Part of a year-long weekly series of excerpts from Ypsilanti teenager Allie McCullough's 1874 diary, from the last year of her life.You may remember that last week Allie went to Lyceum, helped out at home by washing the kitchen walls, and was approached by a Mr. Blair who asked if he could accompany her home, but she "gave him the mitten" (rejected a suitor). She also said, on watching Will leave to hunt, "Wish I was a boy."
Oct. 30 Fri. Did not go to school in the afternoon because Jennie S. did not come. Got ready and went up to the Normal with Will. Fell down on the way up there. Had a jolly good time. Got with Minnie B. and C.M. Mr. Blair came and sat down with me and asked my company home. He is nice, but I gave him the mitten. Did not get home until almost one.
Oct. 31 Sat. Had a good time flirting last night. The other night when I was up to Carrie's I was coming away and something was said about going to prayer meeting. I said, "If you go, pray for me." Carrie said that Durbin said he never would respect me again for that. No love lost but he shall not despise me. If I know it, I shall do all in my power to make him change his mind. C. and Joe called on mt this afternoon. I went to dancing school in the evening. Lots of fun.
Nov. 1 Sun. Went to Sunday School in the morning. Minnie B. was there. Had a good talk with her. Read all the afternoon. Carrie came down about dark and went to Church with me. Seemed almost impossible to stay awake. C. stayed all night with me. Durbin has gone home.
Nov. 2 Mon. Carrie went home before school time. We have had a nice visit. Had some fun in school today and the girls have made Lane mad as hops at them. Jennie Shipman has a new calico dress. Quite pretty.
Nov. 3 Tues. Jennie S. and I went up to Carrie's tonight. Had a magnificent time. Named apples and did almost everything that could be thought of. Never had a better time. Carrie came down town with me. Did my hair up a new style today.
Nov. 4 Wed. Have got a new Beaver coat. It is nice. Four dollars a yard. Would like a new dress but cannot have it now. Have a terrible cold. Received an invitation to a surprise party down below Raisinville [Rawsonville].
Nov. 5 Thurs. Rained this morning but has grown cold. Was terrible sick this afternoon in school, bur feel better now Have written in Lydia Day's Album tonight. Jennie S. and I had a good talk this morning and I told her what Durbin said about me.
Nov. 6 Fri. Marion came up to school for me this afternoon with the horses. We took a long ride. Then I got home I had to fly around, ger ready to go to a party in the country. Laura Eaton went with us. Had a magnificent time. Danced almost every set and gave someone the mitten, every time I didn't dance. A delightful ride down.
Thanks for reading; tune in this coming Friday for another chapter!.
7 comments :
So no Halloween high jinks for Allie & Carrie, I guess. Maybe Halloween was not a big holiday in the midwest. I always marvel, however, how much fun Allie continually had -- all in the absence of internet, TV, radio, automobiles, etc. Seems like Ypsilanti, though a small town, really contained everything important for a fulfilling life -- even a dancing school!
Is it possible Allie really meant Raisinville? There is a Raisinville Township in Monroe County, and based on this map, there was a railroad station there. It would be a long trip for a surprise party, but possible.
BTW, the map linked above is filled with silly illustrations - a picture of Ben Franklin next to the town of Franklin, a lock near Yale, a chicken near Fowlerville, and a glass of wine near Temperance.
Lisele: You know, I didn't even notice that, you're right--no whisper of Halloween. But then when I researched my Halloween stories, I was checking papers from 1840...and the *first* halloween story I saw at all was not till 1877--three years after this diary. And even then it was fairly low-key. So at this time it seems it was not a big deal at all, and for many years after 1877 it was mostly just a few quiet house parties in town, no trick-or-treating, certainly no "second biggest commercial holiday after Christmas" as today, a fact which still staggers me.
jml: ooooh, that is a COOL MAP!
Deserves its own post! I'll credit you for the very cool find--thank you!
Hm, you're right--Raisinville is on the rail line, whereas Rawsonville is not. It's a bit far, but not TOO far...I could have been wrong about Rawsonville.
That map is hilarious! All hand drawn. I wonder where on earth it came from == do you know, jml?
The little drawings make more sense now. They were called Postal Memory Maps, and the drawings were a memory aid:
Frank H. Galbraith, a clerk with the Railway Mail Service, developed training maps in the late 1800s to assist company clerks sorting mail on the railroads in learning complex railway mail distribution networks for civil service examinations required by the Post Office Department. His hand-drawn pictorial maps were based on the premise of associating easily recognized cultural, historical and regional icons with post office names in order to create strong first impressions when memorizing spatial relationships along various rail lines. Galbraith focused on the mid-western railroad expansion, preparing maps for eight states...
This site says the maps weren't widely published; you had to rent them.
Well, I'll be hornswoggled. Talk about a fascinating historical artifact! Definitely will make a post for it later today. So cool, offbeat, and funny! Thank you, jml!
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