January 31, 1942 Diary

Saturday, 31st Day - 334 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

4 degrees at 7 A.M.

I didn't do much today.

Cold was too annoying.

A letter from Nora.  

Dad and I alone tonight, not even the radio.

Donnie went home with Don to stay all nite.

5 degrees at 8 P.M.

Dunn's was at Don's to spend the eveningLale [Lyle] Jones brot a load of coal today.
4050 lbs.  Cost $10.53.

I think Grandma missed a period in the amount of coal that was delivered.
My best guess was that this was for forty and one half pounds of coal.
The amount of coal that was delivered would last one month.

January 30, 1942 Diary

Friday, 30th Day - 335 Days to Follow 

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

4 degrees above at 7 A.M.

Dad and Don to a Land Bank F. Association meeting at Niwot this P.M.

This is F.D.R. birthday.

8 degrees above at 8 P.M.

Donnie and I played dominos tonite.

Took 8 doz eggs to Niwot this P.M.  32 cents a doz.

Click here for how to play Dominos.

January 29, 1942 Diary

Thursday 29th Day - 336 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Had snow today but not very cold, 30 degrees at 7 A.M.
Haven't felt very peppy today as I have a cold.
A letter from Melissa today.
Temp at 8 tonight 28 degrees.
Orrin and Elane's [Erickson] wedding anniversary. if I'm not mistaken.
Don finished his A.A.A. job except a few to see later.

Orrin Bentley Erickson was Margie Arbuthnot's cousin.

It's unknown what the A.A.A. job was that Margie refers to hear.
It was at this time that Don (my Dad) worked at the Sugar Beet factory in Longmont.
Future entries in Margie's diary may give a clue as to the jobs that Don had during this year.
I do know that it had nothing to do with the Alcoholics Anonymous of America as this was a tea-totaling alcohol is evil kind of family.

January 28, 1942 Diary

Wednesday, 29th Day - 337 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Temp this mornin at 7 - 20 degrees.

A nice warm day.

John Dodd here this P.M. checking on farm program.

Don got 32 cents a doz for eggs at Newells this evening.

40 degrees at 8 this evening.

I braided silk hose this P.M. for Una's rug.

The Dodd family still lives in the area west of Niwot.  In their old barn is a mill where grain was ground into flour.  When Fred's mother Mary Elizabeth (Bader) Arbuthnot passed away, the Dodd's purchased the ranch where Fred was born, including Haystack Mountain.  The Dodds were the flippers of the day and helped their new renters purchase the 260 acre ranch.

More information on the old farms of Boulder County are in this report:

Boulder County's Agricultural Heritage.

January 27, 1942

Tuesday, 27th Day - 338 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Another nice day.

Melted a lot today.

I ironed today and cut rug rags.

Temp at 7 A. M. was 20 degrees.

Dad sold old radiator for $1.00

Not much that I can add to this today.

Don't know what kind of radiator it was that Grandpa sold.

January 26, 1942 Diary

Monday 26th Day - 339 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

22 degrees at 7 A.M.  A very nice day.

I washed this A.M.

Canned apples this P.M.

Letter from Nora today.  

I have a slight cold today.  

Tired and sleepy so will go to bed now.

8:30 now - 28 degrees at 8 tonight.

Grandma made the best!

Apple Sauce and Apple Leather

peal and core good cooling apples like Golden Delicious or MacIntosh

cut up the apples into chunks and put into a pot

add water half way up the pot (apples don't need to be covered in water)

simmer until apples are soft

add some sugar - half a cup to a cup depending on taste and size of pot

add some cinnamon and some nutmeg, dash of cloves 

keep simmering until liquid has reduced and apples are mush

mash with a potato masher

serve warm or cold

For apple leather, continue to cook down until very little moisture left.

smash apples with apple masher again

spread evenly onto a big cookie pan (might want to line the pan with wax paper)

cover with a cloth and leave out to dry

once the sauce is completely dry, cut leather into strips and roll up to store

wrap in wax paper to keep

January 25, 1942 Diary

25th Day - 340 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

22 degrees at 7 A.M.
They brot the heifers down this AM from Don's.
Cloudy until almost noon.
The girls came out this P.M.
Marie came to Dons with them.
Duane went home with them.
They brot the rug out.
Some west wind this evening.
40 degrees at 7:30 P.M.
Milk check to day $85.77
set 4.9 lbs fat
144.? price per lb. .61
Grass Amt. $87.84
Hauling 4.80
C. test .16 Bonus 2 C $2.88


Not sure what all of Grandmother's notes mean.
They sold their milk, eggs, hay and these were the prices they received and paid out.

