From cryptic entries such as these below, Days on the Family Farm was crafted. Check here for periodic updates or follow along at MayDavisDiary on Twitter.

February 1932 brings the closing of a venerable local bank and a new baby in the family.

2-1-1932 12o above at 8AM.  Snow much of AM.  Fine.  E take wash to Rosene & on to R, tho he not feel well.  Russell grind & help with chores. 

2-2-1932 Cloudy, warmer.  E not very well.

2-3-1932 Quite cold. Annetta & Russell come up in AM to help us, as E so dizzy he fell over when he went out to work.  J in before noon & again when he come from R.

2-4-1932 E better & do some chores, but Russell finish morn’s work & grind feed before dinner.  Sexton man in & CK call, also Beulah & family at eve.  Nice sunny day.

2-5-1932 10o above at 6AM.  Mr Rosene bring Mrs R to work as E not feel like going tho he do chores, and go CV to get shaved.  Take Mrs R home.

2-6-1932 E better, go R in PM.  Sunny.  Mrs Brown in few min in late PM. 

2-7-1932 (Sunday) Cloudy, few snow flakes.  E go CV about noon, & Loves P in PM. 

2-8-1932 Colder, clear, still.  E go Belv in AM.  Call on Archie.  Starr in early.  In PM, E go R. 

2-9-1932 E grind feed in AM & go to CV in PM.  Cloudy, seem like snow early, then get warmer.  Fred Davis up at eve.

2-10-1932 Rockford National Bank closed its doors. E take me for a ride in AM.  In PM, go R.  J in.

2-11-1932 Thunder shower last night, warm & windy.  Regular April showers during AM.  E & I go R home for dinner.  Get colder in PM. 

2-12-1932  Frozen up today, nice winter weather.  E get Mrs Rosene.  He go to Belv in AM.  Then on lounge with headache.  J in. 

2-13-1932 Still cold.  “Shorty” in selling burglar alarm.  J in.  We go R before 11AM.

2-14-1932 (Sunday) Annetta phone of Richard Stanley’s [to Walter & Martha] birth last eve at 10.  Still cold.  Marian, Joe & Joan call in late AM & then go to Pepper’s in our truck as their car not start.  In PM, we go to Rochelle, east to Maltas, N to CV where wire jiggled loose over rough roads & car refuse to start until fixed.  Willis Seele here at eve. 

2-15-1932 Still cold, mostly cloudy, few pellets of snow. J in for truck to get corn from Hunter’s.  E take barley to Belv in AM & roosters to R in PM.  Then grind.

2-16-1932 Awoke to find it had rained a little & frozen so slippery.  Dark & sprinkle little in AM.  E help me & do chores, then take battery to Joe to try on his car. In PM, he leave me to call on Mary J while he in R.   Fred D up at eve & bring us a ham.  

2-17-1932 E not feeling very well, but we go to Frank Davis’ to Mother’s & Daughters Club.  Quite cold.

2-18-1932 E feel about the same, some better, but he go to see doctor in PM.  I go R with him.  A nice day, some warmer.

2-19-1932  Clear early, rather windy.  Cloud over before 12.  Emily & Marie Ambrose call in AM.  In PM, we go to Whittle’s.  Annetta, Marie & Joan in just before noon & we take pictures. 

2-20-1932  E go R in PM.  J in to get truck late PM.  Nice day, tho grow cloudy. 

2-21-1932 (Sunday) Fine day.  Marian & Joan in while waiting for Joe to get chores done to go to Peppers.  Willis here in AM too. In PM we drive to Scotch cemetery, then to Roscoe, cross river & past Lyford homes & back to R by N Main Rd.  E go CV late PM. 

2-22-1932  Some cooler, windy, sunny.  E & I go to Belv in PM.  Grow cloudy & pretty cold in PM.  At eve Starr, also Rob & Maggie call. 

2-23-1932 A good sunny day, 12o above at 7AM.  In PM, Elmo go to Rob’t Henderson’s funeral.  Willis call at eve & Ed Brockman come to see him. 

2-24-1932 Warmer, tho frozen.  Cloudy, then clear during AM & fine out.  Annetta in twice in AM.  E grind in AM after returning from Perryville.  In PM, we call at Walter’s to see the baby.  Then to R.  I to Fitch’s, then across to J’s, for buzz saw. Fred D here at eve.

2-25-1932 E go to Perryville & grease saw in AM.  In PM, E, J & CK go to Gilmore’s sale & I at Mary Kleckner’s.  J’s get our truck to get bran in AM.  Fine day.

