Quilt in progress

Tues., May 21, 1935 - Sunshiny this morning and rainy this p.m.  Sewed on my quilt.  Mom got some tomato and sweet potato plants tonite from Carl Wolf.
Wed., May 22, 1935 - Rainy and cloudy all day.  Mom went down town and mailed order for Broken Star quilt.  Worked on my Flower Garden quilt.
Thurs., May 23, 1935 - Clear all day for a change.  A big colored ring was around the sun this noon.  Mom went down to Schellenbergs this p.m. to sew.  Florence came up here.  I walked home with her, had lunch and she brought us home in the car.

I could not find an image of a Broken Star quilt pattern.  I thought it was like the one Grandma made for Dale, but I'm not sure.  This is what I know as the Flower Garden pattern, but there may be more than one.  I can't say that working with those hexagons would be pleasurable for me.  I would steer towards something with less wonky corners.

I haven't done a Sunday recipe for a very long time.  Since Ms. Reichert has been popping up recently, here is a recipe in Grandma's cookbook with credit to Ms. Reichert.

Cookies

1/2 c.margarine
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1-1/4 c. sifted flour
1 egg
1 c. coconut
2 c. corn flakes
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. butter flavoring

Chill dough for a short time.  Roll in balls, do not flatten.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees.

We are a little short on details here as to mixing instructions and time for baking, but still worth sharing.

Fruit Basket Upset

Sat., May 18, 1935 - Played lazy most of today.  Rained all day.  Went down town about 6:00 and ordered ice cream for tomorrow.
Sun., May 19, 1935 - Rained this morning.  Howard came at 11:00.  We got the ice cream and plowed out to the schoolhouse.  Mom went too.  Davis, F. Niemanns, Ed Niemanns and Goodlings were the only ones who came.  Ray surprised us by coming.  He's going to stay home until tomorrow nite.  We played Musical Chair and Fruit Basket Upset.  Howard took me around to the board to get my order signed -- oh! the mud!
Mon., May 20, 1935 - Cloudy this a.m.  We went to Norfolk.  Ray got a new suit, Mom and I a permanent, Mom white shoes and I a dress.  Cleared up this p.m.  Ray went back to Owens' tonite.

I've heard mention of Fruit Basket Upset, or Upset the Fruit Basket several times over the years but never thought to find out what it was.  Here's what I came up with from a site for Girl Scouts:

     "When I was in scouts in the 60's we just to play [sic] Fruit Basket Upset. You try to have enough fruit names (or colors or whatever) to have 4-10 in each category. Everyone (but the person(s) in the middle) form a large circle. Make sure your categories are spread out among the circle. Perhaps assign name/color/number/whatever after the circle is formed. The caller calls out a name/color/number/etc and everyone who has that id has to move to a different spot in the circle--an empty space created by someone else who has to change spaces. The person(s) in the middle tries to get to an empty spot before someone else. Sometimes you can call Fruit Basket Upset and everyone has to change spots."

Sounds like an easy enough, and fun game to me.

School's out!

Wed., May 15, 1935 - The three sixth grade boys cleaned the basement today and did an excellent job.  Robert took Co. exams. The rest worked on fair work.
Thurs., May 16, 1935 - Finished fair work today.  The sixth grade helped the 3rd and 4th grade make letters.
Fri., May 17, 1935 - Warmed up in p.m.  Cloudy all this week.  Checked in books.  Dismissed before noon.  Marjorie, Jean, and Verdelle Mae stayed until 1:30 to help me!  Went to Card Club at Walkers.  Howard didn't go, he was plowing late.

Oh, the last day of school.  Knowing you would wake up in the morning with a whole summer ahead.  It didn't matter if you had to get up early now and then for this and that, it was SUMMER!  The country kids thought I was nuts, but I always told them how much I liked riding on the bus whenever I stayed overnight at their places.  I was especially jealous to learn there were water fights on the way home after the last day of school.

I am not sure when the above photo was taken, but it certainly looks like Grandma with some students, likely her students.

I can't let High Five go

Sun., May 12, 1935 - Mother's Day.  Ray came home about 1:30.  After dinner he took Mom, Grandma and me up to Stahl's.  Home about 8:00.  Howard took me to Goodlings.
Mon., May 13, 1935 - Windy and chilly.  Earl was sick this p.m.  Rained tonite.  Bess and Dorothea were going to have a party tonite.  I was going with Irene and Helen.  Rained too much to go.
Tues., May 14, 1935 - Cloudy all day.  Earl absent.  Howard and Herbert finished their booklet.

I looked up the rules to High Five, also known as Cinch and it sounds like fun.  It's a trick-taking game with the 5 of the trump suit and the 5 of the same color having the highest value.  Winning bidder picks the trump suit.  If trump is led, you have to play trump if you can.  But if any other suit is played, you can follow suit if you want, but do not have to and can play any suit you wish.  Also, it's possible for the winning bidder's team to make their bid, but still not get the most points from the round.  There are fairly high penalties for not making your bid.

Maybe we should try it out sometime at a family gathering.  I'll put the rules in my purse right now.

