My grandmother was sixteen years old when she kept this diary. One of eight children, she attended high school while also working in the family bakery. Her older sister, Tillie, with whom she had a rivalry, worked with her. These are her excerpts, my notes are in brackets.

Feb 1st

Got up pretty early today. Filled the jelly doughnuts and carried the orders again. It’s not 9:25pm and I expect to get to bed pretty late. I got new shoes today. Paid three dollars for them. Tillie also got a pair, same price.

Feb 3rd

Got up about six o’clock. Cleaned all of the cases. The dentist did a small amount of work on my mouth today. He said he will be all done next week sometime. [Dental anesthesia had not yet be invented so work had to be done a bit at a time].

Feb 5th

It’s Ash Wednesday today. All of the Catholics have ashes on their foreheads put there by the priest. Tillie, Mary, Helen [sisters] and Pa went to the moving pictures. I received a postal from Julia saying that her brother has to enlist for the army and that her mother is sick. The girl is awful worried.

Feb 6th

Got up early and tried to clean the windows, but they were frosted and I couldn’t very well clean them. I mopped the floor and washed all of the cake stands. Joe took his lesson today and the professor said he does wonderfully good and that in a short while he’ll be a good player. [Brother Joe was taking organ lessons and would eventually attend Julliard].

Feb 7th

Got up early again. Filled the jelly doughnuts and carried the order as usual. I suppose I won’t have to put that down anymore because it is the same sing-song every Friday. I scrubbed the hall and stairs for Ma because she had so much to do. Had a fight with Tillie again for the same reason as always.

Feb 8th

Had one rush after another this morning. I dropped three dozen Charlotte Russe this morning spoiling them all. They are valued at three for ten cents. That makes $1.20 gone to waste. I now weight 112 ¾ lbs. Tillie weighs 96 ¼. [Tillie is in her twenties].

Feb 9th

Had a couple of offers to go to Business College, but didn’t take it because I know two can’t be spared at once. [Tillie is going to college].

Feb 10th

Cleaned all of the showcases. I ate too much today, most of it being candy. Tillie went to the movies. All I have to do is wait for her to come home and then to bed.

Feb 15th

Stayed up with Tillie till it was time to close the store about 12 o’clock. We washed the floors and I cleaned the two rooms a little. We got to bed after 2 am.

Feb 17th

Pa gave us hell today because we lost two hundred dollars in a month, but I think it was a mistake in the balancing of our bank account. But you can’t tell him that. He can’t see into anything.

Feb 22nd

A lady was in and said her boy coughed all the time and at last he burst a blood vessel and had to eat ice to avoid hemorrhages. That’s just the way Em got sick. [Her sister Emily died of tuberculosis].

Feb 26th

Scrubbed the floor. It got as clean as wax.

Feb 27th

Nasty, rainy day today and my nice clean floor is dirty already.

To be continued…