Friday, October 26th, 1935

Radio and recovery

Lloyd heads out early to go to the big city in hopes of finding a new car, but instead comes home with a big surprise for Mary-- a new radio!

The next day she manages to get to the dinner table on her own for the first time since delivering lil baby David on the 14th. Paul, who had been gravely ill, finally goes back to school on Monday after being out for weeks and weeks.

Something different happens here in the diary, too. 1935 pages that were left blank become the pages that she records some 1944 happenings.

Flash forward 9 years. Paul is now a young man. He is getting ready to leave in the US Army. His marriage to Patsy is also recorded.

Friday, September 20th, 1935

We can only trust

The fever has broke. Paul is very weakened from his illness. But finally the family can catch their breath and get some rest as Paul continues to recover.

Lloyd has to work on Sunday. Overtime is welcomed because a lay-off is in the offering.

Sunday, August 11th, 1935

Feeling cranky?

You might feel cranky if your ear ached. By the 13th Mary says her ear broke. Ouch.

She was so cranky she mentions that if all those Benson men thought she'd have dinner for them, well, they had another think coming. Especially Virgil. What did step son Virgil do to raise her ire?

You can see Mary stop writing with this ear ache. She will not write again for another week.

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.

Saturday, June 8th, 1935

A big day.

We have a big day on the 9th of June. What's the occasion? Anyone know?

The kids play in the cellar. What are they playing? Pass the spud?

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 23rd, 1935

Home improvements

Mary reports on the home improvements going on in the home. It would appear that I am my grandfather's grandson. She writes that my grandpa Lloyd had a "mad spell" and tore up some wallpaper. Hmmm. Sounds sooo familiar. I now just stay clear of wallpapering.

To visit Willard, they took a taxi. Included here is a picture I found on the internet of a taxi at the bus station in Marion in 1938 taken by a photograher named Shahn.

They listened to a radio (not their own, they don't have one) and watched an airplane. Remember, flight is a new thing still.

Saturday, May 11, 1935

More birthdays

The birthdays keep on coming. This time it is Mary's mother, Leonora, on the 13th. She is 50 years old. She gets a little something for her.

The circus comes to town, and Mary laments that her kids won't be able to actually go. If the circus is setting up at the fairgrounds, this is only a short walk from their home.

Mother's Day comes and goes. Nothing special noted about that day.

Anyone know where Forest Glen is? Was this an area around the Scioto River in the Powell area?

New wall paper was put up in the front room. It sure looks nice.

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.

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?

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?