2-26-1932 We go to Zaidee’s farm for Mrs Rosene in morn.  Then E file saw some & burn along fences.  J in for truck & bring saw from home.  A fine day, quite warm, grow cloudy & sprinkle a trifle at eve.

2-27-1932 Another nice warm day.  Early clouds soon disappear.  J over & help saw for an hr in AM.  Willis here, grind while E gather up some old posts.  Willis & E saw more in PM.  Then Willis split & we go R.  W also hay cattle.

2-28-1932 (Sunday) Foggy early, but fine sunny day.  ChasK call in AM.  After lunch, E & I drive thru R, Byron, Stillman Valley, Davis Jc, Monroe Center, Fairdale, to Belv where we call on Allie & Asa.  E go to CV in morn to see where Lee Fitch got car wrecked Fri night.

2-29-1932 Nice sunny day, thaw quite a lot.  E go R in AM.  Willis come in PM & men put new grease in tractor, split some wood.

The winter continues mild as 1932 begins. Elmo grinds feed this month and tries to sell some hay and straw.

1-1-1932 Cloudy, snow at times.  We go to Starr’s as usual.  All there but Emily.  Have big dinner & good time. 

1-2-1932 Snow fine, a good part of day.  W breeze.  We get Mrs Rosene early.  E go CV in AM and to R in PM.  Also draw up 4 corn shocks.  Mabel come back with Elmo. 

1-3-1932 (Sunday) A nice sunshiny day, tho cold.  Mabel call at Joe’s in AM.  Beulah, August & baby here in PM.  Elmo do his chores & then we take Mabel home, leave wash at Rosene’s & book at CK’s. Will Brockman here at eve.

1-4-1932 Sunny much of day, but grow cloudy towards late PM.  E fix grinder & go CV in AM for bolts.  In PM, get coal from CV.  Snow after dark.

1-5-1932 Cloudy all day.  Dark & foggy at times.  About ½ inch of snow on walk in morn, but drizzle much of AM, tho Elmo manage to grind feed.  In PM, he go R.  Rain hard at times in PM.  East wind.

1-6-1932 Rain more last night, snow all gone.  But colder, top of ground frozen, strong SW wind.  Russell call in AM.  We go to All-day club meeting at Asa’s.  Get stuck in mud on State road going. Fred D here at eve.

1-7-1932 Still & sunny.  24o above at 9AM.  30o at 11AM.  E go to Harlem in AM. In PM, go to see if possible to sell hay at Kuharsky place, for horse sale tomorrow.  Also to Chas Anderson on Broadway & Chas Maguire, on to CV.  No sale made. Cloud over after dark & warmer.

1-8-1932 Cloudy, chilly.  Very fine snow begin to fall middle AM.  Roofs & ground quite white by 3PM.  E fix grinder in AM.  Grind in PM.  Joe in a min, as he haul gravel for his N lane.  E go CV late PM.

1-9-1932 14o above at 9AM.  Still & mostly cloudy.  E get Mrs Rosene in morn.  In AM, Hauchett look at colt.  In PM, E drive to Oliver’s. At eve he take me to Joe’s while he go to Perryville shippers supper.

1-10-1932 (Sunday) Cloudy, cold.  In PM, we drive S &W of R to Myrtle, Seward, Ridott.

1-11-1932 Mostly cloudy, warmer, 32o above at 7AM.  E & S wind.  Joe & Jay in on way for gravel.  E go R & have tooth out.  Get along fine.

1-12-1932 E take small load timothy straw to Kukarsky farm.

1-13-1932 A lovely spring-like day.  45o above in morn.  E & I go R in AM.  (I to Fitch’s) J bring over liver.  We drive on to Belv in late PM, home thru CV

1-14-1932 Some sun in AM & early PM.  Then get very cloudy & rain & freeze on things about 4PM.  J use truck in AM & E fix grinder & grind some in Am.  Go R in Pm.  Stop raining & we go to Watson’s at eve.  Very slippery, rain some while we there.

1-15-1932 Everything covered with ice all day.  Cloudy.  Temperature just about at freezing.  Mrs Rosene help here.  E go to CV & to Kuharsky farm, also grind feed.  Man come for 2 bales timothy straw.  CK here.  Emily & Russell at eve on way to Joe’s. 

1-16-1932 Still very slippery.  Cloudy.  E go R in AM. 

1-17-1932 (Sunday) Warm & spring-like.  Muddy.  We drive thru middle of day thru R, Pecatonica & to CV.  Cooler at night.

1-18-1932 Mud frozen up.  Thaw very little, even tho sunny.  E get roofing from Perryville in AM and Willis Seele help him put it on & then grind feed in PM.  J in.

