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This month in History, June 1924:
Snyder Act: US citizenship granted to all American Indians J Edgar Hoover assumed leadership of the FBI Ford Motor Company manufactured its 10 millionth automobile Ziegfeld Follies opened on Broadway |
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Vira's Diary- 1924
The last of many years that the Platt family spent the summer away from Oklahoma's blistering heat, camping in Cool Colorado. Mother's parents separated shortly after this trip. Mother (Vira) was 20, Ann 18, Nora 17, Charles (Chas) 15, Fred 13, and Thelma, 8. |
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Part one- From Stillwater to Eads Lake
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| June 11, Wednesday: We - Papa, Nora, Chas, Fred, Ann, Thelma in the truck; Mama and I (Vira) in the coupe left Stillwater, June 11, 1924 at 12:30 P.M. Got gas at Ponca City and arrived at Harmon's (Newkirk) 5:25 P.M. A big surprise awaited us- Harmon and Maud had a big baby boy, born May 18, and they had kept it secret. ( Had a blow-out on front right tire on truck, and a puncture on same tire of coupe before eating dinner and after eating dinner Wed). Ann and I stayed all night with Margaret, and the rest stayed with Maud and Harmon. |
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Stillwater Gas (Truck) - $1.10
Tire $8.00 Gas (coupe) $1.65 Timer $3.25 Horn, FlashlightStakes, Trunk canvas $2.00 |
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| June 12, Thursday: Papa and Harmon fixed truck all up and we left their place at 10:05 AM. I drove car then thru Arkansas City and until dinner time, south of Udall (Papa operated the Warford) Ate Wella's black "frier" for dinner. Ready to go at 1:40. I drove car all time to Wichita and then drove coupe to Hutchinson arriving there at 7:50. We surely did some driving -Nora drove truck after leaving Wichita and we came all way from Newkirk (136 miles) from 10:05 to 7:50 PM. |
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Great Bend Gas (coupe) 5 gal $1.00
Gas (truck) 5 gal $1.00 Boric Acid $ .10 |
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| June 13, Friday: Ready to leave for Great Bend, discover puncture on rear left of coupe - fixed and ready to leave at 8:15. Nora drove truck from Elm Wood to Great. Bend - arrived there at 11:30 - Cousin Maude had her hair bobbed! Took bath - cleaned up - ate dinner (Mama made sinkers) -very dull afternoon, Maude sleeping most of time. Ate supper about 7:00 cafeteria style then loaded up and departed for the West. No one seemed sorry because we were leaving. About dusk we were traveling along and were stopped by a man wanting cold patching dope. We noticed Mama behind stopped; going back we found out they had a flat tire on rear left tire. That fixed we went on. It began lightening and dark clouds were in the west and dark came on. We searched diligently for a camping place and finally came to a corner which held a sign pointing north and saying " Camping Ground", but Papa never saw it and he went on. But we told him of it, so he, I and Nora went back and the sign said "2 blocks North". Nora and I walked up North, Papa went back to bring the car. The small burg of few houses was Albert. We had an awful time finding it, but at last we got settled, camp made and it began raining and storming before we got to bed. Some bad lightning and thundering ensued. (The people in camp were all around the truck like chickens to an old hen- they loved it.) |
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| June 14, Saturday: We arose at some unearthly hour (4:45) and began to prepare breakfast and beds. Fine breakfast, as usual - off at 6:55. At La Crosse all new wiring was put on the truck and we bought a host of groceries. That took about two hours. Engine and car worked fine until reaching Scott City when we failed to put water in the radiator and melted a hole in it -and nearly burned our engine out. Then we had trouble with our car! We continued until just NE of Selkirk and the car stopped and refused to go. Fred cleaned the timer while I held a cup under the drip which was boiling hot. (Mama and Ann had gone on to find a camping place, buy groceries and get water at Selkirk.) The timer in the car worked good so we all piled in the car and went on, but there was such a beautiful camping place there that we camped at 7:30. Papa put flour in the radiator then cornmeal (so when the radiator boiled, it smelled like we were cooking cornmeal making mush) and as a last resort he put soap in it. But all these seemed no good. This had been a long hard day for us all- we were tired and read for our beds. We put the tent up as a storm seemed to be brewing - |
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La Crosse Flags $ .20 |
