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