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.

Tuesday, July 30th, 1935

Beer here!

Lloyd went to get some yeast. He's making home brew. By this time, beer is legal again. Prohibition ended just a few years earlier. Lloyd and Mary had some brewing experience from that time.

It's also so hot that naps are in order and the kids slept downstairs during the night. Remember the days before AC? The upstairs could get unbearably hot after a day of hot sun.

Nellie gets the news that Mary is pregnant. Surprise! Oh, and in the margin: "The kids got a dog." Guess that is two surprises.

Friday, July 26th, 1935

Washing machines and radios

Mary got a bad scare. She thought DJ was hit!

Now that they have had a full pay, things like clothes for the kids are gotten and a washing machine seems like a good idea. $10 wouldn't put them out very much.

I'd love to look at a Marion Star for this weekend to see what show they went to see on Sunday.

Would you believe that the police were prowling the neighborhood looking for the loud radio? Of course, we're talking something like that new swing sound from that new kid Benny Goodman on NBC played over a Philco; not some hip-hop blasting boom box.

Lawrence is mentioned here. He is one of Garnie (Benson) Weaver's kids, the father of Don Weaver, former Morrow County Commissioner who just recently passed away. Also mentioned for the first time here is Emma. Who is she?

Tuesday, June 4th, 1935

School is out

Leo advances to the 4th grade and Paul to the third. Mary's toe sure is sore.

Friday, May 31st, 1935

Operation! Staying in bed

Mary had her toe operated on, going under by the use of ether. She suffers for several days. Family come by to see how she is doing.

Four-year-old Dorothy, or DJ, goes to her first party on Sunday at Mary Lou's. But who is that?

With some money that had come in, it appears that a treat came to the house. A quart of ice cream! Ice cream was one of those things grandma would always bring by our house when visiting when I was a little boy. Thanks, grandma!

Tuesday, April 9th, 1935

No phone, no car

Two things that stand out in these pages are the simplicity of life. They have no phone; no car. Mary goes over to Bosh's to make a call; they get with Albert about driving them "home," meaning over through Morrow County and down to her mother's place, presumedly still on Chambers Road, Porter Township, Delaware County.

And there are simple pleasures of this era; simple things like the joy of beating her husband at cards, and eating new tomatoes for dinner and planning for a drive out to the country, far away from the bustling city of Marion with its steam engines, factories, busy streets and close neighbors.

Monday, April 1st, 1935

All fools day

There's a good bit of content in these first four days of April. Mary tells fortunes again and gets fooled.

Bertine is mentioned for the first time. Who is this?

Lloyd almost forgot to go for his surplus. What is this? Is it like the surplus cheese the government was passing out in the 80's? Was there surplus food or clothing available during the depression?

Did you ever miss school because of a wardrobe malfunction? Leo did on April 4th. I guess baggy pants were not in style in 1935.

Also on the 4th, Albert "got the machine" and took her and D.J. somewhere. Does that mean he got his car? Lloyd and Mary do not have a car.

(Don't forget. You can click on the image to enlarge it. Also, leave comments. Your thoughts and reflections are welcomed! And that's no April fool.)

Thursday, March 28th, 1935

She gets the news

Mary writes about a nurse coming to their home. The nurse, out of concern, made a follow up visit the next day. That following day, March 30th, she writes that she "gets the news."

The news, no doubt, is that she is pregnant on top of the other medical problems she is having. Later this year she will give birth to David Arthur, my father.

She may have had some cramps, but sugar cakes make life worth living.

Sunday, March 24th, 1935

Clothing

In these pages clothing needs and how they these needs are met are written about. Other new items in her life are the spring garden coming up and a new sidewalk out front of their home on Van Buren Street.

Wednesday, March 20th, 1935

Spring arrives, brings hope

Mary notes that the first day of spring has arrived and it was ushered
in by thunder, lightning and rain. Something got her all excited for
awhile, but what was that?

And who is the benefactor, the mysterious Mr. F. (?) that promised to
get her 8-year-old son Paul a new pair of shoes, and to also pay the
gas and electric bills? These several days raise more than a few
questions.

Even Albert, Lloyd's brother, gives the opinion that Lloyd should soon
have work. What does he know that isn't mentioned here?

Dr. Grover taped up Mary's feet on the 21st, an odd thing for a
chiropractor type to do, but the family oral history always stated that
he was a "quack." Is that just what chiropractors were called in those
days? Or was he really a practicing quack?

Spring always does offer hope, and the spring of '35 brings hope that
work will be available, that they will be able to take care of their
needs, that health will improved. We'll see about that.

Saturday, March 16th, 1935

Lonesome day

The importance of family and friends to Mary is evident in her Sunday St. Patrick's Day entry. She said they "looked for company, but nobody came," and then finally summed up the day with a simple statement. "Lonesome day."

The family worked hard on Saturday, planting early spring foods like onions, lettuce and radishes, and also baking pies and bread. It must have been a warm cozy kitchen this day!

