Diaries: April and May, 1910

"I always did like to be with boys that were a little fast and inclined to flirt (not too fast thoe)"

I guess some things are just in the genes :-) 

In this block she passes her teaching exam, flirts a little, and tells a questionable story about an "infadell."

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            To day is my 19^th birthday it doesn’t seem possible to think I am 19. I went to the Ladies Foreign Missionary Society this eve. As it was a business meeting and I am secretary. We took Korea as a study and there was several good places, read about the work the missionaries are doing there. They are working to get 5,000,000 of the heathen brought to Christ this year and have set apart the 20^th of this month for all Methodism over there and in America to spend in prayer. (April 11, 1910)

            An old lady was here to day taking the census and I learned some thing’s I didn’t know about my ancestors.

            My Great Grandfather Gray was 81 years old when he died. He was born in North Carolina. My Great Grandmother Gray lived to be 63 years old and she was born in Tennessee. My Great Grandmother Wheeler was about 70 when she died. My Grandmother Wheeler was born in Tennessee, she is 71 years old now. Grandpa Wheeler was born in Alabama, he died at the age of 69 with parylasis. Mama was born in Tennessee and died when I was eight years old at the age of 32. Papa was born in Missouri, he was just about 3 or 4 years old when the Civil War came up I think. Grandma can tell lots of things that happened during that war that seem most unreasonable for human beings to be cruel enough to treat one another that way. I don’t know much about Mother’s people as they nearly all live in Tennessee and Mississippi and she has one brother living in Florida and a Bro and Sister in Texas. Her Bro in Texas is the only one of her folks I’ve seen, he is my favorite Uncle. (April 15, 1910)

            I believe I’ll tell a story here. Once while there was a big camp meeting going on at a certain place. Three or 4 boys out of a community about 12 miles distance, decided to go up to the camp meeting just to be going and have some fun. So they went and stayed two or 3 days but during the time some of the boys were converted. One was a boy whose father was an infadell. The news reached his home before he got there, that he had been converted. He knew he would have trouble when he got home; and sure enough when he went in home about dinner, he saw 5 or 6 big switches over one of the doors in the gun rack; and he knew at once what these were for. He went to the field and worked that evening, and when he came home at night, he went out in a little plumb thicket close to the house, to pray for the Lord to help him bare the whipping he knew his father would give him. While he was praying his father came up with the switches, and began to whip him. He took his whipping and that night at bed time, he asked his father if he could get the Bible and read a chapter and pray in the family. His father sullenly replied he didn’t care how much he prayed. So he read and began to pray and while he was praying he mother and one of her sisters was converted. After prayers his father went and got a lot of his infadell books, and put them in the fire saying there was a greater power in that than John.

            John made a preacher and this John was my Great Great Grandpa John Wheeler, his son, my Great Grandpa was a preacher and my Great Grandpa Gray was a preacher. (April 15, 1910)

            Three years ago to day the school was out at Duffman. We had two days and nights for the closing. The closing was conducted in the Tabernacle and it was a larger one. All the people couldn’t get under the Tabernacle that were there that night. I said a great long speech (prose) about a boy and girl taking in the garden they were fixing to <  > away and marry and the girls father was dead and their fathers and mother were fixing to marry too, but didn’t know it. The title was “The Garden Plot.” That was the last time I’ve recited. On Sat every body came and stayed all day. It was a regular picnic day. There was lemonade and icecream stands on the grounds and there was 16 of us girls played Bascet Ball in the eve, 8 wore red waists and white skirts and 8 wore blue waists and white skirts. I never saw such a crowd at a common picnic I don’t believe, as there was gathered around that ring to watch us play ball. The ball couldn’t get out of the ring any where with out bouncing over the people’s heads, the people were so close together. Prof Branlet our teacher, empired. I was a “blue.” The reds beat us 2, we had 6 and them 8. But the professor said he would let us play 40 minutes, but he didn’t let us play but 30, he said we were getting too hot. Most every body thought thoe he was afraid the Blues would beat. After our we got through Mr <Herring> treated us all to ice cream.

