Text
Lenna Baker (1882-1953)
1901 Diary
Transcribed by Rural Diary Archive volunteers
Lenna A. M. Baker,
{Blank page}
{Blank page}
{Sketch of the Union Jack flag in red and blue on a pole; pole is on right side of flag; flag is at the top
of the pole} {The following inscription is done in red and blue lettering}
Diary
Lenna Baker,
Jan. 23rd, 1901.
1901.
Jan. 23rd: Queen Victoria died Jan. 22nd, 6.55 in the morning The Queen is dead. "Long live the
king." F. S. & L. B. {the letters F and B are in blue pencil; S and L are in orange}
Jan. 24th. Report corroborated in all newspapers. M & B.H came.
Jan 25th. Stay at school for dinner. Mrs. Law was buried.
Jan 26th Went down to Mr Hare’s & to Jarvis in afternoon.
Jan 27th. Went to Jarvis church, decorated with flags reversed. Came home.
Mar 4rd. School as usual.
Mar 5th Went to the reception. Got home at 4.30.
Mar 6th. Rather sleepy.
Mar. 8th. Stayed all night with Marnie.
Mar. 9th. Went over to the store at Renton. Invested in some hair pins. Went on to Mr. Nixon's for a
little while, then home.
{A dried sprig of cedar is lying at the bottom of this page.}
Mar 10th. Stayed at home
Mar 13th. The two Miss Shands & Willie in in the evening. Awfully sleepy.
Mar 15th. Mr. Nixon & Alfred Bauslaugh in after shcool. We went down to Shands in Dover at night.
Met Presby - preacher & his wife. Willie's birthday.
Mar 16th. Finished my violet centrepiece.
Mar. 17th. St. Patrick's Day. Wore my sprig of green. Went to Dover Church in the morning. Over to
J. Shand's after dinner. Minnie & Bruce Hair & Alfred Bauslaugh came over with us to tea.
Mar. 18th Mud and clay, Clay & mud. Danced the turkey dance & had squaw wrestle before we went
to bed.
Mar. 19th. Wallace came into school for a few minutes on way home from Selkirk & Cheapside.
Mar. 20th Rain, snow & mud.
Mar 22nd. Went home. John Brock died. Only 50 first cousins left.
Mar. 23rd. Went to town about 8 o'clock. Heard from V. Lowry. Got a pair of rubber boots. Wrote to B.
Reid & B. Austin.
Mar. 24th. Went to church Mrs. {Udell} came home with us. Father & Aunt Ann brought me down
Sunday afternoon. Took us two hours.
Mar. 25th Went up to Evans' at night.
Mar. 29th Read ‘The Chautauqua Girls at home’ & ‘Judge Burnham's daughters.’
Mar 30th. Nothing
Mar 31st Went to woods with Flossie, Marnie & Charlie. Found buds on hepatics and picked the first
{bradle}. Over at J Shand's for tea. Mr & Mrs J. Hare there too.
Apr. 1st. April Fool's day. Wasn't fooled once. Finished "The Days of Bruce."
Apr. 2nd. Flossie over with her grandmother to-night. Rennie unusually aggravating. Tired & sleepy.
Apr. 4th. Last day of school.
Apr 5th. Went to church in morning.
Apr 6th Went to town. saw Aunt Mary. got several new dresses. got pictures taken
Apr 7th Went to church.
Apr 9th. Went to Maple Sugar Social at Trinder's. Awfully slow
Apr 10th. Went to town. To Maskelyne's for tea.
Apr 11th. At Bowlby's for tea
Apr 12th. Maggie Brown buried.
Apr 13th. Went to town
Apr 14th. Went to J. Shand's in afternoon
Apr 15th. School begins.
Apr 16th. Went for flowers Found some hepaticas
Apr 19th. Walked part of the way home. Went to Bowlby's to church meeting at night Snowing when
we came home.
Apr 20th Snow over a foot deep and still snowing.
Apr. 21st. Raining. Snow all slush. Drive Kindergarteners to church Down to J. Shand's in afternoon.
Apr 22nd. Reading ‘The story of an African Farm.’ Rather odd book.
Apr. 23rd. Got a letter from Ida. Willie & Marnie brought it out at night.
Apr 25th. Went to woods for flowers with Clare & Ella Brearley, Charlie & Lot Shand. Found quite a
few hepaticas & some blood-root. Awfully tired at night.
Apr 26th. Census man came. Miss Thyne sang for us Didn't go home.
Apr 27th. Got a ride to {Ivan's} Hollow with Shand's. Walked rest of way home. Planted a few flower
seeds
Apr 28th. Lovely day. Went to church this morning. Mil & Web came down with me & stayed for tea
We went to woods. Hepaticas nearly all gone Adder-Tongue, Spring Beauty and Hearts all out.
