In 1934, Minnie Gladwyn Conklin, a farmer's wife, began keeping a daily journal --- a journal she would continue for the next nineteen
years. We've read through her journal for 1940, one day's entry at a time, and discussed them in another thread. This new thread will be dedicated to
Minnie's diary for the new year - 1941. I'll start with a bit of a recap:
Born November 27, 1867 in Sackets Harbor, New York, a tiny settlement on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, Minnie Adelia Gladwyn was the daughter of a carpenter. She briefly taught school - then attended a music conservatory - before being married on June 2, 1897 to Herbert C. Conklin and moving onto his family farm in Hounsfield, a village in northern New York. Bert and his brother soon built a large double house for their wives and expected families. By the early '30s, Minnie and Bert Conklin were sharing it with their adopted son, William Bell Conklin, his wife, Doris, and their three children, Elaine, Leonard, and Roland. The Conklin farm was a dairy operation, set on 194 acres that had been in the family since the early 19th century. As Minnie and Bert grew older, their son and daughter-in-law must have become more and more active in running the farm. Minnie was widowed in 1937, but became a grandmother again later that year when Shirley was born.
When Minnie Conklin opened up a fresh new diary on New Year's Day 1941, she was 73 years old. Her oldest granddaughter, Elaine Conklin - age 16, slept in a bedroom on Minnie's side of the farmhouse, and I believe they took most of their meals together, too. The diary was transcribed several years ago by another grand-daughter, Shirley. Would you like to read it along with me? I thought it might be neat to see how an "ordinary" woman experienced everyday life in the 1940s...
Wednesday, January 1 - New Year's Day
Another year opens fairly good for all of us. Am especially thankful for myself and for the rest who are dear to me.
With war raging in Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic, Minnie's greeting to the New Year is understandably subdued.
Born November 27, 1867 in Sackets Harbor, New York, a tiny settlement on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario, Minnie Adelia Gladwyn was the daughter of a carpenter. She briefly taught school - then attended a music conservatory - before being married on June 2, 1897 to Herbert C. Conklin and moving onto his family farm in Hounsfield, a village in northern New York. Bert and his brother soon built a large double house for their wives and expected families. By the early '30s, Minnie and Bert Conklin were sharing it with their adopted son, William Bell Conklin, his wife, Doris, and their three children, Elaine, Leonard, and Roland. The Conklin farm was a dairy operation, set on 194 acres that had been in the family since the early 19th century. As Minnie and Bert grew older, their son and daughter-in-law must have become more and more active in running the farm. Minnie was widowed in 1937, but became a grandmother again later that year when Shirley was born.
When Minnie Conklin opened up a fresh new diary on New Year's Day 1941, she was 73 years old. Her oldest granddaughter, Elaine Conklin - age 16, slept in a bedroom on Minnie's side of the farmhouse, and I believe they took most of their meals together, too. The diary was transcribed several years ago by another grand-daughter, Shirley. Would you like to read it along with me? I thought it might be neat to see how an "ordinary" woman experienced everyday life in the 1940s...
Wednesday, January 1 - New Year's Day
Another year opens fairly good for all of us. Am especially thankful for myself and for the rest who are dear to me.
With war raging in Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic, Minnie's greeting to the New Year is understandably subdued.