More High Five

Thurs., May 9, 1935 - Warm today.  Mrs. Davis visited a half an hour this p.m.  Went to Irene and Helen's party with Ella M.  High Five played and Nuss got the prize.
Fri., May 10, 1935 - Warm again.  Mrs. Goodling took me to town about 6:00.  Went to lodge tonite.  Irene and Helen brought me up the hill.
Sat., May 11, 1935 - Rained this morning.  Went to Norfolk tonite with Howard, Helen, Irene and Raymond.  After shopping we saw James Cagney in "G-Men".

I went through a biography phase during college and James Cagney's was one that I read.  I can't remember specific details at the moment, but I came away thinking he was a pretty neat guy with a neat life story.

Here's what wikipedia has to say about G Men:

     G Men is a 1935 Warner Bros. crime film starring James Cagney, Ann Dvorak, and Margaret Lindsay, and presenting Lloyd Nolan's film debut. According to Variety, the movie was one of the top-grossing films of 1935.  G Men was made as part of a deliberate attempt by the Warners to counteract what many conservative political and business leaders claimed was a disturbing trend of glorifying criminals in the early 1930s gangster film genre. Although the gangster films were typically presented as moral indictments of organized crime where the criminal protagonist inevitably died, they nevertheless depicted a life of freedom, power and luxury enjoyed by gangsters in the midst of a real-life economic crisis. Foremost of these films were Little Caesar, the original Scarface, and perhaps the most memorable, The Public Enemy, in which Cagney portrayed street tough Tom Powers, the role that catapulted him to stardom. What was deemed most objectionable about these films was that law enforcement was typically portrayed as either impotent in the face of crime, or, as with Public Enemy, akin to a derelict and largely absentee father shirking his duty. Based on this interpretation, G Men supplanted the criminal protagonist with the heroic federal police officer.


     Most prints of this film include a brief prologue added at the beginning for the 1949 re-release (on the FBI's 25th anniversary). This scene depicts a senior agent (played by David Brian) introducing a screening of the film to a group of FBI recruits so that they may learn about the Bureau's history.

     Plot:  One year after graduation, New York City lawyer James "Brick" Davis (James Cagney) has no clients because he refuses to compromise with his ideals and integrity. His friend Eddie Buchanan (Regis Toomey) tries to recruit him as a federal agent or "G Man" (government man), but Davis is unsure. However, when Buchanan is killed while trying to arrest a gangster, Davis changes his mind, determined to bring the killer to justice. He bids farewell to his mentor, "Mac" MacKay (William Harrigan), a mob boss who financed his education to keep Davis on the right side of the law. He bids farewell to Jean Morgan (Ann Dvorak), the star of MacKay's nightclub who has feelings for Davis.
Davis travels to Washington, D.C. to begin his training. A mutual dislike forms immediately between him and his instructor, Jeff McCord (Robert Armstrong) which eventually subsides as time passes, but not before McCord openly mocks and derides Davis' attempts at training -something the Tom Powers Cagney would have never stood for. The scenes give Cagney's Davis a maturity seldom seen before in his roles, while portraying Armstrong as a bully and excessively childish. In addition, Davis is attracted to McCord's sister Kay (Margaret Lindsay) which strengthens his determination to remain passive despite McCord's efforts to rile him.

     Meanwhile, MacKay retires and buys a resort lodge out in the woods of Wisconsin. His men, free of his restraint, embark on a crime spree. Hamstrung by existing laws (federal agents have to get local warrants and are not even allowed to carry guns), the head of the G-Men pleads for new laws to empower his beleaguered men. They are enacted with great speed.

     Davis identifies one of the perpetrators, Danny Leggett (Edward Pawley), by his superstition of always wearing a gardenia. Not having completed his training, he can only give agent Hugh Farrell (Lloyd Nolan) tips on Leggett's habits. Farrell tracks down and arrests his quarry, but he and some of his men are gunned down, and Leggett escapes.

     McCord is put in charge of the manhunt and given his choice of five agents. He picks Davis, a decision that later pays dividends when Jean is brought in for questioning, Davis learns she is now married to Collins (Barton MacLane), one of the crooks. She inadvertently lets slip that the gang is hiding out at MacKay's lodge (against MacKay's will). In the ensuing wild shootout, Davis kills MacKay, who was being used as a human shield. Before he dies, MacKay forgives his distraught friend. Davis then tries to resign from the department but McCord talks him out of it by reminding him that McKay's death wasn't his fault and asks him to stay on.

     Only Collins gets away. McCord and Davis go to Jean's apartment to warn her. Jean is not there, but Collins is, and shoots at them. Davis pushes McCord out of the way and takes a bullet meant for him. Collins gets away. Davis ends up in the hospital (where Kay is a nurse) for his shoulder wound. Collins kidnaps Kay to use as a hostage. Jean finds out where he is hiding and telephones Davis, only to be shot by her husband. Davis bolts from his hospital bed, has some final words for the dying Jean, sneaks inside the garage and rescues Kay. Collins is shot to death by McCord as he tries to drive away. Kay escorts the still-bandaged Davis back to the hospital, vowing to "handle your case personally."

