The blog posts below are taken from my grandmother's diaries. Althea Green Smith Crook was lovingly referred to as Nanny to her immediate family ~ thus her diaries are called Nanny's Diaries.

Nanny wrote in her diaries when she remembered to - mostly in the evening. There will be some years in which she didn't keep diaries and there will also be some days/weeks in her yearly diaries in which she skipped or forgot to write in them. For the most part, these are her words - written as she wrote them. There will be typos, forgotten punctuation, and other grammatical errors - but I am rewriting these as my Nanny originally wrote them.

As with all old handwriting, there are some entries that I can't quite make out - and these entries will be followed with a (?) to signify that this may or may not be correct or I can't figure out what she is trying to write.

Thank you Nanny for leaving us 50 years worth of memories! We miss you!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

November 22 - 28, 1947 14 Men Went Hunting



Saturday, November 22, 1947

Good day. Bill hunted some. We got our radio. Went to town in eve.



Sunday, November 23, 1947

Billie came home from his hunting trip he and Glenn Chadbourne. Bill and Billie canned strawberries and got pullets from Bob’s. Blanche and Joy here today.



Monday, November 24, 1947

Did a big wash. Cloudy, snow and rain after dark. Billie put tools away and boarded back of the barn up.



Tuesday, November 25, 1947

Cooked. Ironed in eve. Bill didn’t work. Hunted. He and Billie, Raymond and Val.



Wednesday, November 26, 1947

Cooked and cleaned up the house.



Thursday, November 27, 1947

14 men went hunting. Thanksgiving Day dinner. Chicken, mashed and sweet potatoes, turnip, squash, onions, shell beans, fruit salad, cranberry sauce. Hot rolls, chocolate pie, whipped cream, date filled, lemon sponge, butter crunch pies. Suet pudding and sauce, whipped cream cake, tarts and brownies. Ed over to Earl Davies for dinner.



Friday, November 28, 1947

Brought back our pig. Bill worked. Fern and Lloyd up in eve. Lloyd cut the pig up.
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Saturday, January 24, 2015

November 15 - 21, 1947



Saturday, November 15, 1947

We went to town in eve.



Sunday, November 16, 1947

Billie and Glenn Chadbourne on a week hunting trip up to Bill Ridlon’s camp at Sweden. Bill took them up.



Monday, November 17, 1947

Washed. Hung the clothes on porch for second time.



Tuesday, November 18, 1947

Dorothea home from school with a bad cold. I ironed.



Wednesday, November 19, 1947

Did regular work. Up to see Minnie’s nice stove and they got the telephone. Lin Hall fired the oil furnace. Dorothea still home.



Thursday, November 20, 1947

Chet got his heifer today. Fern and Lloyd called in eve. Esther’s birthday. Dorothea back to school. Bundle came from Sears.



Friday, November 21, 1947

Cold. I helped Blanche move some of her things. I washed. Sold the old hens to Sam Knight.


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Friday, January 23, 2015

November 8 - 14, 1947



Saturday, November 8, 1947

Cloudy, rained hard in late p.m. and evening and the wind blowed hard. Es up here to dinner today.



Sunday, November 9, 1947

Clear and cold. Bill and Lloyd sawed wood. Cliff took us over to see Brownfield.



Monday, November 10, 1947

Very cold and windy. I washed. Dick Knight began on barn roof.



Tuesday, November 11, 1947

Norma Gay Smith born on her mother and father’s one year wedding anniversary. Got telegram. Dick Knight painted barn.
Norma Gay Smith



Wednesday, November 12, 1947

Es and Cliff down to Kennie’s for supper. Bill home. It rained. He and Billie moved the furnace over.



Thursday, November 13, 1947

Nice day. Es and Cliff here for supper. Raymond called in eve. Mama, Es and Cliff went down to cemetery and for a little ride.



Friday, November 14, 1947

Bill didn’t work. He and Billie moved the furnace. Very cold and windy. I (?) winnerd beans. Es and Cliff off this morning.

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Thursday, January 22, 2015

November 1 - 7, 1947 Esther Arrives For A Visit



Saturday, November 1, 1947

Cold, I cleaned the shed. Bill, kids and I went to town. Dick Knight up to see about painting the barn. Housecleaning all done. I got my new shoes.



Sunday, November 2, 1947

They sawed a little wood. Fern came up. Lloyd here for dinner. Aunt Ava and Uncle Lewis called.



Monday, November 3, 1947

We washed. Bill stayed at home. He and Billie cleaned out the well. Set out the new fruit trees. Dick Knight painted the house.



Tuesday, November 4, 1947

Es and Cliff came today. Called up here in eve.



Wednesday, November 5, 1947

Cooked. Did the work. Es and Fern called in PM a few minutes. Cloudy.



Thursday, November 6, 1947



Es and Cliff here for supper and spent afternoon and evening. They cleaned out our oil burner. Lin Hall did the work.



Friday, November 7, 1947

I washed. Cloudy. Cliff and Esther to Kennard’s. They worked on Smith’s new house.


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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

October 25 - 31, 1947 Rain!



Saturday, October 25, 1947

Fires bad at Biddeford, Saco and Hollis and Kezar Falls. We went to town in eve.



Sunday, October 26, 1947

Bill and Lloyd worked on the sawing machine. And sawed a little wood. Awful smoky fires at Biddeford.



Monday, October 27, 1947

I washed. Fires not so bad. I started on the dining room.



Tuesday, October 28, 1947

I finished the dining room. Fires under control.



Wednesday, October 29, 1947

RAINED most of the day. Bill went to Portland with Jim. I cooked and we churned. Forest fires out.



Thursday, October 30, 1947

We cleaned in the kitchen and it was cold and cloudy. Bill and Jim up to Dixfield.



Friday, October 31, 1947

We finish cleaning the kitchen. Cold. Dorothea stayed down to scout meeting. Bill and Jim up to Dixfield again.
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