January 24, 1942 Diary

Saturday, 24th Day - 341 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Not as warm today.

Temp at 7:30 A.M. 34 degrees.

Donnie & Duane went to Don's this P.M.

Not much thawing to day.

Temp at 8 P.M.25 degrees.

A letter from Jessie today.

Donnie and Duane Albert are brothers, grandsons of Margie and Fred Arbuthnot, sons of Una (Arbuthnot) Albert.  Both grandsons were great help to their grandparents and worked for other ranches in the area when they were older.

It was rare for the family to spend much time away from the farm for a vacation.  But Margie and Fred took a trip one time to see on of Margie's sisters.  I don't know if this family that they went to visit was Jessie Hagerman or Viola Lafferty.   In the 1940's Jessie was living near Wheatland, Wyoming.  And Viola was living in McPherson County, Kansas.  Both were younger sisters of Margie.  Either way, this looks like they had a really fun visit.  If anyone has a clue which family that Margie and Fred were visiting, I'd love to know.  

It's interesting too, to see Fred's Uncle Fred Bader in one of the photos.  Why was he traveling with them?  Somethings we will never know.

Margie & Fred Arbuthnot visit with Margie's sister.
L to R ?, Ken Arbuthnot, Coe sister, Marjorie, Margie holding baby (niece or  nephew), Fred Arbuthnot,,
in front of Margie are her children Don and Una.

Arbuthnot's visiting a Coe sister.
Enjoying some watermelon.
? holding baby, Margie, Ken Arbuthnot, ?, Fred Bader (Fred Arbuthnot's Uncle)
children in front Margie's children Don, Marjorie, Una

January 23, 1942 Diary

Friday, 21st Day - 342 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

Not quite as warm today.  17 degrees at 7 A. M.

Dad to Niwot to have Ford fixed.

Don and Florence to Altona G[range] Hall.

Carol Jane here all nite.

Temp at 9 P.M. 32 degrees.  North wind this P.M.

Snow melted fast.

Carl Smith enlisted in U.S. Navy Air Corps,

Purvis Miles in the U.S. Army Air Corps last week.

Both Mr. Smith and Mr. Miles made it home after the war.

If you would like to look up casualties of WWII, the National Archives has a database of those who didn't make it home.

January 22, 1942 Diary

Thursday, 22nd Day - 343 Days to Follow

Diary written by Margie Arbuthnot

Another fine day.  16 degrees at 7 A. M.

The girls were here for dinner and we went to club this P.M.

Met with Agnes Kenter also a stork shower for her.

I rode home with Bakers.

Duane staying here [grandson].

Doris [Allen] here this evening.

Temp at 8P.M. 33 degrees.

The club that Margie mentions, that she attends with her daughters Una and Marjorie, is the Batchelder Neighbors Club.

Doris Allen Steele was very involved with the Altona Grange, holding many positions as a leader.

She lived with her mother and step-father at the end of Nelson Road at the farm with the big yellow barn.  She cared for her mother until her death in 1945.  Soon after that, she married Andrew Steele, the Altona Grange Insurance Agent.  A very important job as farmers could not get insurance unless they were a grange member.  What began as fire insurance for the farmers soon became farm insurance, car insurance, health insurance, etc.

The Steele family were very close to the Arbuthnot family.  Their history together will be shared in a future post.  

Andrew and Doris (Allen) Steele
in the home of Don Arbuthnot
circa 1950

January 21, 1942, Diary

Wednesday, 21st Day - 344 Days to Follow

Diary by Margie Arbuthnot

Temp 14 degrees at 7:30A.M.

A nice Day.

I went to Florence today. [her daughter-in-law, west on Niwot Rd]

Don to Hammoner sale.

Eldon Seamorth bot Marjorie's harness for $45.

Don and Flo here this evening than to Marjorie & Johnnys after chores.

Temp at 8pm 8 degrees.

Marjorie and Johnny Knaus

In Margie's diary entry today, the Marjorie that she mentions is not her daughter, but the sister of her daughter-in-law.  Yes, I have two Aunt Marjorie's.  One is Dad's sister and the other is Mom's sister.

I apologize if it gets confusing.  