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| June 15, Sunday: No storm, only sprinkled a little. We left there about 7:30. Car worked badly and I hardly could drive so I let Papa drive. Then the car stopped. We were out of gas. The town after Selkirk was all closed up and we couldn't get any gas - but we found we had an extra gallon of gas and our lives were saved. We went on to Towner, Colo and filled up with gas. We arrived at Eads Lake about 1:00. Ate dinner, set up camp. Fred, I, and Thelma all went swimming; Papa and Nora went to Arlington after Clara. Mr. Chambers, a man who lived at lake at channel on west side of road came down and made a long, long visit. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mr. Chambers owned a seine, with which he seined fish- he and 2 other men were the only men in Colo. owning fish seining licenses. A storm was brewing. He went home, we prepared camp for the awful storm. Chas and Thelma were fishing. We called them home and OH! How the wind blew - it rained, hailed, and those springs above the car, oh! They flopped and flapped - it was terrible- the kids never came home, and papa and Nora never came home. I went after the kids and Papa came (without Clara) at about 10:30 or thereabouts. We all went to bed in the car. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pulling in the net at the Eads Lakes. Nora, I, Thelma, Mother, Papa and Mr. Chambers in foreground
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| June 16, Monday: We were glad to find ourselves alive again. Papa and Nora had missed the most of the storm but encountered some on the way home. The kids had caught a few fish. Then we seined and oh! The FISH! I took a roll of film of them, for they were surely plentiful. We cleaned fish and Chas, Fred , Thelma and I went swimming again. A beautiful day! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 21, Saturday: We surely got experience in seining, fish cleaning, frying and eating! Fish! Fish! Fish! Fish. Seemed as if the memory of that whole week was nothing but fish! Papa went after Clara again Thursday and Ann went with him. It stormed again while he was gone - it didn't rain, only blew, blew, blew. Before leaving, Papa said he didn't care for Nora and me bobbing our hair now, he could soon get used to it -perhaps- so I bobbed Nora's for her on Thursday. She could wait no longer than was necessary; but I did - |
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Nora & me in our bathing suits. Beautiful scenery isn't it!
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| I had to apologize to Jim [Nixon, her principal in the fall] and ask his permission as I had promised not to bob it. (I didn't think I would ever get Papa's permission) Wednesday, Nora, Chas, Fred, Thelma and I went swimming again- had a boat this time and inner tubes- had a Grand time! Today Papa went to Eads after Clara; Jess Case came back with her. We seined in the afternoon and then cleaned fish all the rest of the time. Papa took Jess to back Eads. We had a cracker box (half box) crammed full of carp, suckers and bull head catfish and to clap the climax they all spoiled –all except the few cats, 10 or 12 in all! Ben Spect and wife, Abe Williams, wife, and son Albert camped NE of us for several days, helped us seine, clean fish and became excellent friends. They left Saturday about noon. Papa was holding meetings at the schoolhouse there -started Friday night. Met Emily and her sister Gertrude. Went over to see Daddy Ware, he still lives there- alone. He is in pretty bad health at present. He came over Saturday about noon. Clara had just come and we were ready to eat so he didn't stay long. He never came back to see us again. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 22, Sunday: Sang songs, read and had prayer. That was after a fish breakfast. Some people came and wanted some fish so they all went seining and took our boat, but Mr. Ware had given us his boat so Papa, Clara, Nora, Thelma and I went boating up and down the canal and around the lake to our camp. Nora, Papa and Clara got to throwing water, got all wet and so got out and went swimming. I came back to camp and Mama and Ann had dinner almost ready. Chas and Fed went in the water, then all came and ate dinner. At almost 2:00 Papa, Nora, the boys, and Thelma went to church and Sunday school and never got home until after six. A long sermon by Papa and another gentleman. Ann and I went swimming meanwhile, and I taught her how to do the back and breast stroke. It was a most beautiful night -a wonderful contrast to the Sunday night a week ago and we all sat around and talked until after bedtime. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Go to Page 2 of Diary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||