A cold night, was zero at daylight, cloudy, cold all day, never got more thant 4 above & sun shone late p.m. for awhile. I staid in front-room and spent most of day fixing receipt-book and played solitaire and after supper Will, Maggie and I played rummy. Maggie still has a cold and it has the flu cough now but manages the necessary work, meals, bed-making, sweeping and she cleaned Fritz’s room and stove exploded in front-room and there was some soot for the chimney stopper blew out and Fritz’s room all sooty, and she washed her white sweater and red skirt and had to cover them in an hurry before they got soiled. She baked an apple pie for dinner. Will fixed holes in the barn, and in p.m. he and Ben, who walked over on way to store, went up in the car and on to Allen’s and Mr. is coming fine these days. Fritz hauled 2 loads hay from [what] Will got from Roy Hutchins and this is the last of it. My crippled ankle and foot hurt this p.m.
March 18, 1923: A bright day but cold N. W. wind and blew quite hard at times. Will went over the River for cows and Chas. Ward came back for milk and stayed until p .m. and they played rummage. I made a pumpkin pie and fixed dinner and towards evening wrote to Walcott & Walcott Sears for catalogue & J. K. Waring, Geneva, Nebr. Had headache.
March 19, 1923: Bright in forenoon, cloudy in p.m. and sprinkled, but evening clear. Will hauled bedding & alfalfa for hogs and in p.m. went to town to M. L. S. Co. Sale. I finished machine-work on shirts.
March 20, 1923: Bright at times and cloudy in evening but warm all day. Will & Chas. Ward took hog to Ableidingers and weighed it as Ward wants to butcher it today, they also took barrel over and got some water for us. Will went to Ableidingers to help castrate calves and stayed for supper. I tried to work but finished bread and not much else as had cold in head until it ached. Chas. Ward came for food chopped in evening. Floyd Sherlock came for Ramclouskek bull this noon. Guy Coen brought horse here.
March 21, 1923: Cloudy all day and snowing forenoon but p.m. stopped, damp and appearance of rain. Will did up chores after he found cows at Schummers and took them over the river after Mr. J. Ableidinger & Rudolph Johnson vaccinated our 6 young cattle, and he got in horses and in p.m. went up town and got some coal and took cream and got a new 3 gal. cream can. I wrote letters in forenoon and p.m. washed the clothes as my head & cold is getting better. Will is so-so.
March 22, 1923: Cloudy in morning and quite cold, but rest of day bright and warmer, so a nice evening. Will went over and got cows at Brads and Charles came back with him to phone for alfalfa and then Will went over for water & bedding for pigs in barn, and in p.m. laid down awhile as he had a headache & cold. Towards evening he took alfalfa to hogs so I went alone to Wards as hung out clothes & mopped in the a.m., and cut out dress in p.m.
March 23, 1923: Quite windy forenoon and dusty, clouds passed over but nice towards evening, a cold N. W. wind all day. Will finished chores and started to fix coop, that is nests and put lathe on hog-shed cracks and took a little rest as he had a headache. I sewed on dress, light green one and finished all but three snaps. Will went over to put hogs back in evening.
March 24, 1923: Ford Day at Spencer and a bright day, except in morning a little cloudy and a little cool. Will took corn to hogs in forenoon and in p.m. went up town to get things and see who got the Ford. Chas. Benedict got the car. I cut and sewed a gingham dress for self. Will had a headache all day, also a cold. I am so so.
March 25, 1923: Snowed quite a bit early forenoon but stopped at noon and clear toward evening and was cold. Will did up chores and rested. We ate at 3 p.m. and lunched in evening. I picked out some goods for coat & dress and it made me tired. Will still has a headache and sore throat.
March, 26, 1923: A bright, warm day. Will did chores and started to pick seed-corn, then went to Spencer to get incubator soldered and flour at Mill before dinner. Charles came at noon so he & Will finished seed corn for present and started to haul corn from ground to pile, after supper they rode up town on Peavine & Lazzes. I made 2 sun bonnets and looked over old clothes. Will has a sore throat and Chas. no appetite so grape juice tonic for us all.
March 27, 1923: A nice day all day and quite cool at times. Chas. finished putting corn on pile. Will did the chores, then they took corn to hogs and Will went on up to Knolls for spreader while Chas. got water for here. In p.m. they cleaned barn and went to Spencer to get incubator and take in Bailey fire sale of goods. I made 2 waists, baked bread, churned butter. Will still has a sore throat.
March 28, 1923: Bright day but south wind cold in a.m. and quite strong at noon and warmer in p.m. Men finished cleaning Hog house and Barn manure then plowed lot. Mr. S— appraiser, came in evening. I started to clear south room.
March 29, 1923: A bright day, warm in forenoon but cold N. wind in p.m. Chas. helped Mrs. wash clothes. Will fixed incubator, finished plowing lot and got water & hauled alfalfa. I finished Alabastine south room. Rm. & Mrs. B. Ellsworth came for eggs to set hens in forenoon and Pat Langan stopped awhile waiting for Mr. Ableidinger.
