festivities. Perhaps Stanford's house was festooned with some version of these:
My favorite is the cat's face in the fireplace!
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On the internet, I found a page from the Ladies Home Journal, October 1919 issue that shows various ways of decorating your house for Halloween festivities. Perhaps Stanford's house was festooned with some version of these:
My favorite is the cat's face in the fireplace!
Wednesday, October 29, 1919
Most wonderful autumn day. To College 7:45 to 12 M. Fooled around. Played tennis with Doris Smith in P.M. Won 6-2, 6-4. Helped trim for social. Drilled at armory. To bed 10:30 P.M.
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Once again we seem to have a triumphant declaration of beating Doris at tennis. I guess he didn't believe in letting the girl win!
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Once again we seem to have a triumphant declaration of beating Doris at tennis. I guess he didn't believe in letting the girl win!
Tuesday, October 28, 1919
Fair autumn day. To college 9 to 12 M. Some rain in A.M. Trimmed H.H. on debate on Immigration question. Up to Uncle John's in P.M. Very windy. Bowled with church league at nite 186-152-172. To bed 11 P.M.
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Hmmm . . . I guess there was more than one debate. It must have been a class exercise of some sort. I would love to have read what Stanford had to say on immigration.
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Hmmm . . . I guess there was more than one debate. It must have been a class exercise of some sort. I would love to have read what Stanford had to say on immigration.
Monday, October 27, 1919
Fair fall day. Some rain during day. To College 8 to 3 P.M. Fooled around. Studied. Bowled at star. Worked on debate. Up to Library and Delta Phi house. To bed 10:30 P.M. Thankful for health, home, etc. / etc. /
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Alpha Delta Phi is the chapter of Delta Phi that was founded at Union College. Here is a picture of the fraternity's house as it appeared around 1913 (taken from the Union College website):
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Alpha Delta Phi is the chapter of Delta Phi that was founded at Union College. Here is a picture of the fraternity's house as it appeared around 1913 (taken from the Union College website):
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| Alpha Delta Phi, circa 1913 |
Sunday, October 26, 1919
Rainy day. Down after Hayes. To Church and S.S. [Sunday School]. Merlin Finch here in P.M. Chewed the rag. Down to Hayes room. To Epworth League. Walked around with Dot Gallup, H.H. and Ruth. To bed 10:30 P.M.
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Chewed the rag is an expression people don't hear much anymore. I used to hear chew the fat quite often when I was young, but not often now. I looked on the internet for a theory of the expression's origin, but was unable to come up with anything conclusive. One person said he'd heard it refers to soldiers talking while chewing pieces of cloth to be used for wadding in their rifles, but someone else doubted a person could talk very well with cloth wads in his mouth. One website speculated that it meant whatever you were talking about was trivial, in the way that fat or a rag is non-nutritious food (or not food at all).
In any case, I think it's remarkable how little slang Stanford uses in his diary. Most of the entries could easily be mistaken for contemporary writing. Only when we hear a word or phrase like chored around or punk do we remember that it's been almost 100 years since Stanford wrote these daily narratives.
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Chewed the rag is an expression people don't hear much anymore. I used to hear chew the fat quite often when I was young, but not often now. I looked on the internet for a theory of the expression's origin, but was unable to come up with anything conclusive. One person said he'd heard it refers to soldiers talking while chewing pieces of cloth to be used for wadding in their rifles, but someone else doubted a person could talk very well with cloth wads in his mouth. One website speculated that it meant whatever you were talking about was trivial, in the way that fat or a rag is non-nutritious food (or not food at all).
In any case, I think it's remarkable how little slang Stanford uses in his diary. Most of the entries could easily be mistaken for contemporary writing. Only when we hear a word or phrase like chored around or punk do we remember that it's been almost 100 years since Stanford wrote these daily narratives.
Saturday, October 25, 1919
Beautiful bright ideal fall day with some rain at night. To college 8 to 12 M. To public library in P.M. to work on debate etc. Down town. Bowled at Y etc. To bed 10 P.M. old time.
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With the phrase "10 P.M. old time," Stanford refers to the last night of Daylight Savings Time before returning to Standard Time on the last Sunday of October. In March of 1918, Daylight Savings Time began officially for the first time in the United States (Stanford marks it on Sunday, 30 March 1919 with the statement "Set clocks ahead"), but was repealed in 1919. Here is an excerpt from an article on the subject that appears on the WebExhibits website:
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With the phrase "10 P.M. old time," Stanford refers to the last night of Daylight Savings Time before returning to Standard Time on the last Sunday of October. In March of 1918, Daylight Savings Time began officially for the first time in the United States (Stanford marks it on Sunday, 30 March 1919 with the statement "Set clocks ahead"), but was repealed in 1919. Here is an excerpt from an article on the subject that appears on the WebExhibits website:
Daylight Saving Time was observed for seven months in 1918 and 1919. After the War ended, the law proved so unpopular (mostly because people rose earlier and went to bed earlier than people do today) that it was repealed in 1919 with a Congressional override of President Wilson's veto. Daylight Saving Time became a local option, and was continued in a few states, such as Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and in some cities, such as New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago.
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