~ Hidden Timber, South Dakota
September 13, 1926, Monday: Bright, cool and cloudy, no rain. Miss Clara Doane went to school and came home at noon as Schmidts and Violet Allen cleaned the school-house, so Miss Doane helped me cook for threshers as Pat Karens and Jay Tate brought their machine this morning. Those that helped were John Wisenberger, Al Harris, Joe Mustang, Joe and Tom Colombe, Henry Arcorne, Curt and Abe Elshire, Ed Anderson, Lew Lattimore, William, George and Will and Fred Menz.
September 13, 1927, Tuesday: Bright, hot and oh such a strong wind from south and S.W., one could hardly go.
September 13, 1934, Thursday: Warm in the night, lovely forenoon, a north breeze and clouds in S.E. in p.m., but no rain here. I cut the beef Noble gave us last evening, and Maggie ground hamburger and salted it, and she fried 3 gallons and gave Ben, who came for the rake, some hamburger and boiled bones, and he got 2 loaves of bread.
The men stacked thistles on Noble’s, and Elmer and Fritz went to the store and to Tates in the evening, got cream and groceries. Fritz took Ben’s inner tube back to him on horse-back in the evening. Mr. Chauncey and Billie mowed and raked hay in N.W. hills. I fixed over my everyday blue and tan dresses. Maggie and I churned butter in evening.
September 13, 1944, Wednesday: Sun shone and was a beautiful day, got a little warm in p.m. in the sun. I got breakfast quite late as we got in at 2:30 a.m., but we were ready for Valentine before 11 a.m., so Will and I got ready and to town we all went, had dinner at Auditorium and wen to Fair Grounds.
We all waited a long time this afternoon for Gov. Dewey, New York State, and his party to come to McKelvie Ranch, but they finally got to Fair Grounds about 4 p.m., so Rodeo was on. Dewey, Presidential Republican Nominee for President, just thanked folks for the reception, there wasn’t any speech of politics. Large crowd of folks and so many cars. During the long spell of waiting for Dewey, the announcer said there was a prairie fire at the Adolph Nollette Farm near Sparks, Nebraska, so several car loads of men went to help put it out, as there were only 2 families at home out there, but soon the men came back and the fire was out.
Dewey, Mrs. Dewey, Mr. McKelvie and a chauffer rode in an open car. A soldier carried an American flag in the lead on horseback, then 3 or 4 cars of Dewey’s Party, then horsebacks, some Indians, 50 horsemen with flags called Dawson County Nebraska Plum Creekers, more horsemen of the Cherry County type, about 100 cars followed but they never went into the grounds. We went uptown and saw Dewey’s Special Train with double-header engines and 13 coaches of Pullman Cars leave Valentine going west to Wyoming and Colorado. Dewey will talk from Denver, Colorado, where disabled veterans are in convention. These veterans are of both wars.
September 13, 1950, Wednesday: Rained in a.m. but p.m. only partly cloudy, but cold. I got eats and Will and I went in the pick-up to take salt to the cattle in Big Pasture, then on to Furreys, where we got 4 1/2 dozen eggs, 3 bushels and over wheat, and a sack of roasting sweet corn ears. Visited awhile, I with Louise and Will went to Harry and Harley on Flood Creek, where they are moving and raking hay.
Dorothy is teaching the Weaver School. Billie is at Mission High School, staying in the dormitory. Mary goes to Nelson School. They take her, as is first year. They have to go North to the Highway west o Kriz, south to school, 12 miles round trip. They take Jean Marie Chauncey, but Eleanor got them this evening. The Larson 3 girls go, so size of the school with Margaret Diez, Mission teacher staying at Larsons. R.E.A. line men put wire and transformers to Furreys’ yard today. We stopped at Hawks’ corn field to see if he would come for underground wiring, and he will come Friday.