A treasured book. Tattered pages, brittle with age; so brittle that small pieces fall off with every turn of a page. Items are glued into place, some of them folded so that both sides can be seen where necessary.
The story starts with the "scrapbook" itself which is a 1926 Central Electric Company hard bound catalog. It was not new, and likely had been discarded when my grandmother, Harriet (Shookman) Kenyon picked it up and decided it would "do" as a home for her family's precious mementos that had been saved carefully over the years. The earliest writing that can be verified is that on the inside cover page and that dates Harriet's scrapbook back to at least the fall of 1934; deep into the years of the Great Depression. Money was scarce if it was available at all.
Eight children were living at home on the old Kenyon homestead farm. My grandfather, Charles Kenyon, had returned to claim back his childhood home, buying it a little at a time on a land contract in 1932 which required regular payments from little income. Charlie and Hattie were luckier than those who dwelled "in town" as the farm had 70 acres with a large kitchen garden that was needed to feed their family. They had enough produce to share with Charlie's Aunt Cora (Kenyon) Heser when he took the older children into Tomah each Monday to board with Cora so that they could attend school and for his father, Louis who lived with her.
My grandfather was able to find employment in 1935 working for the newly created Works Progress Administration as a stone mason and builder which helped to bring in a small amount of much needed cash. There often was not enough money available to buy basic, needed items, let alone something frivolous such as a scrap book. That was the tone of the day when Harriet likely picked up the several years old catalog and put it to use.
The scrapbook looked to have a utilitarian purpose at first with things such as her favorite recipes, handwritten and shared by family members and friends, glued in at the front pages of the book but ultimately became a repository for precious clippings, cards and mementos.
To look at the items in the book, they were largely glued in rough order of the years and give glimpses into Harriet and Charlie's life.
Double click any of the images to see them in a larger size.
On the inside front page, which had no printing from the catalog, Harriet recorded the 5 youngest children's shoe sizes starting in fall 1934. Shoes were purchased the next summer, then the fall of 1935, but after that went to once a year in 1936, 1937 and 1938, a stark indication of the finances of the family. Her daughter, Kathleen, told a story of a pair of shoes that she wanted so much as a child that she pulled her toes back to make them fit when she tried them on. She had to wear them for many months after that because there was not money to buy another pair. Shoes were handed down where possible to the next child. According to Harriet's records, Jimmie did not have a new pair of shoes from Fall 1935 again until Fall 1938 and it is likely that the others followed suit where possible.
After pasting in the selection of her favorite recipes, Harriet started reaching for significant mementos from her life, and from Charlie's. The Certificate of Merit was from Charlie's teacher at Pine Grove School, Jennie Shepard. While undated, Charlie left school before he finished 8th grade in 1902 at age 13.
This small fan is pasted in with Hattie's childhood memories. It carries the name of Hattie's younger sister, Bernice Shookman who died at age 8 in 1906 when Hattie was 11. This may be a memorial card from her funeral.
Theodora Sidonsel gave Hattie this "report card" in 1903 when she was attending school in Richland County, Wisconsin prior to her family's move to Warrens in about 1905.
Tucked in with the earlier documents is a sweet handmade valentine from Harriet and Charles' 2nd oldest daughter, Veva from 1926 when she was 7 years old.
Hattie joined the Comfort's League of Cousins, an organization associated with Comfort the magazine which was touted as "The Key to Happiness and Success in over a Million Homes". Subscription members received the magazine which had entertaining fiction, how-to articles, a Q&A help section in which Uncle Charlie would answer questions mailed into him, and the availability of pen pals. The League of Cousins was aimed at youth and young adults. A similar group existed for married women. The magazine was published starting in 1888 and Hattie may have subscribed sometime after she graduated from 8th grade in 1910 and went to work as a teacher.
This event program from the Pine Grove Public School where Lura Shookman, Hattie's sister, taught in 1912. The musical and oral presentations would have been given by the 6–13-year-old students at the school.
