Daily Reminder

Memory... is the diary that we all carry about with us.
Oscar Wilde


It's 1919, my maternal grandmother, Nora is 26, my future grandfather, Gordon is 29. He just got his First Officer papers for the coastal coal hauler, 'Corsica' . Unfortunately courtship with him, 'GCH' seems to be hitting a snag, there's talk of disagreements and her inability to see it his way.

But...

Nora eats endless candy, fudge and drinks ice cream sodas, remaining slim at a noted 108 lbs. She always reports the weather, first line, every day. She's a stenographer for a regional manager at the Waltham Watch Company. She goes to work where the office temperature reaches 92 degrees in July. She takes in movies and shows, sews, embroiders and eats out every meal. She rents lodgings in a house, no household chores or cares for our Nora in 1919. Aunt Lill sends homemade doughnuts from Eastport and Nora always eats two right after opening the box, 'delicious'. The Hansons visit often, Abby brings apples. Trunks are packed and shipped to Eastport for vacation. She travels on the Eastern Steamship Line, Downeast and digs baskets of clams for supper from the Lubec flats. There's always blueberry cake.

The 'crowd', the 'gang' gets together, stays together always, in both Maine and Massachusetts. The sea is the connection, the highway that keeps them together.

Back in Massachusetts she takes street cars to Somerville, Boston and around. She canoes on the Charles and learns to paddle in the moonlight, 'eaten alive' by mosquitoes. She rides the merry-go-round at Norumbega Park and takes a sail to Nantasket. They take in the beach and amusements at Paragon Park. An adventurous four hour trip under sail to Provincetown for lunch at the Atlantic House leaves her head feeling 'funny' after the return trip. It 'rains pitchforks', she takes 'snaps' and 'it's dark as pitch' some days.

She gets the giggles.


I've read through to October 1919, the handwriting is my favorite in the world, but a bit of a puzzle at times. I know I've seen 'snaps' from some of these moments now frozen in time. A young woman is whispering to me from these pages and I'm hooked. She's quite a gal, our little Nora.

My nephew, ~gj hopes to weave this into something , something for his Master's project at Queen Mary. We two have aspirations for more, I have the material, he has the talent.

For the Record,
This day came in(how my grandfather,GCH, began all his diary entries) as a gloriously warm and wonderful one, well over 65 and T is off.