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Diary. 1918

T.B.Barrett

Port Dover, Ontario

Knockfierna

From January 1st 1918 to December 31st 1918

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Tuesday January1918

About the first thing I did to Celebrate the New Year was to go to bed, all the rest of the family had retired at different times during the last evening of the old year but Enah & I had printed three dozen pictures newest of which we intend to send to Dick for his birthday and I was till nearly midnight getting the last of them washed. Today Frank and I have just done chores and sat around the house. Tupper was in for an hour or more this morning and I gave him my note for the heifer we bought from him. Aunty Alice came over to dinner but went down again soon after. Aunty came over to tea and stayed all night. Enah, Frank and I all went down to the dance in the hall to-night given by the O.D.E. I took Win & Frank got with {Dess?} to go with him. We found an enormous crowd at the hall gathering from the four corners of the county waiting impatiently for the music to start for an old time dance as was advertised. At last about an hour later a young duck from Simcoe came in and sat down at the piano. When it was discovered that he represented the entire orchestra there were marked signs of anger in the crowd, and by the time one or two one steps had been danced by about half a dozen couples the sons of the soil well just about

foaming at the mouth, however after Art {name?} went out and demanded (from poor Dr. Cook who had locked himself in the council chamber and was taking Art's denunciations through the wicket) proper music for square dances or their money back, they managed to skirmish up a fiddle and some fiddlers and callers-off and everybody got their fill of old fasioned dances. We quit about half past two. It is still very cold.

Wednesday January 2nd

Frank and I haven't done anything else but chores today and cut enough wood for tonight. I pasted some snapshots in an album to send to Dick for his birthday. Tonight I went downtown and met Marj. who came back from Haliburton tonight. She left there at six o'clock this morning and it was nearly ten when she got in tonight so she was just about all in. She says it has been down to 5 below zero up there since she went home. I got a pair of rubbers at {name} tonight for Frank and me to give Aunty for her birthday. I also went over to the James and got some wallnuts to put in the box Dad and Enah are getting ready to send to Dick on his birthday. Aunty Alice sent over some doughnuts to put in it. It has been very cold all day with quite a wind from the north.

Thursday January 3rd

This being Aunty's birthday Dad Enah & the baby went down there to dinner and to spend the afternoon. Frank went down in the morning and took down some pigeons to the {place?} He has spent the last few evenings catching them. He also got an axe handle to replace the one I broke yesterday. We did chores and he worked quite awhile trying to put in the new axe handle but didn't suceed very well I sat around and read quite a bit of the time. We started rather late to cut off a big block from the butt of the old oak but chore time overtook us before we finished so will have to finish it tomorrow. It is still down around zero but not so windy.

Friday January 4th

I have done nothing else but chores today except sit around and write to Douglas and send him a checque to pay off my note. Frank went down to the Luw's to thrash this afternoon and didn't get back till about nine o'clock tonight. His delay was caused more from visiting than working though. Dad did his chores up and it didn't seem to hurt his finger so it must be healed better. He went downtown for awhile tonight to see Aunty & Aunty Alice. It has been very much milder today and it looked like snow. There was no wind and I had to pump for the cattle

Saturday January 5th

The principal event of today was the arrival of a calf (red bull)of which Frank's heifer is the mother. Dad found it when he first went out this morning and it was covered with white frost and very cold but he got it rubbed dry and covered it up so that by noon it was quite frisky. Dad went over to John Wess's just before dinner and was there most of the afternoon. Frank went down to the mill for some feed and I spent most of the day when I wasn't doing other chores, pumping water and sleigh riding with the baby; Enah took a couple of snapshots of us at this job. Frank went downtown tonight. It has been a beautiful sunny day with no wind. It was quite hot around noon being 22 ° above zero.

Sunday January 6th

Enah and I walked down to church this morning and just about froze. Enah had to leave she was so cold. The temperature of the church was not much above freezing and we had communion and the King's proclamation regarding prayer for peace read. I went down again this afternoon and stayed to tea at Miss Kerney's. Dad said it wouldn't hurt the cows to go without milking tonight. Much milder with an ice storm.

Monday January 7th

It snowed quite a little bit during the night and as it came on top of the ice of yesterday's storm it made good sleighing. It has been very soft all day and has been flurrying snow most of the day. Frank and I went over to Jack Martin's and borrowed his hog crate and this afternoon loaded one of the young sows and took her down to Colemand Kinbee's boar but she was not ready for him so we had to bring her back. I spent about and hour this afternoon taking some pictures of the ice coated trees which are very pretty today. It was a very dull day and I took short time exposures so don't know how they will turn out. Dad, Enah and I sat up till nearly twelve tonight singing, playing & reading. I received a couple of sample copy's of "The Breeder's Gazette" today. It looks like a great magazine.

Tuesday January 8th

We got up at six o'clock this morning and got most of the morning chores done up early so that we were able to get down to the first meeting of the Short Course in Agriculture in good time. Dad's finger is so much better that he can do the noon chores we that we stayed down at Aunty's to dinner. We had a good turn out at the

Course there being about 18 {?}, and all showed a good interest in the lectures Neff gave us on Soils & Fertilizers and Insect Pests. We got home in plenty of time to do up the night chores. Enah was rather upset by news she got from Cartright today saying that {Jean Junes?} was married having done the trick on the sly. Colder.

Wednesday January 9th

Frank and I went down to the Course this morning and we had a young fellow from {Cayuga?} up to give us a talk on Cultivation but he wasn't much account. Neff also took up Fruit Growing. The fellow from {Cayuga?} said they were to have started a Short Course down there yesterday but all the boys were afraid to leave the farm for fear of being drafted as he said. The tribunals exempted them on condition that they would not go off the farm for more than three days. This afternoon the class went up to Ham Thompson's to judge poultry but as I found out from Huby that Jack Ivy had a car of coal in and that we could get a ton if we came after it right away I came home and Dad and I went down and got a ton. We were very lucky to get it as the car was nearly empty and there is no betting when there will be any more in and we were just out. Tonight Fran and I went down to Aunty's for tea where Win, {Like?, Dess?} and Marj. were also assembled so we had a very pleasant evening. Not so cold but rather blustery today.

Thursday January 10th

Frank and I were down at the Short Course all day. This afternoon we tested whole milk for butter fat. i took down a Sample of Elgitha's milk and it tested 3.3% which Neff said wasn't bad. I only took the milk from her front quarters and didn't get to the strippings which would make it go higher. I got my film from Billy Gordon to day and tonight Enah and I printed pictures. The ones I took of the ice covered trees were pretty good. Not cold rather windy. Dad sepurated the new calf from his mother today.

Friday January 11th

Frank and I went down to school this morning and had Feeds & Feeding and Bacteriology and this afternoon most of the class came over here to judge our sheep. Tupper's & {Stau?} Lowrie's law suit came off this afternoon and Frank heard when he was down tonight that Tupper lost his suit and {Stau?} got $6.00. Frank went down to the Red Cross dance tonight