Marjorie (Hill) & Johnny Knaus with children
Barbara, Ronnie, Rosie, Loretta, Patty
Circa 1946

January 20, 1942 Diary

Tuesday, 20th Day - 345 Days to Follow

Diary written by Margie Arbuthnot

14 degrees above at 7A.M.

Another nice day.

I did my ironing.

Hills came. 

Mr. Hill and Dad to Hammounds that there was a sale.

Mrs. Hill, Florence, and myself to Boulder.

Spent the day with Marjorie & Una.

Home 15 [minutes] to 5.

Brot some of M[arjorie's] plants out.

M gave $.34 for eggs to Mrs. Hill.

Temp. 24 degrees at 9P.M.

To get into Boulder, the family would have driven west on Niwot Road as far as the road would take them, then north and west again util they reached the Foothills Highway.  This highway took them south into Boulder, the street becoming Broadway there.  Left Hand Creek is clearly marked.  Many of the ditches on this map were dug by Fred Arbuthnot's father, uncles and a great-uncle.  Can you find Fred Arbuthnot's farm on this map?  Can you find the land where F. H. Pounds lives?  That is where Margie's husband Fred Arbuthnot was born.  His mother purchased Haystack Mountain and is apart of the Pound property.  You can find the town of Niwot here too.

1940's map showing the farms in the area.

January 19, 1942 Diary

Monday, 19th Day - 346 Days to Follow

Diary written by Margie Arbuthnot

12 above at 7A.M.

A cloudy morning but sun shinning by 10 o'clock.

Letter from Nora today. Package from Mrs. Hill to Una.

Mr. Seader here this P.M. hunting work.

Donnie said Don Carrels enlisted in the army, his wife a position in Wash. D.C.

Don home from work at 7:30.

Simpkins here hunting their cow.

Temp at 8P.M. 21 degrees.

Writing to Jessie tonight.

This entry made me laugh - Mr. Simpkins is looking for his cow that got out.  

Still, to this day, the cows around Haystack Mountain will get out.

I am always very careful driving to the Altona Grange, always on the look out for cattle on the road.  Especially at night, when the black angus are out.  They can be very difficult to see in the dark.

January 18, 1942 Diary

Sunday, 18th Day - 347 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

14 degrees above at 7o'clock this A.M.

This has been a lovely day, but lonesome.

Donnie went to Loren Hornbaker's this P.M.

Dad & I alone all P.M.

25 degrees above at 8 o'clock.

Don bot a heifer from Marjorie's for $35.

I don't know if the photo here is of one of the heifers that Don bought from his sister Marjorie or not.

Interesting that she had cattle to sell as she was living in Boulder at this time.

Don Arbuthnot (Margie and Fred Arbuthnot's son) with one of his heifers.

January 17, 1942 Diary

Saturday, 17th Day - 348 Days to Follow

written by Margie Arbuthnot

20 degrees above at 8 o'clock A.M.

Not so warm today.

The girls and children came at 9:30, left at 3:30.

Stopped at Don's 

Dad brought car by from Marjorie.

N. E. wind this P.M.

Tem[perature] at 8:30 P.M. 25 degrees.

No letter from Nora today.

Elnora "Nora" Coe Wise 

Nora was the sister of Margie's.  She was living in what is now Littleton, Colorado with her brothers and mother on a farm they were renting.  In the 1940 U.S. Census, that farm is located on Coal Mine Road in South Jefferson County, Colorado.  Sometime between 1920 and 1930, Nora had married John.  He was an engineer who worked on the construction of a dam that was a part of the Panama Cannel.

By 1940, Nora and John were no longer married and she is living with her family.  In the 1940 United States Census, it states that she is a widow, but family history said that they were divorced.  It is unclear as to what had happened.  Divorce was a shameful thing at this time, so it was common for a woman to tell a census taker that she was widowed rather than divorced.  Although, John Wise may not have been living at the time of this census.  Nora and John had no children.

I have fond memories of visiting Aunt Nora and her brothers, Uncles Fred and Floyd, in their home in Littleton.  She often had a gift for me, a few that I still cherish to this day.

Here is a copy of the 1940 U.S. Census where they are listed, living on Coal Mine Road, Jefferson County, Colorado.  In the 1940's this area was known as Montana.  This is a good example of how the census taker would often get information wrong.  The head of this household is listed as Lloyd, but his name was Floyd Coe.

Close up of the 1940 U. S. Census
Coe household with Nora Wise listed

1940 U.S. Census, Montana, Jefferson County, Colorado
Family of Coe and Wise listed.

January 16, 1942 Diary

Friday, 16th Day - 349 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

10 degrees above at 7:15 A.M.