            One of the Duffan boys and me went driving that eve. I liked him the best of any of my fellows then, but papa didn’t want me to keep company with him, so it was exactly a year from that day till I saw him again on May 17 the next year was Sunday and he was at church at Duffan and walked home with me. We quit being Sweet Hearts a good while ago but are just good friends, and I got a post card from him today. May 17, 1910

            I took the May exam this year and passed. That was Bralley’s first set of examination questions. I also took the last set of question <Couserrs) made. I had quite a time studying for examination as I had all the work at home to do and couldn’t get to school. I learned several rules in spelling and several topics in history by reading them over when I’de start to wash dishes or washing clothes and learn them while I was busy. May 9, 1910 <19>

            Hally’s commet can be seen now. All the news papers are full about it. They say this is the first time the Earth has been in it’s tail in years and years. Some man also said it would go through the Earth on May 18 and burn the world up, but I see it didn’t. (May 27)

            One of the boys I met at the normal last summer, Cephas Thompson came down on the evening train Sunday eve and stayed till Monday morning. He taught school last winter and as I’m preparing to teach of course, we had an interesting time talking of school affairs. And I showed him the questions that were on the last examination.

            My! He’s about to capture me althoe he is not trying very hard. But I do think he is very hansome and manly.

            He had on a little straw hat, patten leather slippers, a light suit and had a ring on his little finger. He looked pretty good to me.

            I never will for get what I thought of him the first time I saw him. He started to the normal a wk or two later than nearly every one else. There was a vacant desk a cross the isle from where I was setting and he came in and sat down in it. I looked him over and said to my self: “He’s pretty good looking I wonder if he is married, I guess so thoe, very few boy’s as nice looking as he is escapes being captured till they are grown.” But I didn’t think about him ever going with me. In fact, I didn’t think any more about him, till one of the boys began to tease me about him, along toward the last of the normal, and said, he said I was the best girl going to the normal.

            It wasn’t long till he told that boy to ask me if he could take me to a concert at the school building. And so that was the first time he went with me. That night he carried my fan off in his pocket and the next day I ask him if he didn’t carry off my fan and he said “yes, I thought if I couldn’t get you I would take your fan.”

            But what made it so funny my old chum’s fellow and Thompson were bording at the same place; and he went with her to the concert and carried off her fan too, and when she said something to him about her fan he said exactly the same thing too her, and we never knew they had it made up.

            I didn’t suppose I would ever see of hear tell of Mr Thompson any more but when the normal was over he wrote and came to DeLeon once before his school began last fall.

            But he is a little bashful. I always did like to be with boys that were a little fast and inclined to flirt (not too fast thoe) But I know they are not the most sensible boys nor they are not so apt to make a success in life. Grandpa says I won’t like a boy that has any real worth about them. (May 23, 1910)

            To day Bro Evens (the Methodist preacher here) had an “Old Folks Service.” There was quite a number of old folks there. Several were there whose silvery hair, bowed form and tottering step tell they are bordering the edge of the grave. I love old people. I guess it is because I was mostly raised by my grandma and grandpa. Bro Evens closed the prayers and got out the old hymnbook and conducted the service in the “Old Fashioned Way.” Bro Evens would read two lines and then they would sing them. They sang “Amazing Grace” and “I am bound for the promised land” and so on. Those old people enjoyed the singing; thoe their voices were some of them broken they nearly all sang. Grandma said after we got home, she did like the bishop. She “joined in tune or no tune.” It is strange how custom will change, even in worship so much in so short a time. The way he conducted that service was quite a sight to some of us younger people. Then he had a regular old time experience meeting in the evening. It did everybody that was there good to hear those old people testify. And so many spoke of how they enjoyed the morning service. (May 29,1910)