Apr 29th. Cut a wisdom tooth last Friday. Learning how to read fortunes in a tea-cup.
Apr. 30th. Mr. J. Shand very sick, abscess in throat may be dangerous, slight touch of typhoid also.
Thunder shower, lightning very bright. Mrs Nixons over at Harvey Shands. Harvey Shand here. I'm
sleeping in spare room. Everything in a muddle. May-day in England to-morrow. Reading "Burns".
May 1st. May-day. Sleep at H. Shand's. Awful thunder-storm at night. Elijah Decon's barn burnt.
May 2nd. Thunder storm while at school. Got awfully nervous like a dunce. Am at H. Shand's yet.
May 3rd. Came down to Uncle Sile's. Walked. Aunt Lizzie met me at the track. Found some white
violets
May 4th. Alice S. came home from Old Mr Synder's Wore Aunt Lizzie's new print wrapper all day
May 5th. Went to church. Roads in ruts about 2ft. deep. Choir sing coming in & going out. Very pretty
service. Text, 'Be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.' John Rodgers up in afternoon.
Went to J. Shand's at night.
May 6th. Over at Harvey Shand's till Thursday morning.
May 7th Read "Wife in Name only" & Jet, her face or her fortune." Went to woods for a few minutes
after supper & got any amount of lilies & violets.
May 8th. Read "Puzzles".
May 9th. Over at John Shand's again. Started a netted doily. Cut one more wisdom tooth, two others
cutting.
May 10th. Marnie & Mrs. Nixon went home with me.
May 11th. Went to woods in morning. Got some big violets and a few morrels. Went to town in
afternoon.
May 12th Went to St. Johns in morning to hear the bishop. Text from 14 Chap. Luke 7-24 verses.
Went to H. Trinder's woods in afternoon and to Trinity at night. Text 'Naaman and Elijah.’ Saw Mr
Smith on street. Made me feel blue for a little while.
May 13th Started test examinations.
May 16th Visitors at school Alma Johnson & Sadie MacPherson & Lee Fick.
May 17th. Went home. Went to Choral Concert at night.
May 18th Went to town. Saw Dr. Wadsworth.
May 19th Rainy. Went to Church. For morrels in afternoon. Got 2 dinner pailsful. Down to Shand's
after tea.
May 20th. Inspector at school. Not so awfully cross.
May 22nd. Circus-day. Raining and only two at school. Stopped shortly after recess.
May 23rd. Singing in afternoon. Empire Day. Walked 4 miles of the way home. {illegible} Mil. Miss
Pettit and I went for morrels after supper.
May 24th Went to town to hear Phinney's {illegible} Band.
May 25th Went to Waterford with Clara and father. Saw some fine houses
May 26th. Another rainy Sunday and cold, cold. Saw A. Dunneth at night down at Shand's.
May 27th Housecleaning & raining.
May 28th Same story continued
May 29th. Went over to H.T Shand's at nights. Evanses and Brearleys there too. Went to bed about
12 o'clock.
May 30th. Still cold and rainy but "Wait till the clouds roll by."
June 7th. Clara came down to stay over. I went home & went to lawn social at Canon Young's at
night. Made $20 clear.
June 9th Lizzie J. & Walter up. Auntie went home with them. Wallace & I found a new road down
June 10th. Went to {illegible} Monday night.
June 11th. Went home Tuesday night.
June 12th. Went to Edna's wedding. Mac's & all of us went down in a livery rig. Dressed at Aunt
Lois's and swelled out in my new white organdy. Bride looked sweet. Wore a veil and had Gladys
Hewitt as maid of honor & Zelma as bridesmaid. Almost forgot the groom & had to go back & salute
him Surprised him I guess. Went down to station & fired rice in all directions Went to McGill's at
night. Put slips in our stockings Mil drew Stranger, Pearl drew Stevenson & I drew F.H. Didn't dream
anything sensible, though.
June 13th Mr McGill drove me down early in the morning. Saw Jim Dufton.
June 15th. Walked home at night. Awfully tired.
June 17th. Went to church & wore my white dress no church for two Sundays now anyway.
June 18th Had a row with Guss as usual. All over it by night Am wearing my sailorsuit.
Apr 15th - 19nd $1.50
Apr 22nd - 26th $1.50
Apr 30th - May 3rd $1.50
May 6th - May 10th 1.50
May 13th - May 17th 1.50
May 20th - May 24th 1.50
May 27th - May 31st $1.50
June 3rd - June 7th $1.50
June 10th - June 14th $1.50
June 17th –
_____________________
Aug 19th - Aug 23rd $1.50
Aug 26th - Aug 30th $1.50
For more information on Lenna Baker, check out the “Meet the diarists” section under
“Discover” on our website: ruraldiaries.lib.uoguelph.ca
1901 Diary
Transcribed by Rural Diary Archive volunteers
Lenna A. M. Baker,
{Blank page}
{Blank page}
{Sketch of the Union Jack flag in red and blue on a pole; pole is on right side of flag; flag is at the top
of the pole} {The following inscription is done in red and blue lettering}
Diary
Lenna Baker,
Jan. 23rd, 1901.