Home all of today, cleaned up the house.

Baked cookies and a pumpkin pie.

Dad to Niwot this P.M. got a hair cut and some feed.

Don and Florence to Longmont to a Duck dinner.

Carol Jane and Darold here.

35 degrees above at 8 o'clock P.M.

Helen Hass here - gave another $1.00 for the Red Cross.

Wind in the west tonight.

Grandma's Pumpkin Pie

2 cups mashed pumpkin (or do what I do and use one 15oz can pumpkin)

2 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 ¼ cups of warm milk (not too hot, but must be warm)

1 tablespoon flour

unbaked large pie shell (I use a 9-inch pie pan)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix together pumpkin, eggs, sugar.

Stir together spices, salt, and flour.

Mix together dry ingredients into the pumpkin/egg mixture.

Slowly stir in warm milk.

Pour into the unbaked pie shell.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 45 minutes more.

(or until a knife inserted comes out clean)

Throughly cool and enjoy.

Fred and Margie Arbuthnot had so little, yet they found the funds to donate to the Red Cross.

Here is your opportunity to donate too.  Every $1.00 helps others in need.

January 15, 1942 Diary

Thursday 15th Day - 350 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

Temp 20 degrees above at 7 A.M.
Another nice day.
I didn't do anything special today - 
just the regular round of house work.
Had a letter from Viola. 
Temperature at 8o'clock P.M. was 20 above.
9o'clock now, so I'm going to bed.


We all have those days, don't we?

January 14, 1942 Diary

Wednesday 14th Day - 351 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

Another nice day.

The man came after Spotly [the cow] and lot big.

Gerald came and ground grain for the cows.

Dad and I went to Hills today for dinner.

The Athertons were there.  

Temp 20 above at 8P.M.

The Hills and Athertons

The parents of Margie's daughter-in-law Florence were Guy and Ethel (Jackson) Hill.  At this time, Guy and Ethel rented a farm on Jay Road where Guy farmed. Ethel had a sister, Luna Mae but she went by Mae.  Ethel and Mae were the only children of Amos Morey and Luna Jane (White) Jackson.  They were born in Illinois and in 1907, their family moved from  Illinois to Oklahoma.  Mr. Jackson had employed a young man who had come from Boulder County, Colorado where he had grown up.  His name was Guy Martin Hill.  Guy helped the Jackson family make the move.  Ethel in the process of moving, Ethel fell in love with Guy, who had given her a pretty dip pen to use to write to him.  She convinced her father bring Guy back to Oklahoma and hire him to work on their farm.  Ethel and Guy were married in 1911 in Waukomis, Oklahoma.  After Mr. Jackson's death, Guy returned to Colorado in 1934 when he moved Ethel and his daughters to Niwot, where his childhood friends lived.  

While Ethel had found love and marriage, her sister Mae was not as fortunate.  She had fallen in love with a man who served in France during World War I.  There, Private Smith was killed and was buried over seas, leaving Mae without the love of her life.  Mae was heartbroken.  Ethel and Mae had a cousin, Fred Atherton.  Mr. Atherton had married, had two sons and when his sons were young, his wife suddenly took ill and died.  Fred and Mae saw an opportunity to support and love each other as a family so they married.  Fred and Mae never had any children of their own, but once Fred's sons were grown, they traveled extensively, often visiting their family.  Just as they did in 1942 when Fred and Mae Atherton were at the farm of her sister, Ethel and Guy Hill's.

Seated:  A. Morey and Luna J. (White) Jackson
Standing:  daughters Ethel Pauline & Luna Mae Jackson

Guy Hill and Ethel Jackson before they were married
1910

Fred Atherton, husband of L. Mae Jackson,
in Oklahoma with his Model T, ready to cut some grain

January 13, 1942 Diary

Tuesday, 13th Day - 352 Days to Follow

Diary by Margie Arbuthnot

Another nice day.
I ironed this P.M.
Cut rags for rugs this P.M.
Will and Kate were here this P.M.
Dad sold a cow "Spotly" $67.00
South wind this evening and it is not so warm.

Oh how I wish I could see the rugs that Grandmother use to make.
Rug making is such a very old art form and one that I enjoy as well.
Until I received this diary, I didn't know that my Grandmother made rugs.

One of the rugs that I have made from strips of wool.