1-19-1932 Still frozen, cloudy, SW wind.  E go R in AM.  Annetta call in PM.  Thaw a little in PM.  Fred Davis here at eve

1-20-1932 Some warmer.  Thaw.  E go to Perryville in AM.  Lovely sunny day.  In PM, he go to Chappel’s in Roscoe & to R. 

1-21-1932  Warm, misty fog.  Starr stop early.  E go across to J’s to see how men putting gravel on his N. lane, awfully muddy. In PM, we go R.  So muddy men at J’s give up drawing gravel soon after dinner.

1-22-1932  Froze little last night.  34o above at noon.  Cloudy, some fog.  Raw & chilly.  E go CV in AM after we get Mrs Rosene.  In PM, go to sale near Post’s. At eve, J & M leave Joan here & Annetta & her mother are left here to help care for her while rest go to  Installation at Westminster.

1-23-1932 Snow a trifle early, then clear.  Frozen, so men draw gravel to J’s lane. Men come for colt in AM & E help them take him off.  Then we go R.  Stopping at Rosene’s for clothing for Baxter’s which we leave.

1-24-1932  (Sunday) Quite cold.  Starr here in AM, later Annetta & Emily come for him.  In PM, Rob & Maggie call. At eve, Ed & Willis Seele.

1-25-1932  A fine still, sunny day.  E go to Harlem & R in AM.  Whittles come early PM.  We all play 500 then E go to CV after they go.  Ground thaw some in PM, but men draw gravel at J’s. 

1-26-1932 Awoke to clouds & soon began to snow.  Maybe an inch fell.  Men finish graveling J’s lane.  E at J’s in morn, then to Belv.  In PM, take barley to Belv.

1-27-1932  28o above at 7AM.  E went to get Willis, but he working, so E grind alone.  About 2 PM, we go R.  Drive round to see how much gravel been put on east of Harry Johnson’s to Boone line.  Then where they just beginning to put it on towards Starr’s, south of pasture.  Has been a sunny, still day.  Thaw some of snow.

1-28-1932 A fine spring-like day.  Cloud over before dark.  E & I go to Freeport for grinder repairs. 

1-29-1932 We get Mrs Rosene in morn, then air full of mist, but grow colder thru day & tho mostly cloudy, been out a few min.  E fix grinder, go to R in AM & CV in PM.

1-30-1932  2o above at 8:30AM.  W wind, sunny.  Few cars by.  E not feel well & only do chores.

1-31-1932  (Sunday) 2o below at 8AM.  Sunny.  E not feeling any better.  We home all day.  Mrs J.W. Ralston died very suddenly.

December's dark days are mild in 1931. May & Elmo and other members of the community are helping out the Baxters, who have suffered misfortune.

12-1-1931 A fine day, tho colder.  Froze quite hard last night.  E creosoting posts & cleaning up safe.  Go CV in AM.  Annetta call in AM.  E go to CV again in PM, mail draft for Geographic & Kansas box. 

12-2-1931 White frost, nice day.  E grind.  In PM, he take me to Gleaners at Watson’s & he go on to R. 

12-3-1931 Fine day, cool but not too cold to enjoy sitting in car.  In AM, E go to CV to look for old stove, stop at McLarty’s.  Then go to Baxter’s in Love’s park.  In PM we go R.  E have tooth pulled.

12-4-1931 Snow good inch last night & not stop till about 10AM.  F Reid bring in clothing for Baxter family.  E go hunting.  E go R in truck about 11:30. 

12-5-1931 Not much cold, but windy.  We go R in PM.  Cloudy.  J use truck.

12-6-1931 (Sunday) Nice clear day.  E & I go R in PM, to Fitch’s.  Annetta & Stanley in in AM.

12-7-1931 14o above 7AM.  J in for truck.  E & I go R.  Christmas shopping.

12-8-1931 22o above at 7AM.  Partly cloudy.  We get Mrs Rosene.  E do odd jobs in PM.  Joe in at noon.  Fred Davis here at eve.

12-9-1931 Snow 2 in last night & early AM. E go R in AM.  Very slippery.  Sexton man here & have lunch, then E go to sale near Harrisville.

12-10-1931 Warmer, mist, fog, thaw.  E & I go to Belv in AM.  Willis here in PM & men grind feed.

12-11-1931 Rain last night & snow most gone by morn.  Mist some today & windy.  E go R in AM.  Home about ¼ of 2.  Willis come around 10 o’clock & take off porch & pantry screens.  Cover rose & then tear down old milk house.

12-12-1931 A lovely day, ground frozen early.  Starr in in morn.  J call in AM.  Marian in for pattern.  Willis here & men work on fence by tank.

