by Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights & Reproductions

Welcome back to the transcription of Clara E. Currier’s 1925 diary. Currier was a working-class woman who lived in or near Haverhill, MA. Her diary records her daily activities – from fiber arts to paid employment to observations of the natural world – providing insight into daily life a century ago. You can find entries for January, February, March, and April in past blog posts.

When we last heard from Clara, she was recovering from a bout of measles. In May, we continue to follow her path to recovery, as she ventures further out of the house, returns to work, and has a follow-up with her doctor. She also returns to work, resumes her sewing and crocheting, and socializes with family and friends. In the second half of the month, she begins to record a time, almost always 6 p.m., on the first line of her daily entry. I haven’t found explanation of it and it does not continue into May. Perhaps that is the time she wrote the entries, or the time she took the tonic from the doctor. If I ever find out, I will be sure to let the blog know.

May 1, Fri. Fair, Blanche called, Mary and Charles came down and done some things for me, went out of doors for a few min. Mr. + Mrs. SeeGro called with fruit from the Grange.

May 2, Sat. Fair, went out to Vigeant’s store Wrote my pledge card .50[¢] for current expenses and .35[¢] for benevolences. Sizzie went home.

May 3, Sun. Fair, Thomas came down and took me home.

May 4, Mon. Showers (thunder).

May 5, Tues. Dull, went out a little ways with Charles for a ride.

May 6, Wed. Fair, went out for a walk.

May 7, Thurs. Fair, went out to walk. sewed on dress,

May 8, Fri. Fair, went out for a walk, crocheted and worked on my dress.

May 9, Sat. Fair, went for a walk and a ride with Charles, sewed and crocheted, legs still weak.

May 10, Sun. Fair, Gertie came up with our dowry, rode back with them and called on Uncle Will, has been sick but better.

May 11, Mon. Rainy, started in to work after being out 3 ½ weeks, pretty tired.

May 12, Tues. Fair.

May 13, Wed. Fair, walked over to Blache’s.

May 14, Thurs. Dull and chilly, went over to the Dr’s and he gave me a tonic, paid $14.

May 15, Fri. Rainy, read.

May 16, Sat. Fair, Sizzie and I went to Haverhill with our checks, called on Aunt Frannie, did some mending.

May 17, Sun. Fair, went to church and S.S. went over to Blanche’s.

May 18, Mon. Fair.

May 19, Tues. Fair, went to Grange. 6 P.M.

May 20, Wed. 6 P.M. Fair, did some mending.

May 21, Thurs [$]18.62 Fair, Blanche and I went to ‘The Butlers’ at the church.

May 22, Fri. 6 P.M. Fair, went up town.

May 23, Sat. Dull, went up home, made Mary’s hat. Found a $.

May 24, Sun. Fair with some rain at night, William brought me back.

May 25, Mon. 6 P.M. Rainy and cleared at night, went to Corner Class.

May 26, Tues. 6 P.M. Fair, went up to Stephen’s after work.

May 27, Wed. 6 P.M. Fair, Blanche came over to cut out dress.

May 28, Thurs. [$]20.14  6 P.M. Fair, went up town at noon called on Mrs. Dennis for a few minutes.

May 29, Fri. 6 P.M. Fair, went out to store.

May 30, Sat. Dull with thunder showers P.M, went out to see parade and then went up home. Worked on Annah’s hat.

May 31, Sun. Fair, went to church and out in the woods, William brought me home.

If you are interested in viewing the diary in person in our library or have other questions about the collection, please visit the library or contact a member of the library staff.

*Please note that this diary transcription is a rough-and-ready version, not an authoritative transcript. Researchers wishing to use the diary in the course of their own work should verify the version found here with the manuscript original.

This line-a-day blog series is inspired by and in honor of MHS reference librarian Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook (1981–2023), whose entertaining and enlightening line-a-day blog series ran from 2015 to 2019. Her generous, humane, and creative approach to both history and librarianship continues to influence the work of the MHS library.

by Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights & Reproductions

Today, we return to the transcription of Clara E. Currier’s 1925 diary. Currier was a working-class woman who lived in or near Haverhill, MA. Her diary records her daily activities – from fiber arts to paid employment to observations of the natural world – providing insight into daily life a century ago. You can find entries for January, February, and March in past blog posts.