Will and Kate Arbuthnot

Willam Carson Arbuthnot is the brother of Fred Arbuthnot.  He met and married Kate Doolittle when he had homesteaded up in Montana.  He didn't stay long up north and came back to the family farm.  While living in Boulder, Will farmed next to his brother's farm along 63rd and Niwot Rd.  William was the second born in the family of William C. and Mary (Bader) Arbuthnot, Fred (Margie's husband) was the eldest.

They also had a cousin, the son of Samuel C. Arbuthnot, who was also named William.  To be clear on which Will they were referring to, the cousin was referred to as "Short Will", and Fred's brother was called "Long Will."

In a previous post, I wrote about Fred, Will and their other siblings.   There were six children all born at Haystack Mountain.   When Will and Kate visited with Fred and Margie, they most likely brought news of their daughter, Alice, who served as a WAC in the Navy during World War II.  Alice delivered many documents between Denver and Washington D. C. during her time in the Navy.  All of her Arbuthnot relations were very proud of her for her time in the service.

Kate (Doolittle) and William Carson Arbuthnot (Jr.)

Alice Arbuthnot

Election Judges for the 1869 Election

Boulder Pioneer Newspaper announces the Election Judges

This was published by a newspaper distributed in Boulder County, Colorado Territory.  The announcement reads...

The following persons were appointed to serve as Judges of Election, at the coming election, 

to be held on the second Tuesday of September next, to-wit:

Precinct No. 1, Burlington - Edward Newman, Enoch Coffman, John Miller.

Precinct No. 2, Upper St. Vrain - Geo. W. Mason, Charles C. True, E. Chapman.

Precinct No. 3, Left Hand - P. T. Hinman, C. W. Arbuthnot, J. H. Jamison.

Precinct No. 4, Boulder City - Chas. Dabney, Wm. Pound, Samuel Copeland.

Precinct No. 5, Valmont - George W. Chambers, John Ritchie, P.M. Housel.

Precinct No. 6, Lower Boulder - P. A. Leyner, W. R. Howell, Hiram Buck.

Precinct No. 7, South Boulder, Joseph Babcock, George W. Eggleston, N. M. Howard.

Precinct No. 8, Carle and Hockaday's - Newton Hockaday, J. J. Carle, Thos. ?

Click here for the article of C. W. Arbuthnot being voted in as Constable of the Gold Hill Mining District.  The same P.M. Housel here in Precinct No. 5 at Valmont also ran for the office of Constable.

Front Page Boulder Pioneer, July 14, 1869
Boulder County, Colorado Territory

January 12, 1942 Diary

Monday, 12 Day - 343 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

Another nice day.  I washed threw by 10:10.

Dad went to see Gerald.

Don came with Carol Jane - she stayed until this evening.

Don and Dad to Niwot.  Am rather tired tonite.

Don's had wash day troubles.

Water hard in the hot well.

The hard water that Grandma refers was a hot springs on the property that the her son, Don, rented.  It was a popular spring for all who lived in this area.  It was large enough to use for bathing.  There was a pole with a flag on it at the spring and if someone was using the spring to bath in, they would raise the flag.  One wonders what prompted the flag, who was naked and surprised when another bather showed up to use the spring.  

Grandma's post here indicates that her daughter-in-law (my Mom) also used the hot waters from this spring to wash their clothes.  Having hard water, the soap would not lather and the minerals in the water may have colored or made the cloth dingy.  Not a good wash day.

Many years later, the owner of his farm decided to expand the spring and make it bigger to accommodate many more people.  The water pressure changed and the spring was destroyed.  Surely, this spring had been used by the Native Americans when they were camped in this area, but now, sadly, it is gone.

January 11, 1942 Diary

Sunday, 11th Day - 354 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

Tom's birthday.

Dad, Donnie & myself at Don's for dinner.  

Don and Dad moved pig down here.

Virginia and D. Berry called at Don's and Florences.

Don, Florence & Donnie to Boulder this P.M.  Went to see Eimil at hospital.

Donnie at Moajorie's 

Mild weather today.

Cloudy this evening.

Carol Jane wrote this...

[scribbles in pencil]

January 10, 1942 Diary

10th Day - 355 Days to Follow

Dairy of Margie Arbuthnot

The girls came out this morning.

Margie took Dad, Donnie and myself to Boulder.

I went to the Doc. Saw U[ncle] Fred & A[unt] Mae Atherton.

A letter from Nora.  Rather windy today but warmer.

Girls went back to Boulder at 4 o'clock.

Carol Jane came down with Don.