I barely kept up there with all the shooting and dying and romancing and such, but it does sound like a good film.

An invitation

Mon., May 6, 1935 - None of 8th grade to school today.  I don't suppose they'll come any more.  Warm and sunshiny.  Wrote some chain letters after school.  Gave quarterly tests all day.
Tues., May 7, 1935 - Nice day.  Finished chain letters tonite.  Got an invitation to party from Gladys R. for tonite.  Went to party with Helen and Irene.  Played High Five.  Leffler got prize.  Had good time.
Wed., May 8, 1935 - Rained a little this morning.  Clear and dry by afternoon.  Went to bed early.

I imagine Gladys R. is Gladys Reichert.  I wish I had known her as something other than a teacher . . . or have I mentioned that before?  I recall being a bit intimidated by her, but always felt she was a good teacher.

Wholly unrelated, but on May 8, 1935 while Grandma was recovering from High Five the night before, Amelia Earhart flew nonstop from Mexico City to Newark, New Jersey in a record 14 hours, 22 minutes and 50 seconds, the first pilot to fly that route without stopping along the way.

A treasure hunt and a movie

Fri., May 3, 1935 - Cold and cloudy.  Went to party at South school in Walker's truck and Goodling's car.  Had treasure hunt and weiner roast.  To card club at Mann's tonite.  We divided the play money -- each got $3.61.
Sat., May 4, 1935 - Got 8th exam grades today.  The four 8th graders passed.  Slept late.  Irene, Helen, Howard and I went to Norfolk.  I exchanged the sweater I got last Sat. for one that will fit.  Howard and I went to the Granada and saw "Society Doctor" and another with Spencer Tracy.  I forgot the name.  Helen and I went to the New Grand.
Sun., May 5, 1935 - Warm and sunshiny.  Fixed clothes most all p.m.  Ray and Willie came in this eve.  We discussed chain letters.  Howard brought me to Goodlings.

Interesting.  One site had only a one sentence plot summary for Society Doctor, and another had this novella (from tcm.com):

     At the Metropolitan Hospital, where Horace Waverly (Raymond Walburn) is Physician Superintendent, doctors Bill Morgan (Chester Morris) and Tommy Ellis (Robert Taylor) vie for the attention of nurse Madge Wilson (Virginia Bruce). One day, Frank Snowden, son of the wealthy and influential Harris Snowden, is brought in with an acute case of appendicitis, which requires immediate surgery. Harris insists on waiting for Dr. Harvey, their family physician, to arrive and give his opinion of the matter, but Dr. Morgan performs the urgent operation after quickly securing the consent of Frank's wife. When Dr. Morgan is reprimanded by Waverly for taking Dr. Harvey's patient and is dismissed from the hospital, he angrily criticizes Waverly's and Harvey's unethical behavior, accusing both of serving only the petty whims of the rich and obstructing basic medical care for the sick and injured. One of Metropolitan's wealthiest resident patients is the chronically lonely Mrs. Crane (Billie Burke), who, after learning of the young doctor's dismissal, uses her influence to have him reinstated. Meanwhile, two reporters arrive at the hospital and wait for the impending arrival of gangster Butch McCarthy, who has been released from prison for one day to visit his hospitalized mother. The reporters try to get the story about how Waverly has kept the con's visit a secret, especially considering that police officer Harrigan, who is being treated for the gunshot wounds from Butch's gun, is on the same floor. Dr. Morgan spoils Madge and Dr. Ellis' plans for a date when a staff shortage requires him to instruct Ellis to stay at the hospital. The eager Dr. Ellis proposes marriage to Madge, but she tells him that she is in love with Dr. Morgan. Later, when Dr. Morgan learns that his reinstatement came not from his own merit as a physician, but from Mrs. Crane's doings, he decides to leave the hospital in the name of saving his self-respect. Mrs. Crane wants Dr. Morgan to be her physician, so she offers to set him up in a private practice and keep him in business by sending her rich friends to him. Seeing no other alternative, Dr. Morgan accepts the offer, but when Madge finds out about his decision and believes that he has acted out of greed, not self-respect, she spurns him and agrees to marry Dr. Ellis. Escorted by the police, Butch McCarthy is brought to the bedside of the woman who is supposedly his mother, but once his handcuffs are removed, he grabs the gun that was smuggled in by the phony patient and goes after Harrigan. After Dr. Morgan is shot by the convict while trying to stop him, Harrigan's wife succeeds in preventing her husband's murder by shooting Butch. Dr. Morgan is rushed to the operating table, where it is discovered that the nature of his bullet wound is so severe that all hope for his recovery is abandoned. However, the still-conscious Dr. Morgan pleads with Dr. Ellis to perform a method of operation that only they have studied at the hospital. Dr. Ellis agrees, and under Dr. Morgan's guidance, the risky operation begins. During the procedure, Dr. Morgan tells Madge that he had reconsidered Mrs. Crane's offer and turned it down, thus fully redeeming himself. When the operation ends successfully, Dr. Ellis insists that Dr. Morgan ask Madge to marry him, and she accepts.

Interesting poster, I must say.  Almost creepy in a way, what with all those faces up in the corner.