12-13-1931 (Sunday) A blustery day, little snow.  We drive to Clinton Wisc & have dinner in Loves P.  Then to CV and to Starr’s.

12-14-1931 Snowed an inch or more last night.  Fine, sunny day.  Willis & E work on tank shed. E go CV twice.  Fred Davis here at eve.  Colder at night.

12-15-1931 A fine day, tho quite cold. Willis here work on shed.  E go R in AM.  Work on shed in PM.  J come for truck late PM. 

12-16-1931 Willis here.  Both men work on shed in AM.  In PM, Willis make the door & E & I go R.  A fine day, sunny & still. 

12-17-1931 Another nice day.  E & I go R about 11 o’clock.  Annetta & Russell call before that.  At eve, we go away, I to CK’s and E to thresher meet at F Reid’s.  Thaw quite a bit, slippery at eve.

12-18-1931 Chilly, but nice day.  E go to Perryville & CV in AM.  In PM we go R. 

12-19-1931 Snow nearly gone when we get up.  Fog.  We get Mrs Rosene.  E hang door on shed.  Then go CV. Fog lift & slightly cooler at night.  Still cloudy. 

12-20-1931 (Sunday) Cloudy, muddy.  N breeze.  Russell call in AM.  We drive N, SW of R in PM.

12-21-1931 Dark, cloudy, misty.  E go R in PM.

12-22-1931 A lovely sunny warm day.  J in for truck.  We go R in PM.  Lilah bring in contributions for Baxter’s.  Fred Davis here at eve.  When in R eve, see Beulah, call at Enoch’s, etc.

12-23-1931 Cloudy again.  Seeles stop with goods for Baxters.  Willis help grind in PM.  At eve, we go to Grange at McLarty’s.  Reid’s & EMB’s stop with eats, etc for Baxter’s.

12-24-1931 E dress chick & pack basket.  J bring potatoes & milk.  In PM, Annetta help me.  Starr come before 5PM.  All Lyfords here with gifts at eve.

12-25-1931 We go to Fitch’s for Christmas Dinner.  A nice day, some colder, ground froze quite a bit last night.

12-26-1931 Nice day.  Mrs Rosene here.  E get Jay he help dope one of our calves.  Mrs Brown call while Ruby & Ruth in R.  E go R in PM, See Dr for his stiffness, etc.

12-27-1931 (Sunday) Cloudy, but not very cold.  E & I call at Joe’s in AM. Then about 11:30, drive to Harvard for dinner. Home 2:30.  Starr call.  At eve, Joe over.  Help dope calf again, after we come from R with medicine from Dr Rowan.

12-28-1931 Cloudy.  Mistly early.  J help dope calf again in AM. In PM, E go R & get more medicine which he & J give calf, but worse in eve, so have Dr come out.  He cure her.

12-29-1931 E go CV in AM & Harlem in PM. Fred Davis here at eve.

12-30-1931 E & Joe go to Belv in AM to get our truck fixed & then E take it to Harlem for oats.  In PM, Florence & Ed here.  Chilly, E wind.  Cloudy.

12-31-1931 A rough day, strong E & NE wind.  Rain & snow at eve.  Not very cold, but ice freeze on trees & wires.  E go R.  At eve, Joe, Marian, Joan & Jay come over to see New Year come in.

 

The men are still husking in November -- some by hand and some by machine. Once that is done, Elmo is grinding corn, caring for his cattle, and running errands in town.

11-1-1931 (Sunday) A nice day, partly cloudy, but not cold, tho a white frost last night. Someone removed wagon wheel & put one of our gates across road last night.  We call at Starr’s in AM, then drive S & back to Loves P for dinner then to Asa’s & also call at R Watson’s.  Fred D here at eve.

11-2-1931 Fine day, even warmer.  Willis husk.  We go R in morn, then Elmo husk after 10AM.  We go CV at eve.

11-3-1931 Men husk in AM, finishing field by school & little on south of barn.  E get beam from J’s & in PM, they work on crib.  Marian & Joan call in PM.  We go R at eve.  Nice day. 

11-4-1931 Willis come in truck & he & Elmo haul calves home from R.  Dinner around 1PM.  Then Russell come & men husk less than 2 loads corn with machine (It brake & corn dry).  Maggie & Annetta here in PM. Fred D at eve.  Nice day.

11-5-1931 Froze ground little last 2 nights.  Cold NW wind.  Russell here husking with machine, too dry to do good job. Willis & Elmo help.  E & I go CV at eve.

11-6-1931 Heavy frost last night.  Nice day.  Husk better early as damp, but machine balk so E & Russell gone to R a short time & Willis husk by hand.  J in.  E & Willis both husk by hand in PM. 

