My grandmother was sixteen when she kept this diary. One of eight children, she attended high school while also working in the family bakery. Her older sister, Tillie, and younger brother Joe are mentioned.

March 1st

The news that Dr. Freidman is making his second trial of injecting the serum of turtle’s blood into the human being to kill tubercular germs is now the latest news. If this second trial proves satisfactory, he will give the secret out to all the doctors to be spread far and wide. He is offered millions from people of wealth if he will only cure their people. One man will give $1,000 for the cure of his son-in-law.

March 2nd

There are new nickels going into circulation. They have an Indian head on one side and a buffalo on the other.

It’s awful windy outside. The peoples’ hats fly off and the ladies’ dresses go up. You can see sights to behold.

March 3rd

Brownie, our dog, and a strange bulldog were fighting in the store. I took a broom and hit them till they stopped. Papa came out and spilt (sic) water over the bulldog and then he ran away.

March 4th

President Wilson is inaugurated today and it is a lovely day out. Went to the Odeon and had a fine time. Every Tuesday is prize night and among the prizes given were a live dog, a live chicken, baskets of apples, etc.

Tillie’s music teacher borrowed $5 from us and instead of paying it back will give Till and Joe their lessons for one month. Tillie pays 75¢ per lesson. Joe pays 50¢.

March 5th

Tillie is thinking of giving up her music teacher because she has the idea that he will continue to borrow money.

March 6th

Got new corsets yesterday, paid 69¢ for them. They are the cheapest pair I ever had. I generally pay $1. Once I had a $2 pair and they lasted just as long as the dollar ones.

March 7th

The rumor about Dr. Freidman is false. He disappeared when he was supposed to prove himself. Many people committed suicide on account of him.

March 8th

The rumor about Friedman is not false. He cured about ten people. One had a tubercular kidney, another had a tubercular knee, while a third had pulmonary tuberculosis. He injected this so-called serum and they are improving.

March 9th

Took a walk from about three o’clock to six. I felt so good after it. Today you could see the daisies open on the bush.

March 10th

I scrubbed the floor at night this time. I scrubbed it extra clean. I wrote out checks for Papa until 11:15pm, by the time I got undressed and everything it was midnight.

March 11th

Our cousin had blood poison in the face and was operated on three times. He had three doctors. He died in the hospital in Brooklyn. His face can’t be shown to anyone until the day of the funeral. He was operated once on the cheek, once on the chin, and a few times inside the mouth.

March 12th

We’re having lovely weather today, not too warm or too cold, just right. I didn’t do much cleaning today.

March 13th

Papa went to the funeral today. When he came home, he said that there were about five hundred school children to see the boy. Papa said his face was awfully disfigured.

March 14th

Went to the Belmont Square moving pictures, and they were rotten. We only saw three pictures, and one was just slides, the other you couldn’t understand, while the third was pretty good.

March 15th

I got up about half past eleven, and went to bed about 2 am. It was raining again and everything was dirty and sticky. As business is slow on a rainy day, Tillie and I sat behind the counter and embroidered on a pillow top.

To be continued…