1901.
Jan. 23rd: Queen Victoria died Jan. 22nd, 6.55 in the morning The Queen is dead. "Long live the
king." F. S. & L. B. {the letters F and B are in blue pencil; S and L are in orange}
Jan. 24th. Report corroborated in all newspapers. M & B.H came.
Jan 25th. Stay at school for dinner. Mrs. Law was buried.
Jan 26th Went down to Mr Hare’s & to Jarvis in afternoon.
Jan 27th. Went to Jarvis church, decorated with flags reversed. Came home.
Mar 4rd. School as usual.
Mar 5th Went to the reception. Got home at 4.30.
Mar 6th. Rather sleepy.
Mar. 8th. Stayed all night with Marnie.
Mar. 9th. Went over to the store at Renton. Invested in some hair pins. Went on to Mr. Nixon's for a
little while, then home.
{A dried sprig of cedar is lying at the bottom of this page.}
Mar 10th. Stayed at home
Mar 13th. The two Miss Shands & Willie in in the evening. Awfully sleepy.
Mar 15th. Mr. Nixon & Alfred Bauslaugh in after shcool. We went down to Shands in Dover at night.
Met Presby - preacher & his wife. Willie's birthday.
Mar 16th. Finished my violet centrepiece.
Mar. 17th. St. Patrick's Day. Wore my sprig of green. Went to Dover Church in the morning. Over to
J. Shand's after dinner. Minnie & Bruce Hair & Alfred Bauslaugh came over with us to tea.
Mar. 18th Mud and clay, Clay & mud. Danced the turkey dance & had squaw wrestle before we went
to bed.
Mar. 19th. Wallace came into school for a few minutes on way home from Selkirk & Cheapside.
Mar. 20th Rain, snow & mud.
Mar 22nd. Went home. John Brock died. Only 50 first cousins left.
Mar. 23rd. Went to town about 8 o'clock. Heard from V. Lowry. Got a pair of rubber boots. Wrote to B.
Reid & B. Austin.
Mar. 24th. Went to church Mrs. {Udell} came home with us. Father & Aunt Ann brought me down
Sunday afternoon. Took us two hours.
Mar. 25th Went up to Evans' at night.
Mar. 29th Read ‘The Chautauqua Girls at home’ & ‘Judge Burnham's daughters.’
Mar 30th. Nothing
Mar 31st Went to woods with Flossie, Marnie & Charlie. Found buds on hepatics and picked the first
{bradle}. Over at J Shand's for tea. Mr & Mrs J. Hare there too.
Apr. 1st. April Fool's day. Wasn't fooled once. Finished "The Days of Bruce."
Apr. 2nd. Flossie over with her grandmother to-night. Rennie unusually aggravating. Tired & sleepy.
Apr. 4th. Last day of school.
Apr 5th. Went to church in morning.
Apr 6th Went to town. saw Aunt Mary. got several new dresses. got pictures taken
Apr 7th Went to church.
Apr 9th. Went to Maple Sugar Social at Trinder's. Awfully slow
Apr 10th. Went to town. To Maskelyne's for tea.
Apr 11th. At Bowlby's for tea
Apr 12th. Maggie Brown buried.
Apr 13th. Went to town
Apr 14th. Went to J. Shand's in afternoon
Apr 15th. School begins.
Apr 16th. Went for flowers Found some hepaticas
Apr 19th. Walked part of the way home. Went to Bowlby's to church meeting at night Snowing when
we came home.
Apr 20th Snow over a foot deep and still snowing.
Apr. 21st. Raining. Snow all slush. Drive Kindergarteners to church Down to J. Shand's in afternoon.
Apr 22nd. Reading ‘The story of an African Farm.’ Rather odd book.
Apr. 23rd. Got a letter from Ida. Willie & Marnie brought it out at night.
Apr 25th. Went to woods for flowers with Clare & Ella Brearley, Charlie & Lot Shand. Found quite a
few hepaticas & some blood-root. Awfully tired at night.
Apr 26th. Census man came. Miss Thyne sang for us Didn't go home.
Apr 27th. Got a ride to {Ivan's} Hollow with Shand's. Walked rest of way home. Planted a few flower
seeds
Apr 28th. Lovely day. Went to church this morning. Mil & Web came down with me & stayed for tea
We went to woods. Hepaticas nearly all gone Adder-Tongue, Spring Beauty and Hearts all out.