April has a lovely start for Clara, making a hat, calling on friends and family, and celebrating Easter. In the middle of the month, though, she comes down with measles. For nearly a week, she has daily visits from her doctor, is attended to by Mary, and is bed-bound. Even after her high fever breaks and she starts to receive visits from friends, Clara is weak and has to start easing back into daily life, including sitting up, dressing, and leaving her bed. We will continue to follow her path to recovery in May.

Apr. 1, Wed. Fair, out for the day, went to Newburyport A.M, started to make a hat and went to Haverhill to Rebekah (Kenoya) and saw lovely work, Mae Jenney went with me.

Apr. 2, Thurs. [$]19. Fair, mended.

Apr. 3, Fri. Fair, went up to town.

Apr. 4, Sat. April showers, cooked and sewed, went up town and called on Mrs. Dennis.

Apr. 5, Sun Fair, went to church, Sizzie came over to dinner and we called on Mr. + Mrs. Charles Gould, looked at Uncle Will’s cellar, over to Union Cemetery and called at Delia’s.

Apr. 6, Mon. Fair, sewed.

Apr. 7, Tues. Fair, Mary came down, sewed, went to Grange, degrees.

Apr. 8, Wed. Fair, Mary sewed and went home at night, went up to Stephen’s with her.

Apr. 9, Thurs. [$]15.58 Fair, went up town, finished my hat, Blanche called.

Apr. 10, Fri. Rained in evening.

Apr. 11, Sat. Fair, went down to Grace Nealand’s for afternoon and evening.

Apr. 12, Sun. (Easter) Fair and cool, cloudy at night, went to church, S.S, and vesper service at Market St., and then went to Haverhill to a pageant. Wore my new hat.

Apr. 13, Mon. Snowed during night and in morning cleared away, and soon melted. Went to class meeting and helped serve refreshments.

Apr. 14, Tues. Fair, feeling mean, Blanche came over for the evening.

Apr. 15, Wed. Rainy, then cleared, worked in morning, had Dr. Murphy and went to bed with measles, thunder shower, Mary came down. Blanche came to the door.

Apr. 16, Thurss. [$]19. Fair, having a hot time in bed, no cold things. Dr. came

Apr. 17, Fri. Fair, Still hot and sweating. Dr. came.

Apr. 18, Sat. Fair and warmer, all broken out but still very hot so had Dr. and my temperature was 102°. Etta was over and brought grape juice.

April 19, Sun. Started to snow around 10 o’clock and had a regular N.E. snowstorm. Some better but Dr. found my temperature 100 ¾°. Mrs. Dennis came over.

Apr. 20, Mon. Ground all white with snow, cold and windy. Dr. came and found temperature normal, measles starting to go, have had them very hard.

Tues. Apr. 21 Fair and 20° above, Frank called, corner class sent a basket of fruit and candy.

Apr. 22, Wed. Fair and warm, Etta came over, brought ice cream, Delia ^{(ice cream)} called in the evening. Blache came to the door, Sizzie came nearly every day.

Thurs. Apr. 23 [$]9.12 Fair and windy, warm, Mary went to the Mason’s Minstrel Show.

Apr. 24, Fri Cloudy, William was down with hay and called, Rebekahs sent bouquet of cut flowers, set up.

Apr. 25, Sat. Fair and warm, Thunder shower at night and rained hard, Mary went up town, Grange dedicated the flag pole at Victoria Park. Set up awhile.

Apr. 26, Sun. Fair, William and mother came down and Mary went home with them, Was dressed for first time. Sizzie came to stay nights with me.

Apr. 27, Mon. Fair, sat up but weak. Blanche came over.

Apr. 28, Tues. Fair, got dinner and read a little.

Apr. 29, Wed. Dull and cold, Feel rather weak and shaky. Mr. Jackson called.

Apr. 30, Thurs. Rainy, Sizzie went to Grange play.

If you are interested in viewing the diary in person in our library or have other questions about the collection, please visit the library or contact a member of the library staff.

*Please note that this diary transcription is a rough-and-ready version, not an authoritative transcript. Researchers wishing to use the diary in the course of their own work should verify the version found here with the manuscript original.

