1934 continued.

April.
   1. Easter, went to German Communion , The roads were muddy, dyed Easter eggs for Florence in afternoon. 5. School was cancelled all week as Miss Hangen was sick. 7. Mother's birthday. Had a music lesson. 8. Outside all day, beautiful weather. 14. Music lesson. 15. Went to Grandma Nelson's house. 17. Got new shoes--very nice.18. Broke heel of new shoe in race at school. 23. Dust storm. 25. Race and track day at school. 28. Music lesson. 30. Dust storm.
May.
   10. Terrible dust storm. 22-23. Hauled wood. 25. Put away books at school. School is out. 26 Music lesson. 29. English and science exams. 31. History exam.
June.
   1. Picnic. 3. Dust storm. Mission fest at church. 5. Plant Garden. 7. Music lesson. Had glasses fixed. 14. Dentist in Zumbrota. 15. Rhubarb at Reese's. Florence stayed overnight at Margaret's house.17. Harlan Albers Birthday party. 21. Glory, Glory Hallelujah! I passed my exams. Got letter in the mail. 23. Music lesson and dust storm. 29. I graduated from Eighth Grade. 225 students attended ceremony in Red Wing.
July.
   3. Cut Rye. 4. Picnic at our place--Ice Cream. 6. Hoed thistles. 7. Hauled Hay. 8. Hauled Hay. 19. Florence's Birthday--2 years old. 22. So hot we slept outside. 108 degrees. 23. Slept outside. 106 degrees. 28. Music lesson. Cut grain in P.M..
August.
   3-7. Threshers are here. 15-16. Canned corn, plum jelly and peaches. 21. Canned corn, green beans, peas, and apple butter. 22. New Sear's Catalog arrived. 27 Canned green beans. 28 Started to fill silo, made Jam.
   The dust storms continue. I remember that once we drove by an area where there was a clay pit for the Red Wing pottery, and she remembered people working there who lived in tents and cars. Didn't realize that passing you final exams meant that you could go to High School. If you didn't pass, your education was over. Seems that there was plenty of work on the farm in the summer, that probably explains the fewer entries in the diary. 
 

1934 Diary

On December 22, 1933, Eleanor received a diary from her Sunday School teacher. 1934 was the first diary that I have found since she began the habit of keeping a diary. There are many gaps in the years, maybe I will be lucky and find more. I have decided to add the material in these diaries to this blog in hopes that children, grand children, and great grand children will gain some appreciation of Eleanor.
1934: January.
   Early January entries are mostly one word per day and describe the weather: nice, sleet storm, cloudy, snow, foggy, and the occasional beautiful day. 15 School begins with a new science book and a book to read "Uncle Tom's Cabin".16 Edna has the measles. Little did Eleanor know how much of an impact this event would have over the next several weeks. 17 Ben Franklin's birthday. 18 Daniel Webster's birthday. 19 Florence is 11/2 years old, Robert E. Lee and Edgar Allen Poe's birthdays. 20 Sledding in the pasture. 22 Finished "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and began David Copperfield. 28 Windy with a dust storm. I missed school due to bad weather. 29 Father went to Zumbrota. 31 Mother went to Red Wing to get a driver's license.
February.
   6 I am sick with the measles. 9 All broke out, itching worse, nearly dead. Temperature 103. 10 Feeling better, I have missed five days of school. 12 Measles are awful, Lorraine came down with them. 14 Received Valentines Day cards in the mail. Lorraine is itchy and cranky. Ready to go back to school, but school is closed due to measles.20 Cold and windy, dust storms.
March.
   1 Spring like day. 5 Dust storm. 7 Went to Red Wing to pick up Confirmation dress, slip, and shoes with Margaret. 14 Lenten services, Margaret brought me home afterward. 15 Dust Storms. 17,18,21 Confirmation classes 24. Last Confirmation Class, took cloths to Margaret's house.. 25 I am Confirmed. It went well. I got a book and a scarf. 28 First Communion, received a hymnal as a gift. 30 Blizzard. I missed first group Communion at Church, and was the only one who was not there.
   I have often asked Eleanor about the Great Depression, and she has always claimed that she  had no memories of it. I was surprised by all the references to dust storms even after rain in Minnesota.  

A great visit.

   Joanne and I went to South Dakota to visit Eleanor at Barb and Keith's home. We had a wonderful time which included a fall foliage tour , and a short tour of Volin, South Dakota.Eleanor is doing well and we had a wonderful visit. She was happy and alert, and didn't seem as tired as she did when she lived in Seward. Kudos to Barb and Keith for the great job they are doing, and to everyone who has stepped up the letter and postcard writing. She loves to get her mail and hear from everyone.

Moving.

       About a month ago, my sister Barbara asked Eleanor to move to South Dakota and live with Barb and her husband Keith. Eleanor agreed, and I have been busy getting Eleanor ready to make the trip to South Dakota. Doctors visits, trips to the optometrist, and Miracle Ear, have kept us busy this month. I have made arrangements for a U Haul to pack her furniture for the move, and we have begun the process of packing her belongings for the trip. She is nervous about her decision, but remembers how much she enjoyed having her Aunt Margaret live in Mississippi with her. Change is difficult and sometimes it seems like it is easier to stay with the same routine rather that try something new. Mary Ann is coming to visit on August 24th, and will help with the packing. We plan to move on August 31. Wish us luck!

St. John's

   Eleanor's brother Howard, and sister Lorraine are both at the Red Wing Manor in Red Wing, Minnesota. Lorraine is in the Alzheimer unit, and Howard is in physical therapy after several falls put him in the hospital. The Manor is located in the old St. John's Hospital, where Eleanor went through nursing training, and gave birth to me. It has been a central location in her life.Her sister Lorraine also trained as a nurse there, and her sister Florence worked there for years
   Before she was to report for training as a Army nurse in 1942, she went to visit her grandfather Nelson in Lake City, MN. When she arrived, she found him on the floor of his home. He had been having difficulty living at home,and Eleanor was worried that he was so frail that she couldn't leave him alone. Eventually she found a doctor friend who would admit him to St. Mary's in Red Wing. She left the next day for nurses training in Iowa, and was notified the following day that her grandfather had died at St. John's. She was comforted by the fact that he did not die alone in his house.Now with Howard and Lorraine both at the Manor, she feels a sense of concern but also comfort that they are in a place familiar to her and her family.

Update.

   Eleanor seems to be doing well since her surgery last Thursday. Thanks to Barbara, who came to Seward on Friday and Saturday to provide support and assistance to Eleanor. Yesterday, Eleanor played Farkle, a dice game, in the activities room. Her friend Evelyn told her it was a waste of time, but Eleanor had a good time, and it's better than sitting in ones room. Thanks to Jill for the wonderful card with the cat in the hammock She has it placed on her table and comments on how nice it is every time I visit. Thanks to Mary Ann and Nette for the cards and phone calls. Eleanor loves to get mail and enjoys all the cards and notes she gets.
   Her surgeon called her two days ago to ask how she was doing and if she was taking her antibiotic pills. That really impressed her! Donna Meeks, Eleanor's sister in law, called and asked if Eleanor was doing well; she had a sense that she was not well--" a disturbance in the force?" We had been praying about the surgery, so maybe Donna was on the same channel.
   She received a letter from Bryan Hospital informing Eleanor that the information and I.D. card for new pacemaker should arrive in about one month. That was news to me, as I was under the impression that she was only having a battery replaced. Thanks to everyone for your prayers and cards!

part II

   Just talked with the Doctor. Everything went fine. She will probably be discharged to go home this afternoon, and we can go back to Seward.