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Mom's Woes - - April 22, 2002 In 1940 somehow my Dad managed to scrape up enough money to buy a house in the country. He had been employed steadily during the Depression, had been working at the same place for almost fifteen years and was about to be promoted to foreman so he had, for the times, a decent income. But living in those days with five children in the family was difficult to say the least. Mom records the event in her diary: 17 Sep 1940 Bought house and 2 acres for $1800 in Hubbardston from Lizzie Kokkinen. Also bought her electric range $20.00 21 Sep 1940 I first saw our house and liked it very much 31 Jan 1941 Named our home "Sunnyside" One reason he could buy the house was because it was so cheap. It had basic electricity with no running water, but it was large enough for a growing family and had a big barn across the street that served many functions, not the least of which was that it housed the outdoor toilet. But a house of this nature can, as Mom and Dad were about to find out, just "nickel and dime" you to death with the maintenance required keeping it in shape. The first problems were the chimneys. They were old and poorly built and in certain wind conditions wouldn't work properly. 23 Nov 1940 had east chimney built up from roof 09 Mar 1941 The wind blows down the chimney so much Dad (Grandpa Murdock, who lived with us) can't have a wood fire (until afternoon) 26 Oct 1941 Built middle chimney about 18" higher. Hope it will put an end to smoke and down draft on S. West windy days. The chimney troubles were eased by rebuilding them by hand, but then nature stepped in a dealt a big blow: 30 Dec 1942 Ice laden branch on aerial wire pulled middle chimney down at 2 a.m.! made hole in main and all roofs 31 Dec 1942 About $200 worth of damage done by falling chimney and we have no wind + rain-storm insurance! Rafter broken – base of chimney badly cracked. 01 Jan 1943 Doug started New Year by patching roof hole – tough work – it was snowing and the roof was very slippery The house did well, but Massachusetts can get pretty cold in the winter. 04 Dec 1940 13 deg. below zero. We're warm with three stoves. 19 Feb 1941 had to stuff cracks around pantry door to keep wind out of kitchen. Very windy about 20 deg. F 24 Feb 1941 Too windy to hang clothes outdoors 18 Mar 1941 Very cold and gale winds. Can't warm up the kitchen and living room. 1 above zero 10 Jan 1942 12 above this morning. North walls are frosted and sweating. Attic and shed all white with frost Mom had acquired an old washing machine from a neighbor and she struggled with it for several years. 21 Apr 1941 Washing machine wringer balked. Doug fixed it in p.m. 02 Mar 1942 couldn't wash because Doug hadn't fixed machine. He put in a new cord tonight. I can recall watching her running the machine and standing beside it and actually holding it down when it went through a spin cycle so it wouldn't fly apart. There were no clothes dryers in those days so the laundry was hung on lines outdoors. In the winter the clothes would occasionally freeze stiff before they dried. On rainy and windy days the clothes were hung on lines up in the attic or on racks around the house. The house had a well down in the basement, but it was shallow and full of sediment and debris, so it was a constant problem. In the kitchen sink was a hand pump, which after being primed, delivered the water to the kitchen. A dry pump has to be primed by pouring some water down the top of it to seat the leather seal, so a container of water always had to be kept at the sink. There was another well across the street behind the barn, but it was down slope below the outdoor toilet, so was not considered safe to drink except in an emergency, therefore one of Dad's first priorities was to fix the house well. 27 Jul 1941 Water is low in house but still holding out. 09 Sep 1941 Sent order to Sears for tires, clothing and electric pump 10 Sep 1941 New leather in kitchen pump. This well is so low we carry most of our water from the other well. 29 Sep 1941 House well gave out so all water for washing had to be brought from across road. 30 Sep 1941 We cleaned out the house well 03 Jan 1942 Kitchen pump out and faucet connection working! Even getting rid of the hard-earned water became a problem. 23 Mar 1942 Cesspool overflows again with 2 pails of water. 12 Jan 1943 Sink drain had been frozen for a week. Water runs into cellar. 17 Jan 1943 A brick fireplace with funnel finally thawed out drain pipe with help of wire to probe and punch. Our lack of money is evident in Mom's entries: 27 Dec 1941 We're flat broke but everybody's happy. 29 Mar 1942 Making foundation & frame for cold frames. Money is what we haven't any of, but every body's happy. 22 Nov 1942 No money so we ate a rooster 11 Mar 1943 No money so we didn't go to Grange card party. 14 Apr 1943 Sold some rags for $1.00 24 Apr 1943 No new clothes for Easter To add protein to the diet and get some spending money we raised a few chickens, which created more problems. 26 May 1943 Dad is having fun shooting rats in my henyard 06 Feb 1943 Moved hen's nests this p.m. to raise them up away from rats. 21 Oct 1943 Only getting 1-3 eggs a day from my old hens. Woe is me. 16 Dec 1943 Old hens do not pay for themselves. 05 Nov 1944 Killed our last 8 hens. Finally Dad had a new well drilled out behind the house and installed a bathroom INSIDE THE HOUSE!!! 27 Oct 1944 Well diggers have struck water. Seems to be plenty 27 Nov 1944 Too rainy to wash. Nice to have lots of good water at the sink. 03 Nov 1945 Water turned on and bathroom in operation. We now had an unbroken supply of running water with household plumbing! No more trips across the street to the barn privy, and no more potty pails in the bedroom!!!!! As kids we pretty much took all of this in stride and accepted it as normal. After all, we had a huge house, a barn, a big garden, a large field beside the house to play in, a pond nearby with TWO boats, and free raspberries, blackberries and blueberries within walking distance. We were rich and life was good! Or as Mom put it: 27 Dec 1941 We're flat broke but everybody's happy. |
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