This line-a-day blog series is inspired by and in honor of MHS reference librarian Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook (1981–2023), whose entertaining and enlightening line-a-day blog series ran from 2015 to 2019. Her generous, humane, and creative approach to both history and librarianship continues to influence the work of the MHS library.

by Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights & Reproductions 

Today, we return to the transcription of Clara E. Currier’s 1925 diary. Currier was a working-class woman who lived in or near Haverhill, MA. Her diary records her daily activities—from fiber arts to paid employment to observations of the natural world—and provides insight into daily life a century ago. You can find entries for January and February in past blog posts. 

March sees Clara further engaged with civic life, with a town meeting, a vote, and multiple class meetings. She makes a number of social calls, both at homes and at hospitals, and goes to the movies twice. March 1925 is filled with many “fair” days. May March 2025 fare the same!

Mar. 1, Sun. Rain and snow with wind in afternoon went up to see Aunt Frannie and Mae Tenney

Mar. 2, Mon. Fair, worked until six, went to town meeting with Mrs. Dennis and Sizzie.

Mar. 3, Tues. Fair, worked until six, went to mock town meeting at the grange.

Mar. 4, Wed. Fair, worked until six.

Mar. 5, Thurs [$] 21.66 Rain, worked until six, went to the pictures with Mrs. Dennis and mother.

Mar. 6, Fri. Fair, worked until six, went up town.

Mar. 7, Sat. Fair, worked until four, cleaned up, went to town and called on John + Mabel.

Mar. 8, Sun. Fair, went to Haverhill to church, called on Bernice and Laura Battis at Gale Hospital, on Mrs. Quimby and Stella Eastman.

Mar. 9, Mon. Fair, went up to vote, worked until six, went to class meeting.

Mar. 10, Tues. Fair, went to pictures and old-fashioned dance with Sizzie, Ada and Bertha were there, worked until six.

Mar. 11, Wed. Fair, worked until six, wrote letters.

Mar. 12, Thurs. [$]22.04 Fair, worked until six, wrote to Mary.

Mar. 13, Fri. Fair, went up town after 6 and got my electric iron (Universal).

Mar. 14, Sat. Rainy, went up town and called on Mrs. Merril. Worked until noon.

Mar. 15, Sun. Fair, went to S.S. and over to see Aunt Abbie.

Mar. 16, Mon. Fair and cooler, Got out at 5 o’clock, cooked, and mended.

Mar. 17, Tues. Rainy, went to Corner class supper and to Grange.

Mar. 18, Wed. Fair, wrote letters and made doughnuts.

Mar. 19, Thurs. [$]20.90 Rain with thunder and lightning. Went over to John’s and they were going to bed.

Mar. 20, Fri. Fair, went to concert at Methodist Church.

Mar. 21, Sat. Fair, went to Haverhill to Fraternal Rebekah Lodge to see the President and Assembly, staid all night with Ada.

Mar. 22, Sun. Fair, called on Mrs. Bagley and Maud and Bert with Ada.

Mar. 23, Mon. Fair, went to class meeting.

Mar. 24, Tues. Fair, spen the evening with Blanche.

Mar. 25, Wed. Showers, called at Dennis’s.

Mar. 26, Thurs. [$]19 Fair, went up town with Sizzie.

Mar. 27, Fri. Fair, went up town.

Mar. 28, Sat. Showery, went up home with Charles.

Mar. 29, Sun. Rain and snow, came back by train.

Mar. 30, Mon. Rain, went up town.

Mar. 31, Tues. Rain, cleared at night, went up to Stephen’s.

If you are interested in viewing the diary in person in our library or have other questions about the collection, please visit the library or contact a member of the library staff.

*Please note that this diary transcription is a rough-and-ready version, not an authoritative transcript. Researchers wishing to use the diary in the course of their own work should verify the version found here with the manuscript original.