March 30, 1923: A bright day and very cold N. wind in forenoon and p.m. a little warmer. The Men cut posts in forenoon and p.m. took oats to Mill to be ground and went on up town. I mopped floor in south room and varnished it.
March 31, 1923: A bright day and very cold South wind and quite strong at midday. Chas. came over and went to Knolls for hay rack and got some alfalfa and then some wood where the men cut posts. Will helped me with separating and then covered arm chair and in p.m. they drove 3 hogs to Spencer and the mill and to Alex Wards, got ground feed at the Mill. I finished putting things in place in south room and mopped the kitchen and ironed the clothes.
A nice day but chilly. We did up work and went [to] Langans as Martie died at Lynch this 9:35 a.m., staid until 11 p.m. as they brought him home in eve.
Jan. 21, 1923
1933 Jan. 21st Saturday
Bright, nice day. I got meals and finished washing, dried them and baked bread but was all in at bed-time. Will has the Flu but managed to pump water for rinsing clothes and wiped dishes in eve but has a fever. Wm did the chores, put hay in feed-rack and went to hills to look for horses but no find so chored in eve. Fr. Martin came for night.
Jan. 21, 1933
1943 Jan. 21st Thursday
Was 8 below last night and warmer to-day, sun shone but never got above 8 above this day and some [wind] late p.m. and in eve, was an east wind before bedtime. Elsie and I got meals, I breakfast and she dinner and supper. She swept floors, washed dishes and I laid down in p.m., finished brown everyday dress for myself. Will fed chickens and He and Henry made 2 feed bunks. Henry and W.D. fed cattle, got Van Epps car to going so He went to the Stores.
Jan. 21, 1943
1953 Jan. 21st Wednesday
Bright warm in p.m., thawed so was muddy. Will and Dan went to Jiraecek’s (Joe) Sale on the Old Jesse Haisch Place 1 mi. East [of] Mosher, Mellette Co., S.D. but first they fed cattle hay. They had eats of Wieners between Bread and Pumpkin pie, then coffee and Minced Ham between Bread before they came home. Betty was up but not Calvin but he is better. I got 2 meals and am sewing on quilt blocks, played some solitaire and read in eve as Men brought mail. No one was here or at least we saw no one.
Bright, nice until towards eve a few clouds. I got meals and Will got in water so we got the clothes washed and all dried enough to bring in but colored ones. I also baked bread. Will washed dishes at noon also the breakfast dishes but I washed separator, he hung clothes out and brought [them] in. I mopped floors late p.m. will chored in eve. Seth hauled 4 loads of hay and left last one on rack for he gave other loads to the cattle. Thomas took 4 horses on dump-cart to the store, got Tom’s maintainer and maintained 9 miles [of] road, home at dark.
Another real cold night got to 14 below and was zero when I got up at 8 a.m. I got meals for Wm Abbott got Wm and Claude Van Epps and they fixed fence around stacks at Wagner Place and started to take down the feed-rakes. Wm Abbott and Whitcher came in at 8:45 p.m. last eve. Will got to Winner Monday eve from Pierre and veins are bandaged.
Sun shone but was never above 14 above so seemed real cold. I got meals and went to wood-pile but no Kindling cut so brought in long boards and Wm Abbott got an armful [of] wood in eve. He took our car home last eve and went on his horse this eve also Wm and Claude Van Epps went in their car before supper. Will’s leg was treated Saturday evening and they also tied a large vein in his left leg under the knee and shot so many times that his leg is so sore and he uses my cane to get places and laid down most of to-day but kept dressed so he ate at table. I made an upside down cake and fried beef and boiled potatoes and go to coop and take ashes to dump hole [so] that I am pretty well all in but so glad to have Will home that I feel as though I can walk. Getting coal from basement is a job also. I make so many trips now.
Was 8 above when I got up at 9 a.m. and never got more than 14 above, sun shone in p.m. and a strong N.W. wind and snow and clouds moved in forenoon at times. I got storm door for kitchen and put it on by just nailing for I was certain I couldn’t put the screws in hinges but first I got in water, coal oil, gave chickens oyster shells. Wm Abbott came in car at 10 a.m., chored and Milked, got up coal and then took Delores’ saddle and his home. He snapped some corn, went to cattle at Winter Pasture and came here at 4:45 p.m., chored, left at once for Winner for we stopped at Whiting Store last eve and Tom said Will would be at Mrs. Pritchard’s Rooming House [in] Winner this eve at 7 p.m. They never mentioned him over radio to-day from Pierre. I washed dishes, picked up things in pantry. I ate by myself this [day’s] 3 meals.
Was partly cloudy and a north breeze. I baked bread for Will went to Store to order material for feed-bunks after he fed calves in bull-pen. In afternoon Will started to make a wardrobe but didn’t know one thing how to make it out of old material such as quilt frames, Old Paper, wall-board and lumber for frame. I am too all in to move to-nite but ironed some curtains and cooked cranberries. Will quit [at] 5 p.m. to do the chores.