Milk Check 87.95

? 4.9

Lbs. Butter fat 154.8

Rice per lb. .59

Amt. $91.33

Ledge Acct. 1.56

Hauling C. 4.74

City ?   .17

? 2 C. $3.09

Some of Grandma's entries are difficult to decipher.  I don't know if these prices that she recorded were incoming or outgoing.  And some of her words are difficult to make out.  It looks like... I have no idea, so I placed a ?.  Some things will remain a mystery.

January 9, 1942 Diary

Friday, 9th Day - 356 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie Arbuthnot

Didn't do much today, but cleaned up the house.

Not as warm as yesterday.

Had letters from Dorothy & Mrs. Clarke.

Feeling rather tired this A.M.

Thawed some today but cold this P.M. and evening.

Mail Delivery

The mail would arrive each day, delivered by a Niwot Resident, Altona Grange Member, and friend to the Arbuthnot family, Clarence Conilogue.  Mr Conilogue had delivered the mail to those in the Niwot rural area since you was a young man.  He first delivered using a horse and cart.  When the Post Office provided him with the first vehicle for the job, Mr. Conilogue walked into Longmont from Niwot and drove home.  It was his first time ever behind the wheel of a car.  

Mr. Conilogue also kept daily diaries, usually recording the weather for the day as he went on his route.  I'm sure those interested in weather patterns today would find his recordings very interesting.

Besides being the postal carrier, Mr Conilogue played the fiddle.  He provided much entertainment and music for the local square dances.

Clarence Conilogue providing some fiddle music at
the Altona Grange No. 127, where he was an active member.

January 8, 1942 Diary

Thursday 8th Day - 357 Days to Follow

Warmer today.

Letter from Mass.

I went to club with Burkes, at Johnsons.

Eleven there.  Mable Kirkmeyer as visitor.

Dad and Don to Rehwalts for a pig [and] saw Alice Campion, bot brooder for $10.

Temperature 4 [degrees] above this P.M.  NE wind this evening.

Club met with Glayds Johnson

Started on skirts.  Those taking Mrs. Agnes Kenter, Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Thames, Miss Baker, Helen A. two, Athelda Burke, Gladyes J., 

Fred and Mae Atherton, Francis Hill - from Oklahoma arrived at 8o'clock at Hills.

The letter from Mass. indicates that Margie got a letter from her eldest son Ken, who worked for MIT.  He had a degree in entomology from Colorado State University.  More on him and his family later.

Margie's very last line refers to the Aunt (Mae Atherton) and brother (Francis) of her daughter-in-law, Florence (Hill) Arbuthnot.  Francis was a cattlemen in Oklahoma and did not move to Colorado when the rest of the family moved to Niwot.  Every year at this time, Francis brought cattle Denver to be shown and sold at the annual Stock Show.  He always stopped by to see his sisters, Florence and Marjorie Knaus on these trips.

Francis M. Hill in January 14, 1956, at the home of his sister Florence Arbuthnot.
Francis is holding his niece, Donlyn Arbuthnot - author of this blog.
Boulder, Colorado

Batchelder Neighbors Club

The club that Margie refers to is the Batchelder Neighbors Club (BNC), a club for the women who lived in the Batchelder School District area.  This club began in 1941 and met for 50 years.  There were 17 founding members including:  Margie Arbuthnot, Una Albert (Margie's daughter), Helen Anderson (later Bloom then Berryman), Elsie Baker, Mable Brown, Ethelda Burke, Carrie Burke Scott, Myrna Dodd, Lettie Ereckson, Daulton Ereckson, Lucille Jones, Ethel Johnson, Gladys Johnson Martin, Jennie Keuter, Agnes Keuter, Eileen Nelson, Grace Thorn.

The club met on alternate Thursdays and had a President, V. President, Sec-Treasurer, a publications chairman and a program chairman.  I don't have the names of who filled these offices in 1942.  The order of business for their meetings was:

Salute to the American Flag,

Patriotic Song,

Roll Call

Minutes of the last meeting

Unfinished business

Bills and Communications

Adjournment

The source for this information is a little booklet that Helen Anderson put together that covers meetings from March 5, 1942 to Dec 10, 1942.  

Basis for this meeting came from a book published in 1929 titled:  A Manual for Club Women, by Anna Steese Richardson - Director of the Good Citizenship Bureau of the Women's Home Companion.  Published by Smith and Corona Typerwriters Inc, New York, NY.

There is no indication how the club came to own this book, but it is preserved along with the club accounts book.