This line-a-day blog series is inspired by and in honor of MHS reference librarian Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook (1981–2023), whose entertaining and enlightening line-a-day blog series ran from 2015 to 2019. Her generous, humane, and creative approach to both history and librarianship continues to influence the work of the MHS library.

by Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights & Reproductions 

Today, we return to the transcription of Clara E. Currier’s 1925 diary. Currier was a working-class woman who lived in or near Haverhill, MA. Her diary records her daily activities—from fiber arts to paid employment to observations of the natural world—providing insight into daily life a century ago. You can find entries for January in a past blog post. 

February ushers in a series of dull days, which Clara fills with work, her fiber crafts, and entertainments with friends. She observes more cosmological and geological events and weathers a few storms. Clara starts taking home paychecks from her work and records her pay for the week on Thursdays.

Feb. 1, Sun. Fair and warmer, went to church and S.S, went up to Stephen’s for the afternoon, Charley and Delia came up after supper.

Feb. 2, Mon. Snow, wrote letters.

Feb. 3, Tues. Dull, went to Grange

Feb. 4, Wed. Fair, went over to see Blanche, crocheted.

Feb. 5, Thurs. [$]19 Fair, crocheted.

Feb. 6, Fri. Fair, went up town and cooked.

Feb 7, Sat. Fair and warmer, went to Haverhill about glasses and over home, had a sleighride.

Feb. 8, Sun. Fair and warm, went out skiing, saw a partial eclipse of the moon on the full, William brought me back. Wrote to Mrs. Muller.

Feb. 9, Mon. Dull with fog at night, went to class meeting, crocheted.

Feb. 10, Tues. Foggy, Blache came over.

Feb. 11, Wed. Foggy and rain, went over to Dennis’s and heard some fine music on the radio, crocheted.

Feb. 12, Thurs. [$]19. Foggy, knit and crocheted.

Feb. 13, Fri. Fair, went to the Swanee River Quartet concert (colored) at the Methodist Church with Sizzie and Blanche.

Feb. 14, Sat. Fair, washed and cooked, went uptown.

Feb. 15, Sun. Rain, went up to Delia’s for afternoon and evening with Sizzie.

Feb. 16, Mon. Fair, wrote letters and cooked.

Feb. 17, Tues. Dull, went to Grange.

Feb. 18, Wed. Fair, went to Legion play, “The Village School.[”]

Feb. 19, Thurs. [$]19 Fair, worked until six o’clock.

Feb. 20, Fri. Fair, worked until six then went up to Stephen’s.

Feb. 21, Sat. Fair, worked until 4 o’clock then went up home, Charles and Mabel came after me.

Feb. 22, Sun. Fair and springlike, went out after pussy willows, William and Mary brought me back.

Feb. 23, Mon. Dull and rainy, worked all day until six, went to class meeting.

Feb. 24, Tues. Dull, then cleared, worked until six, went up town at noon.

Feb. 25, Wed. Dull, worked until six, knit.

Feb. 26, Thurs. [$]20.90 Rain ^{hail, snow,} and cleared out at night, very cold and windy, waited on table at men’s club banquet, had Rev. Mr. Lindsay to speak.

Feb. 27, Fri. Fair and cold, worked until six, heard radio at Mrs. Dennis’s.

Feb. 28, Sat. Fair, worked until four o’clock, went up town, had an earthquake shock at 9.30 P.M shoke the house.

If you are interested in viewing the diary in person in our library or have other questions about the collection, please visit the library or contact a member of the library staff.

*Please note that this diary transcription is a rough-and-ready version, not an authoritative transcript. Researchers wishing to use the diary in the course of their own work should verify the version found here with the manuscript original.

This line-a-day blog series is inspired by and in honor of MHS reference librarian Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook (1981–2023), whose entertaining and enlightening line-a-day blog series ran from 2015 to 2019. Her generous, humane, and creative approach to both history and librarianship continues to influence the work of the MHS library.

by Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights & Reproductions 

Long time readers of the blog may recall a series of posts that ran from 2015 to 2019, transcribing a line-a-day diary from exactly one century before. This series was run by Anna Clutterbuck-Cook, who at the time of her passing in 2023 was the Senior Reference Librarian here at the MHS. Anna was mid-way through that series when I started at the MHS and it quickly became one of my favorite features on the blog. In memory of Anna and to bring back a delightful, regular read, I want to pick up the series and bring to you, our lovely readers, a new diary transcription project.