Lloyd gets to feeling poorly, and when Dr. Grover comes by, cracks his neck. On the 19th, Mae is mention again as she stops by and drops off a can of peaches. We recently learned that Mae is not technically family to Mary and Lloyd. Lloyd's brother Albert married Nellie Kelley and Mae is the daugher of Nellie's twin sister, Stella. So Mae is Mary's brother-in-law's niece. Got that?

Tuesday, March 12, 1935

"I walked... holding my crutches."

In this installment we have a little better view on Mary's ailment. Whatever has been troubling her, her toes or whatever, we now know that her condition was such that she was also using crutches to get around. She walked clear to Haynes, whoever they are, but the use of crutches.

Old Jerry is mentioned on the 12th. He was at grandma's, grandma being her grandmother Jennie Slane. But who is Jerry? Jennie is married to Frank Slane. On this same day, Clarence, his girl and Leada is mentioned. Leada is a misspelling of Clarence's sister's name, Leta. Mae has been frequently mentioned in this diary. Who exactly is she?

We learn that Mary knows a thing or two about sewing as she reports she has made a dress for her little girl, Dorothy.

An astute reader of this blog noted that on March 7th Mary noted Mrs. R's weight, and then a second number was also entered; 182. Also, on January 5th, following her entry for the day, the number 183 appears. It was observed that perhaps she was noting her weight. I think the observation has merit.

Note: If you would like to explore real record sources online and search out this or other families, check out this free access website: http://search.labs.familysearch.org/

Friday, March 8th, 1935

Sharing food, playing cards and other women

In the next four days, Mary writes about sharing food with family and about how when family visits they pass their leisure time away.

Stella is mentioned here for the first time. Stella is Stella Kelley, the fraternal twin of Nellie Kelley. In the 1900 US Census of Grand Prairie Township, Marion County, they are enumerated as Stella E and Nella B., both born in March of 1893. A kind reader reported this relationship and also helped answer another question, which is who is Mae that Mary so often writes of? Mae is the daughter of Stella and Don, last name not currently known.

Moving on. The Friday entry didn't make much sense to me in the first couple of readings. What did it mean? "Then they went to the hospital and got a girl C goes with and left for home." I read it several times searching for understanding.

Then I realized that "C" meant Clarence. Still I was confused. Clarence was a married man with two little girls. This didn't make sense. I turned to my previous family research in my Personal Ancestral File to look up Clarence.

Ah-ha. I now believe that the girl Clarence "goes with" is Esther Hall, a young girl a few months shy of her 20th birthday. He's apparently going with her quite openly because his folks (parents) are with him and Mary writes about it without judgement even though he is a married man.

Bertha, Clarence's wife, sued for divorce the following year in Knox County, Ohio. From the Record of Divorce, Vol. 6, p. 354, she charged him with neglect and for running off with Esther Hall," with whom he left on the 19th day of September, 1936."

The divorce was final on November 5th, 1936, and Clarence and Esther Marie Hall were married that very same day. Together they would have four children. The second one, a little boy, lived only 15 minutes. He is known on the records only as "stillborn." He never drew breath. Shortly after birth, his little beating heart went still.

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.

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.

Saturday, February 16th, 1935

Fortune Teller

On Sunday we read yet another reference to fortune telling. This time Ruth A. and her friend came over to have their fortune told. Who is Ruth?

I now know who the fortune teller is. My dad told me that his mother, who's diary this is, told fortunes using cards.

On Tuesday Mrs. Beacon comes over to report that grandma isn't doing well. This would be her Grandma Jennie Slane. Her grandma lived at 421 Uncapher St., Marion and was 73 years old at this time. Pictured here is her grandma's house as seen in February, 2010.

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!

Friday, February 8th, 1935

Keeping hours and being a neighbor

Life seems to be rather ordinary in these pages. Storms. Cleaning. Family visits.

Mentioned here is Richie, who is Harry's wife Richardine. Harry, like his brother Lloyd, had a previous marriage, and earlier this year, on January 19, married a younger woman. From this marriage would come three children, Violet, Kenneth and Leonard.

On Monday Mary writes that she thinks she will call on a lady on the corner who says she doesn't have a neighbors. Isn't that a kind thought?

Monday, February 4th, 1935

Been on the hummer

Mary's diary records these next four day the very commonplace. Cold weather. Work. Puzzles. Sore toes. She's sure been on the hummer. Lloyd spend the last $5 and Leo steals a dime.

Included with this post is a picture of Leo as he appeared around 1935. He is the first child of Lloyd and Mary Benson, born July 1st, 1926 in Marion, Ohio, and died September 11th, 1997 in the same city.

The picture survived a house fire Mary had later in life, after her children were grown and gone, she'd been through a divorce with Lloyd, and remarried Art McKibben.

She was always known as Grandma McKibben to me.

Lloyd spending their last $5 reminds me of a story I remember Grandma (Mary) telling. She told how much she laughed when one of the two boys, Leo and Paul, observed the other rolling home some old tire, as kids did for play in those days. Shouted the one to the other with the tire, "How much did that cost you, Benson?"

She thought it was so funny because it was exactly the phrase she'd use when Lloyd would come home with something. The kids had picked up on it. If you know a Benson, go ahead and ask them, how much did that cost you, Benson?