Monday, September 16th, 1935

Doctors come, Paul no better, and then...

Ever have a doctor tell you the obvious? It happened to Mary. The doctors pronounce that Paul is no better. She already knew that. The vigil continues. Alcohol rubs. Ice packs.

Mary finally write her mother. She is so afraid. Finally, the doctors decide. It is Typhoid. The doctors say a quarantine sign must go up, but she tells them her side of things.

Then finally, the fever breaks.

Thursday, September 12th, 1935

Paul has persistent fever

I sure hat to see Paul sick, Mary writes. He has a fever of 103 degrees. There is grave concern. Mary is afraid to tell her own mother who is still recovering from surgery.

She is up day and night with Paul, bathing him to cool him down. Lloyd's adult sons come by and bring ice cream for the little sufferer who now has a fever of 105. Everyone is worried. Will the other kids remain healthy?

Thursday, July 18th, 1935

Hot days

The days are hot and Paul is getting sick.

Sunday, July 14th, 1935

Met the old lady?

Who is the old lady? She's not referring to her mother here, right? Wonder where Lenora, her mother worked. Well, Leo gets sick and the car gets a flat and needs a patch.

As always, there is laundry to do and more doctor visits. And gardening.

Wednesday, June 12th, 1935

Cinderella Man documented

Mary notes a significant cultural event on the 13th of June. James Braddock won the heavyweight championship of the world as the 10-to-1 underdog in one of the most stunning upsets in boxing history at Madison Square Garden. Of course, they listened to the match on someone else's radio. They didn't have a radio.

Monday, March 4th, 1935

Health insurance?

If you needed a doctor, you just paid for a doctor. If you needed medicine, you just paid for medicine. If you needed new clothes, you bought that instead. If you had food, you shared it. If you couldn't afford something, you toughed it out. If you were in a jam, family helped you out.

That's how it appeared to work in 1935. Mary gets new clothes, but her mother would rather see her die than go to the hospital. What's up with that? Maybe the Marion hospital had the same bad reputation back then as today.

Clarence gets mentioned for the first time here. Clarence is Clarence Benson, son of Lloyd's brother William Birt and his wife, Mattie Weaver, sister of Lloyd's first wife Daisy Weaver. Clarence will turn 30 years old on the 4th of July, 1935. He is married to Bertha and has two little girls, Eleanor, 8 and Mary Margaret, 7.

I met Clarence sometime between 1992 and his death in 1995. He was living alone in an apartment in Mt. Vernon. Clarence was known to have money back in the prohibition days. He confessed to me that he had been a bootlegger. He owned a Mt. Vernon business, several nice trucks and fancy cars. He also didn't want to talk about it much with me as that was the past and he was now a Christian man. In this diary narrative he appears to have also been charitible in his younger days.

On the 7th of March, Mary sweats puddles of sweat but refuses to go to Columbus as recommended.

Who is Miss P?

Thursday, February 28th, 1935

Visiting with friends and family

These next four days are all about visiting, and on the 28th, not visiting, with friends and family. Ailments and doctors are mentioned. To sweeten things up, she makes candy.

Who is Miss P?

Mentioned for the first time here is Henry Stone. He is the husband of Lloyd's daughter from his first marriage. She was born Nellie I. Benson, July 30th, 1904 in Cardington. Where we read "Nellie, Henry and D," the "D" is an abbreviation for Nellie and Henry's daughter, Lloyd's niece, Donna May Stone who is 10 years old at this time.

Sunday, February 24th, 1935

Three generations

Mary's mother comes to visit and the visit nearly scares her to death. I wonder how her mother did that? Mary's mother is Lenora (Wright) Hemminger, a widow. Her husband, Ovella Hemminger, died just a little previous to a year ago, on December 1st, 1933. The grandmother that Lenora is going to visit is her husband's mother, Jennie (Steel) Slane, so on these pages we see reference to three generations.

I once met a woman who was well acquainted with Porter Township, Delaware County where the Hemminger's lived. She got on the phone with her aged father who had been some sort of agri-business salesman and knew everyone. She asked him for me, "Dad, did you know Ovella Hemminger?"

"Wello?" says he, "oh, yeah. Lived on Chambers Road, by the covered bridge." Bing!

The point of the call was to validate what I'd heard about my great-grandfather Ovello Hemminger.

"Dad, was he a bootlegger?" my friend asked.

"Oh, yeah," says he. So there you have it, straight from a personal witness. Prohibition ended just days after his death.

On Sunday the 24th, the shower referenced here is Harry and Richardine's belated wedding shower. But who is Floyd? Any ideas anyone?

Wednesday, February 20th, 1935

George Washington's Birthday

Friday was celebrated as George Washington's birthday. No school. The school the kids went to was just a short walk away, a little more than a block, located on Greenwood Avenue. Today the location is a large empty lot.

Remember the quick notation of Harry (Lloyd's brother) and Richardine's marriage back on January 19th? Well now it looks like a shower will be held for them a month later. Lloyd pick up a gift for them.

Tuesday, February 12th, 1935

Tenth wedding anniversary

Thursday the 14th, Valentine's Day, was Mary and Lloyd's tenth wedding anniversary. They ran off to Monroe, Michigan on Valentine's Day, 1925. You can see the official marriage record at Family Search Record Search: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/start.html#start Search on Lloyd Benson, marriage, 1925, Monroe, Monroe, Michigan. Shazam!

You might notice that some of the facts reported to Monroe County when taking out the marriage license were less than accurate.

Included in this post are a couple bonus images. Hope you enjoy viewing them. Happy Anniversary, Grandma!