Harriet received this 1922 graduation invitation from her sister, Helen Shookman. With their parents, Samuel and Dora (Manley) Shookman's strong encouragement for education, the older 3 sisters, Lura, Ina and Harriet completed 8th grade and then teacher's training, but Helen was the first family member to have the opportunity to go to high school. It would have been an immensely proud occasion.
Tucked in among the graduation and wedding invitations from the early part of the century was this marriage announcement for Charles' uncle, Daniel C. Kenyon and Elizabeth Scott from 1895. Dan and his family moved to Montana in 1898.
Glued in with a collection of obituaries is this article, "Care of Horses in Army", written by Harriet's first cousin, Floyd Manley dated September 28, 1918. Floyd died in the Spanish Flu Pandemic two weeks later on October 14, 1918 at Camp Lee.
Baby Glen Shookman Kenyon, 3rd child and first son of Charles and Harriet, was announced to close friends and family. He was born in 1920 with WWI over and the Depression still to come when there was money to pay for such sweet mementos.
Doris was the oldest child of Charles and Harriet. Doris had graduated from high school in 1934 as did all her younger siblings in years to come, and went on to follow in her mother's footsteps to become a teacher. Doris was the first of the eight children to get married.
Twins! Great excitement when not one, but two babies were born in 1926 joining the 3 older siblings Doris, Veva and Glen.
The clippings below share news from Purdy Valley. Harriet took up writing social news tidbits for the Tomah Journal and these are likely examples of her work although as an unpaid, but regular contributor, she never received credit by name in the paper. The clipping at the top right reads in creative rhyme:
Purdy Valley, it brought a smile,
When the request came from you.
But glad to hear you like my style,
While reading the Journal thru and thru.
The writer has no special law,
But worth facts that interest you
Will the reader's attention draw
And we'll enjoy the work you do.
This may have been an article that reminded Hattie of her mother, Dora (Manley) Shookman who died in 1921 at the age of 54.
Hattie had a collection of poetry and literary articles that she deemed important enough to add to her scrapbook. Despite the very arduous lifestyle, Hattie may be giving an inclination of what she thought of the life on a farm...
This article obviously reminded Harriet of days in the past when her grandmothers, and possibly her mother used a spinning wheel to produce fiber for weaving or knitting.
A Christmas wish for Santa Claus from young Kyle Kenyon. I do not know if Kyle received either of his wishes. Tradition in Charles and Harriet's family included a Christmas stocking with a large orange and apple in the toe, along with nuts in the shell and some hard candy. All would have been treasured treats with out of season fruit and the oranges shipped to the Midwest from the far South.
A source of extra cash for the family in the summer were Charlie's strawberries and his watermelon field. This summer he had a prize-winning melon.
This is one of the later items glued into the scrapbook. Harriet, a mother of 8 children, surely had her work cut out for her in addition to their care and supervision. She was responsible for all meals including making breads and cakes with only an ice box to temporarily keep a few items chilled. She did not have an electric refrigerator until sometime after they moved off the farm in 1941. Laundry was done either by hand, or later, with a gas-powered washing machine, and all of it was hung out to dry whether in the heat of summer or the bitter cold of winter, often freezing on the line. Ironing was done with a cast iron heated on the burner of the stove and nearly all garments were made of fabric which needed ironing. Harriet had responsibility for a large, nearly 1 acre, "kitchen garden" where she raised most of the families produce, the majority of which had to be canned in Wisconsin's hottest months to preserve it for the time they did not have those food items. Most of the meat the family produced and butchered was also canned to preserve it. This is a typewritten poem which may have been written by Harriet, or someone she knew.
The last items in Harriet's scrapbook would indicate that she did not add any new items to her collection after about 1950 when she had her first stroke. It gives glimpses into the times that framed her life and created the woman that she became. It was a prized possession within the family and Harriet's daughter, Helen Joy (Kenyon) Kelley inherited the scrapbook when Harriet passed on. It was pored over by visiting family members over the years and inherited by Helen's daughter, Jean (Kelley) Gluege. Jean had it several years and when she was downsizing gifted the nearly 90-year-old scrapbook to me to be shared as much as possible with family members, now living in a digital age.
© Karla Von Fumetti Staudt
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