Apr 29th. Cut a wisdom tooth last Friday. Learning how to read fortunes in a tea-cup.
Apr. 30th. Mr. J. Shand very sick, abscess in throat may be dangerous, slight touch of typhoid also.
Thunder shower, lightning very bright. Mrs Nixons over at Harvey Shands. Harvey Shand here. I'm
sleeping in spare room. Everything in a muddle. May-day in England to-morrow. Reading "Burns".
May 1st. May-day. Sleep at H. Shand's. Awful thunder-storm at night. Elijah Decon's barn burnt.
May 2nd. Thunder storm while at school. Got awfully nervous like a dunce. Am at H. Shand's yet.
May 3rd. Came down to Uncle Sile's. Walked. Aunt Lizzie met me at the track. Found some white
violets
May 4th. Alice S. came home from Old Mr Synder's Wore Aunt Lizzie's new print wrapper all day
May 5th. Went to church. Roads in ruts about 2ft. deep. Choir sing coming in & going out. Very pretty
service. Text, 'Be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.' John Rodgers up in afternoon.
Went to J. Shand's at night.
May 6th. Over at Harvey Shand's till Thursday morning.
May 7th Read "Wife in Name only" & Jet, her face or her fortune." Went to woods for a few minutes
after supper & got any amount of lilies & violets.
May 8th. Read "Puzzles".
May 9th. Over at John Shand's again. Started a netted doily. Cut one more wisdom tooth, two others
cutting.
May 10th. Marnie & Mrs. Nixon went home with me.
May 11th. Went to woods in morning. Got some big violets and a few morrels. Went to town in
afternoon.
May 12th Went to St. Johns in morning to hear the bishop. Text from 14 Chap. Luke 7-24 verses.
Went to H. Trinder's woods in afternoon and to Trinity at night. Text 'Naaman and Elijah.’ Saw Mr
Smith on street. Made me feel blue for a little while.
May 13th Started test examinations.
May 16th Visitors at school Alma Johnson & Sadie MacPherson & Lee Fick.
May 17th. Went home. Went to Choral Concert at night.
May 18th Went to town. Saw Dr. Wadsworth.
May 19th Rainy. Went to Church. For morrels in afternoon. Got 2 dinner pailsful. Down to Shand's
after tea.
May 20th. Inspector at school. Not so awfully cross.
May 22nd. Circus-day. Raining and only two at school. Stopped shortly after recess.
May 23rd. Singing in afternoon. Empire Day. Walked 4 miles of the way home. {illegible} Mil. Miss
Pettit and I went for morrels after supper.
May 24th Went to town to hear Phinney's {illegible} Band.
May 25th Went to Waterford with Clara and father. Saw some fine houses
May 26th. Another rainy Sunday and cold, cold. Saw A. Dunneth at night down at Shand's.
May 27th Housecleaning & raining.
May 28th Same story continued
May 29th. Went over to H.T Shand's at nights. Evanses and Brearleys there too. Went to bed about
12 o'clock.
May 30th. Still cold and rainy but "Wait till the clouds roll by."
June 7th. Clara came down to stay over. I went home & went to lawn social at Canon Young's at
night. Made $20 clear.
June 9th Lizzie J. & Walter up. Auntie went home with them. Wallace & I found a new road down
June 10th. Went to {illegible} Monday night.
June 11th. Went home Tuesday night.
June 12th. Went to Edna's wedding. Mac's & all of us went down in a livery rig. Dressed at Aunt
Lois's and swelled out in my new white organdy. Bride looked sweet. Wore a veil and had Gladys
Hewitt as maid of honor & Zelma as bridesmaid. Almost forgot the groom & had to go back & salute
him Surprised him I guess. Went down to station & fired rice in all directions Went to McGill's at
night. Put slips in our stockings Mil drew Stranger, Pearl drew Stevenson & I drew F.H. Didn't dream
anything sensible, though.
June 13th Mr McGill drove me down early in the morning. Saw Jim Dufton.
June 15th. Walked home at night. Awfully tired.
June 17th. Went to church & wore my white dress no church for two Sundays now anyway.
June 18th Had a row with Guss as usual. All over it by night Am wearing my sailorsuit.
Apr 15th - 19nd $1.50
Apr 22nd - 26th $1.50
Apr 30th - May 3rd $1.50
May 6th - May 10th 1.50
May 13th - May 17th 1.50
May 20th - May 24th 1.50
May 27th - May 31st $1.50
June 3rd - June 7th $1.50
June 10th - June 14th $1.50
June 17th –
_____________________
Aug 19th - Aug 23rd $1.50
Aug 26th - Aug 30th $1.50
For more information on Lenna Baker, check out the “Meet the diarists” section under
“Discover” on our website: ruraldiaries.lib.uoguelph.ca
