Diaries - June and July, 1910; 100 Years and We Still Don't Care for the Metric System

Two of these entries are pretty disgusting. One is like a scene out of Sinclair's "The Jungle." Slaughterhouses always freak me out anyway.

The other one; well, let's just say that I am posting these unedited and in no way support all of the attitudes expressed in these diaries. I'll leave it at that.

(Edit: I was about to edit out the offending entry, but then I noticed the entry above it that sings the praises of a "good Christian influence at home" and thought the juxtaposition between the two was worth leaving it in.)

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            Fort Worth--  I came to Forth Worth last Wed morning June 22, to attend the summer normal. Am taking the first grade work, I had a time getting redy to come as I had all my sewing to do in a little over a wk. I had just been out in the country chopping. It was the first work in the field I had done in over two years, but I hadn’t decided I’de go to the normal and didn’t have any thing specially to do at home so I decided I’de go out in the country and chop cotton a while and get me a little spending mony of my own.

            I chopped cotton for a family I knew and just had bushels of fun. But that is wandering from what I started to tell. This is the first time I have gone to any size City by my self, but I got along fine. There are 225 students enrolled here. About 75 girls are boarding here at the “Ladies Home.” They are all jolly and don’t give any one time to get lonesome. Every evening after supper we all take a walk. I am rooming on the second floor with the jolliest most mischievous girl in the home. (June 26, 1910)

            I went down to the store the other day and got me a hair net. All the style now is to fix your hair in a turbon on the back of the head and put large hair pens in the sides, the hair net keeps the hair from blowing and being so easily torn up. 6/26 1910

            To day in physics class the Prof spoke of the centigrade thermometer being much handier than the farenhight thermometer, althoe the farenhight is used more. The centigrade is gradually coming into use. He said; “The school boy of 60 years ago, didn’t have to learn the metric system at all; but the school boy of today has to learn both systems. English and metric.” As the metric system is easier and becoming used more and more he thinks it very probable that the school boy of 50 years from now will have to learn the metric system only. The metric system is used very little now. Papa didn’t study the metric system when he was a school boy. Most of the text books have changed lots in the last few years. By the way, I’m about to find me a cute little fellow here. He has black eyes, black hair and is low and fleshy. How come us to ever get started; I was a little late at physics class one morning and there was a vacant seat by him so we got to talking and I just built to him. So he has come around and set by me several times in history class since then. That is all we’ve talked but I think it won’t be the last time. He sure is a “sporty old kid.” (July 1^st, 1910)

            Yesterday eve Mrs Pinnington, the dean hear, ask my self and another one of the girls to go car riding that night with her so we went and stopped in town at a picture show. When we got the Mr Hunter (my black eyed fellow) and another normal boy were there. They left before we did but it just happened they caught the same car going home that we did. When we got out of the car the boys walked with us up to the house. (Mrs Pinningtons little girl was with her.) When we got here we sit down in the swing and talked a while. (July 2, 1910)

            To day is July 4^th. I haven’t done a thing but sleep and study to day. But there was two picnics in town. Mr Hunter and my self went out the “Lake Como” yesterday eve and didn’t get back till 10.30 oclock last night and I was up till twelve the night before so I decided I’de rather sleep part of the day than go to a picnic. My, we had a “time” at Como. It is about 5 miles the other side of town. The lake is pretty and they have boats to of on the lake but we didn’t go boat riding. We stopped at the lake and ate some cream and listened to the band play a while and then went out into “Dream L and Park” It was well named I think for it was a lovely place to dream, we sat down in the Park and stayed till dusk and then came back to the lake and took a street car for home. The street cars were all fairly crowded but we did get a seat but all got in that could get standing room and then half couldn’t get on that wanted too. To day is four years a go I was at Stephensville, they had fine boys races. (July 4, 1910)

            To day a crowd of us girls we would go through the “Packing House.” The packing house is several miles (about 8) from here on the North side. One of the normal boys went to chaperone. There was four Polytechnic came to the <Union> depot and then went the rest of the way on the Stockyard car. When we got to the waiting room we had to wait 15 minutes for a guide. Finally the guide came and we started, there was about 30 to go through. We went up several small flights of stairs: and finally passed into a room where some of the meat was kept. Meat was hanging up all over the sealing, and the floor was lined with ice with some sawdust sprinkled over it. When we passed into the room we were prespiring we were so warm but before we got through we were so cold we were wishing for our cloaks.

            The men that work in those ice rooms, for there are several of them, wear over coats. But the awful sight was in the rooms were they clean cattle and cut them up. There was cows hanging up in that room all the way from cows jest knocked in the head and hung up, to the meat cleaned and redy to cut up and salt. The room floor was a pond of blood all over and men and boys by the hundreds, I guess, working in there skinning cows, cutting their throughts and so on.

            We watched them work a while and then passed on to the most cruel sight of all. In this part they were just killing hogs and calfes.

            The hogs would have a chain to their hind feet and that fastened to the sealing. They were knocked in the head and then drawn up by the machinery and a man stood there just sticking them. Some of them were kicking and the blood fairly flying some were already nearly dead. They were then dropped into a big vessel full of boiling water, some times before they had hardly quit kicking.

            Hogs squeeling, calves balling, the sight of butchery and blood and the roar of the machinery, all make a feeling of awe and horror came over one. It is wonderful the vast amount of meat they put out at that factory. They kill 5000 hogs an hr, 1750 sheep and 2000 cows. In some places we couldn’t hardly breathe for the bad scent in the air. The work was all carried on very nice thoe.

            Several girls were working in this factory. I have heard about girls working in the factories in the large cities, but I never had seen it before. I don’t see how any body can live in such a sickening degrading atmosphere as that must be.

            We went through both building the last one had an elivator in it. That was my first time to ride an elivator.

            We stopped by and saw five of their fine horses. They were bought from Germany. They asked all the way from $2000 to $5000 apiece for them, but they sure were large, and were perfect beauties. We certainly were tired when we got home, for we left about 1 oclock and got back a little after five. (July 11, 1910)

            They have prayer meeting here on Wed night just across the side walk a piece. I’ve always been used to going to the Wednesday night prayer meeting. So last Wed night when they began to sing, I just couldn’t study it made me think of home so much. I said I sure was going to quit my studying and go to the next prayer meeting and so I did. I enjoy nearly all the Christian services and am thankful for the good christian influence at home. (July 20, 1910)

            There was a prize fight in Nevada on the fourth of July, a white man, Jeffries and a negro Johnson, the negro whipped and they say the negros have given the whites trouble in several parts of the state since then. (July 1910)

            The election day seemed more exciting this year than usual. The main issue being “state wide prohibition.” The anti Gov was elected thoe. (Colquitt) (July 1910)