Meet the Diarists
On an ordinary day, I plan to post 3 entries, one from each writer. However, on days when one or two of them didn't write at all, there will be nothing to post for them that day.
Mary (last name unknown) finished high school in 1934, and so was probably around 18 at the beginning of that year, meaning she would have been born around 1916. I know that she was American and lived somewhere with snow in the winter, but that is all. Most of her journal covers her college years. She wrote from 1934-1936. Though she wrote nearly every day for the first 2 years, she trailed off towards the beginning of September 1936. She was Catholic with several friends and studying to be a teacher.
Phyllis O'Rourke was approximately 13 at the beginning of 1940, so would have been born about 1926. She lived in New York state and wrote from 1940-1946, although some years trail off halfway through and she skipped 1942 altogether. Other than the missing year, I will skip any day she didn't write, so she will be more inconsistent than the others. She was also Catholic with one sister close to her age and another old enough to work and live on her own. She talks about her family, friends, school, several boys later on, and general life things.
Frances Sheffield was married with an adult son and at least one young grandson by 1962, so I estimate she was born between 1910-1920. I got incredibly lucky with her journals--she wrote every single day from 1962-1971 and then from 1977-1978. It's mostly mundane life, housework and letters and visits, but I find that's the beauty of history--Not the exciting rare times but just what did a mundane life look like? I'm especially grateful to Frances because her diaries ensure that I will have at least one post every single day for the foreseeable future. She was also Christian, and also lived in New York state. I am fairly certain that Vern was her husband and Rich her son.
Note: Although I do my best, handwriting can be hard to read. Especially in Mary's entries, I may have multiple spots filled in with {???} when I couldn't decipher what she meant. I appreciate any assistance if you have any corrections or additions