11-7-1931 A fine still day, warmer.  We get Mrs Rosene in morn.  Willis & E husk.  J in for truck in PM.  At eve, we go R. 

11-8-1931 (Sunday) Real warm, fine.  In morn, Fred Davis call. Then we take Emily her watch.  Then ChasK call & we go to Whittle’s for dinner.  Take them to Cedarville, see Jane Addam’s childhood home, on to Monroe.  So warm men ride for sometime in shirt sleeves.

11-9-1931 60o at 8AM & 72o at 3:30 PM.  SW wind, grow some cloudy in PM as it has done nearly every day lately. Both men husk.  We go CV at eve.

11-10-1931 Cooler, cloudy.  Willis husk all day.  Elmo husk in AM & he & I go R for short time in PM, then he husk.  Nice still day, clear off at eve. 

11-11-1931 Rain a little last night & misty early once in AM, rain few min.  But both men husk until about 2:30 when rain stop them.  J in for truck & to return it.  At eve Fred D here, warm.

11-12-1931 Rain much last night, thunder & lightning too.  This morn still warm & clear early, but soon cloud over, tho sun shine out once & twice.  Grow colder in PM.  E go R in AM.  Husk in PM.

11-13-1931 Heavy frost last night, but a lovely day, not cold, still & clear.  E go to Tiskilwa with CK.  Willis here till 2 PM, finish husking at noon.  Russell take Joe & Marian, Lilah, Marjorie & Robert P to Madison. Annetta B come for Wedja board.

11-14-1931 Rain hard last night & off & on thru day.  We go Rockford, I to Fitch’s. 

11-15-1931 (Sunday) Mist early.  Fred D here in morn.  Cleared off thru day. We drive thru Fairdale, Kirkland (between see fallen airplane).  Dine at Genoa.  Call on Archie, Frank & Mamie.

11-16-1931 A lovely day.  Warm.  70o in PM.  Elmo take part of grinder to CV & T Haley help fix it.  Then he grind feed, put some cloth glass in hen house & go to L. Park & Harlem.

11-17-1931 Rain most of day, some times hard.  Franseen here in AM, also CK.  E go R. 

11-18-1931 Warm, sunny AM.  Cloudy PM.  J in.  Elmo put away some machines.  We go to Belv & R in PM.

11-19-1931 Partly cloudy, quite warm.  E grind feed & about 11, we start for Princeton & Tiskilwa.  A fine trip, home about dark.  Fred D here.  J come over bringing out old pig.

11-20-1931 Rained last night again & more all morn.  No cooler.  Elmo go R about 10:30.  Rain hard at times towards eve & until about 8:30PM.  Wind blow.  J stop in for pickles to take to Grange as we not go.

11-21-1931 Little cooler & cloudy.  E & I go for Mrs Rosene.  E go R in AM.  J in for sausage grinder.  Elmo fix radio aerial in AM & we use 1st time since last spring (except for few days in summer).  Take Mrs R home & drive round by State Rd.

11-22-1931 (Sunday) Rain last night & some thru day, cloudy all day. Marian & Joan bring gowns over in AM.  We drive thru R & Pecatonica (there get dinner) to Durand, where call on Sodaman’s.

11-23-1931 Rain some last night, warm.  69o above at 12.  Rain in showers thru out day.  E go R to get lumber from silver plate factory.  S wind.

11-24-1931 Cooler early & get much colder as day lengthen.  30o in PM & ground freeze.  Hard W wind, radio wire broke last night.  E & I in R all AM, E get coal & posts from CV in PM.  Marian in.

11-25-1931 20o above at 7AM.  Cold but still & fine.  E get Mrs Rosene to help me.  He grind feed & go R in PM. Fred Davis here at eve.  J in.

11-26-1931 (Thanksgiving) Still cold, sunny early.  Soon grow cloudy.  Emily help me with dinner.  All here, even Annetta & Anna Lyford.  At eve, we take food to Baxters.  CK & Mary go with us.

11-27-1931 Another fine cold day.  Grow some cloudy in PM.  E & I get Mrs R to help clear up.  E get 2 loads old bricks from silver plate factory  & put in barnyard.

11-28-1931 Very chilly.  Mist a little.  All cloudy, look like snow.  We go R.  I to Fitch’s. 

11-29-1931 (Sunday) A nice day.  Mr Seele here in AM.  We take Ed & Florence to Sodaman’s to dinner.  Drive in to Everett’s.

11-30-1931 35o above at 7AM.  Grow cloudy.  E go R.  Marian in with Joan in PM.  Fred Davis here at eve.