I wish to thank Helen Anderson Berryman's nephew,  Ernie Anderson, who gave to me a box and scrapbook filled with the spiral notebooks and other information that his Aunt had collected and neatly organized about this club.  He entrusted this to me to "do something with it."  This year is my opportunity to do so.  As Margie makes reference to the club in her diary, I shall be taking notes from these documents on what occurred on these dates.  Unfortunately, those notes don't begin until March 5, 1942.  Until then, let's recognize the 50th Anniversary party that these women gathered to celebrate.  I'm sure Margie was there in spirit.

July 31, 1991
50th Anniversary celebration of the Batchelder Neighbors Club
Original Founding Members.
L to R Una Albert, Gladyas (Johnson) Martin, ?, ?, Helen (Anderson) Berryman

Members and guests of the Batchelder Neighbors Club
50th Anniversary Party - July 31, 1991

Photographer unknown.  Taken at the home of Helen Raben

Those in attendance at the NBC 50th Anniversary Party were:

Helen Berryman

Gladys Martin

Hazel Van Cleave

Edith Hornby

Lorrnia Lydin

Sharon Lydin Ruby

Ruth Charlosen

Edris Heldt

Ruth Heldt

Dorothy Zimmerman

Ethelda Thorne

Helen Axelson

Carol Burke Dale

   & son Kelly

Helen Aldrich

Edna Maul (Daughtea)

Florence Arbuthnot (Margie's daughter-in-law)

Helen M. Raber (Hostess)

Una Albert (Daughter of Margie Arbuthnot)

Marjorie (Arbuthnot Campion) Hawn  (Daughter of Margie Arbuthnot)

LaVern M. Johnson*

Pearl Williams 

*Special thanks to LaVern Johnson for helping me to identify some of these guests.
LaVern, you are always such a joy to work with.

January 7 1942 Diary

Wednesday, 7th Day - 358 Days to Follow

Some warmer today.

Don had car trouble so was late for chores today.

I hasn't done much today.  Too lazy.

Wrote to Dorothy this morning.

Happy home late coming.

Carol Jane here this evening.

This is Viola's birthday.

I ironed today.

I should mention that I am not changing my Grandmother's spelling as it's says much about who she was as while she was considered educated, the education lacked much back then.  I will ad comments as needed to help in understanding her posts.  These comments will be in [brackets].

My sister Carol Jane, mentioned in today's entry, is the eldest of Don and Florence (Hill) Arbuthnot's four children.  She and my brother Darold lived with our parents on a farm on Niwot Road, west of where my Dad's parents (Fred and Margie Arbuthnot) lived.  Dad was not sent off to college like his brother Ken was, because his parents didn't want him to leave as they needed him to help out on the farm.  Poor dad was deathly allergic to alfalfa and in 1944, left farming and moved into Boulder, just in time for Carol Jane to start school.  She began in Kindergarten at Whittier Elementary in the fall of 1944.  Ms. Anderson was her teacher.  She was a special teacher as she was the only teacher in all of our 13 years in Boulder schools who had all four of us kids, including Dale and myself.

Fred and Marge's grandchildren in 1939.
Wallace holding Carol Jane, Duane, Donnie, Darline.
Photo taken on the Fred & Margie Farm on Niwot Rd.

Source no. 9

January 6, 1942 Diary

Tuesday, 6th Day, 360 Days to Follow

Not so cold today, 7 below at 6:30 this morning.  Marjorie & Baker came.  Una, Darline  Duane to Boulder to stay.  Marjorie to Mr. Dovali funeral this P.M.  

Am writing a letter to Viola tonight.

Warmer today. 

Not a very good wash day clothes didn't dry

and paid Grange dues today.

Also $4.40 Grange Insurance dues.

$6.40 in all.  [Grange dues were $2.00 and paid quarterly.  The total dues for the year would have been $8.00 in 1942.]

Source No. 9

January 5, 1942 Diary

5th Day - 360 Days to Follow

Diary of Margie (Coe) Arbuthnot

Another cold morning, 20 below at 7 o'clock this morning.  We did a little washing on the board(?).  Don and dad to Niwot this A. M. got car repairs.  
Una sewed, 
Don and dad to Daniel's in P.M.  Got car repaired.  
Lath Jones brought us a tank of water.  
Darline last day of school at Batchelder.  
Had a letter from Lettie today.  
Jones last tank of water this evening.