For 2025 we will be journeying with Clara E. Currier, a woman who lived in or near Haverhill, Massachusetts, and her 1925 diary. Blog readers first met Currier in a 2022 blog post about the 1918 influenza pandemic, which Currier mentioned in her diary for that year. Currier was a regular diarist and while we only have her diaries for 1 July 1918 to 31 December 1919, 1 January 1925 to 31 March 1926, and 1 January 1928 to 1932, I speculate that she kept a diary for most of her adult life. While I haven’t been able to learn much about Currier’s life from sources outside of her diaries, the diaries do tell me that she had a small circle of friends and family in the area, wore glasses, could knit, crochet, embroider, and sew, and had an active volunteer life.

Without further ado, I present Clara Currier’s 1925 diary.

Jan. 1, Thurs. Fair and cold, sewed.

Jan. 2, Fri. Dull with snow flurries, cold, embroidered. Swept chambers.

Jan. 3, Sat. Dull, snowed and rained a little, went up to Edith Palmer’s, crocheted.

Jan. 4, Sun. Fair, read, went to church in evening.

Jan. 5, Mon. Fair, went over to Frank’s and played whist.

Jan. 6, Tues. Dull and raw, went to Haverhill* to have eyes tested, called on May Pickering, crocheted.

Jan. 7, Wed. Fair, help cut up lard, crocheted and sewed. Saw a flying machine and a earthquake shock.

Jan. 8, Thurs. Fair and warmer, crocheted, went over to Frank to play whist.

Jan. 9, Fri. Fair, lovely moon, worked on bungalow apron, played whist. Swept chambers.

Jan. 10, Sat. Fair, Gertie, Sizzie and Ralph came up.

Jan. 11, Sun. Dull, went to church and over to Uncle Will’s. Charlie, Delia and Ben were there.

Jan. 12, Mon. Snowed, did some embroidery.

Jan. 13, Tues. Snowed a little and cleared, embroidered, played whist.

Jan. 14, Wed. Fair and cold, Mary and I went down to Kate’s for the afternoon and to the Grange Installation by Mr. + Mrs. Otis Eastman in the evening. Listened in on the radio.

Jan. 15, Thurs. Fair, crocheted and played whist.

Jan. 16, Fri. Dull with snow in afternoon and evening, crocheted, done the sweeping.

Jan. 17, Sat. Fair, finished a doily and sewed.

Jan. 18, Sun. Fair with snow flurries, started to read, “Fair Harbor” by Lincoln. [editor’s note: Fair Harbor by Joseph C. Lincoln is available to read for free on the Internet Archive]

Jan. 19, Mon. Fair, finished some insertion, went up and called on Helen West with Mary.

Jan. 20, Tues. Snow, took the 9.45 train for Haverhill and came to Amesbury and went to work after dinner.

Jan. 21, Wed. Fair, went to Haverhill to Rebekah Roll Call.

Jan 22, Thurs. 3.42 Fair with strong wind at night. Settled.

Jan. 23, Fri. Fair, very cold and windy, went up town. 

Jan. 24, Sat. Changeable and warmer, saw the eclipse from start to finish, began to cover from the west side and came off from the top. The moon passed between the earth and sun nearly total, had the appearance of a thunder storm a coming. Went to Haverhill after my glasses. Gertie rode home with me. Got some overshoes.

Jan. 25, Sun. Fair, went to church and called on Cody and Charlie. They have a cute bungalow.

Jan. 26, Mon. Fair and a little warmer, went to Corner Class meeting at Mrs. Fiske.

Jan. 27, Tues. Snow, did some clearing up.

Jan. 28, Wed. Fair and cold, called on John and Mabel and Mrs. Dennis.

Jan. 29, Thurs. Cold with snow at night, cleaned up kitchen. First pay day.

Jan. 30, Fri. Rain and snow and then froze up, icy. Covered my box for grange.

Jan. 31, Sat. Fair and a little warmer, went up town on errands, read.

If you are interested in viewing the diary in person in our library or have other questions about the collection, please visit the library or contact a member of the library staff.

*Please note that this diary transcription is a rough-and-ready version, not an authoritative transcript. Researchers wishing to use the diary in the course of their own work should verify the version found here with the manuscript original.