1923 Students of the Batchelder School
Kindergarten through the 8th Grade
Margie's son Don is the second from the left.

Batchchelder School, Boulder County School District No. 20.
It was when Margie was a student here that she met Fred Arbuthnot, a member of the School Board.
All of the Fred and Margie's children and some of their grandchildren attended school here.
Photo curiously of the Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, Boulder Public Library.

Source No. 9.

January 4, 1942 Diary

4th Day - 361 Days to Follow

Grandmother's family had come to Colorado for her father's health.  Her parents were born in Canada, but due to some kind of banking scandal (or so we have been told), the family had to leave Canada and settled in Wisconsin.  The family acquired the land where IBM is located today.  They lived in a home on 63rd, across from where Coot Lake is today.  The walls of that home were a foot thick, making the home warm int eh winter, and cool in the summer.

L to R - Margie, Carrie Lulu, Jessie, Viola

Margie had many siblings, including sisters Eva, Carrie who went by Lulu, Nora, Jessie, Viola, and Sadie.  She had three brothers Floyd, Fred, and Billie.  By 1942 none of her family lived in Boulder County, which I'm sure, was very sad for Marjorie as she was very close to all of her family.

Here is today's entry:

Another cold morning.  23 below at 6:45 A. M.
Pump engine on the bum
Don got it fixed
Dad [her husband], Donnie, Darline and myself went to Marjorie's for a duck dinner.
Una and Duane came home with us.
Don had car trouble and late going home from chores.
This is Jessie's birthday.

Jessie Iona Coe was born in 1884 and was married to Harry Hagerman.  They lived in Wheatland, Platte County, Wyoming at this time.

Source No. 9

January 3 1942 Diary

3rd Day - 362 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Ann (Coe) Arbuthnot

Very cold.  23 below at 6:45 A. M.
A blizzard during the A. M.
Don and dad to Niwot.

One wonders why they went the two miles into town on such a cold, snowy, and no doubt, windy day.
And no wonder Grandma didn't write very much on this day.  I wouldn't get out from under the covers in that kind of cold.  Would you?

Don't worry, not all of her entries are like this one.  In time, they get more interesting.  I realized that I am only a year younger than my Grandmother when she wrote these entries.  I can relate to how she doesn't get much done in the cold.  But 23 degrees below zero?  Wow!  I wonder if it's been that cold here since this day 77 years ago.

Source No. 9

January 2, 1942 Diary

Margie's post from Friday, January 2, 1942,  Niwot, Boulder County, Colorado
2nd day - 363 days to follow.

"another cold day, 14 below at 7 o'clock A. M.
Don and F[lorence] leave to Boulder.
Florence got glasses.
Took Duane in - 
Darold stayed here.
All here for supper."

Margie was a good grandmother to her many grandchildren, including Duane and Darold.  Her other grandchildren included Wallace, Donnie, Darline, Carol Jane, Roy, Jim, and after 1942, Dale and myself - Donlyn, the last of her grandchildren.

Also, I should mention, that I will be posting Grandmother's entries as she wrote them, misspellings and all.  Any additions to her post, I will place in [brackets].

Source No. 9

Oct 29, 1955  Fred and Margie Arbuthnot,
holding their last grandchild, Donlyn Ann (author of this blog).

Diary of Margie (Coe) Arbuthnot, Jan 1, 1942

Margie Arbuthnot looks on.  Lined up in birth oder are her children
Ken, Marjorie (married to Wallace Campion), Una Albert, Don

A Christmas gift that my Grandmother received in 1941 was a small diary. It contained many reference pages and a blank page for each day of the year.  Dutifully, my Grandmother filled it out.  At the time she wrote this, she had four grown children, and several grandchildren.  Along with her husband, Fred Arbuthnot, she lived on a farm on Niwot Road, just east of 63rd, in Boulder County, Colorado.  All of her children were born on this farm.  While her son Ken lived out of state, the others lived near by.  Marjorie and Una in Boulder, and Don and his wife and children lived west on Niwot Road, on a farm he rented from the Erickson family.  All were members of the Altona Grange No. 127.

Now, 77 years later, I am sharing what her daily postings included for that day.  One post a day.  Here is her post for Jan 1, 1942:

"A cold day, 18 below at 7 o'clock A. M. Marjorie, Wallace, and Baker here for the day, Una went home from work then. Grange [Altona Grange] had a New Years dinner at hall. Marjorie had car trouble so all had dinner here. Had planned on going to the Grange Hall for N. Y. dinner."

Source No. 9