October 18, 1934 - December 31, 1934

Note: Because of her mother's illness, an illness that ultimately proved fatal, Ruth didn't write in her diary from again until 1935.

Thank you for reading, and please check back at the turn of the year.

Wednesday, October 17, 1934

Note: Ruth did not write in her diary today.

Construction site of the Lillian Wald Playground
Lower East Side, New York City
October 17, 1934

Lillian D. Wald (March 10, 1867 – September 1, 1940) was a nurse; social worker; public health official; teacher; author; editor; publisher; activist for peace, women's, children's and civil rights; and the founder of American community nursing. Her unselfish devotion to humanity is recognized around the world and her visionary programs have been widely copied.

Tuesday, October 16, 1934

Gave talk in English. Mother still sick.

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek
October 1934

The Long March was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Communist Party of China, the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party) army. There was not one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the north and west. The most well known is the march from Jiangxi province which began October 16, 1934. The First Front Army of the Chinese Soviet Republic, led by an inexperienced military commission, was on the brink of annihilation by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's troops in their stronghold in Jiangxi province. The Communists, under the eventual command of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, escaped in a circling retreat to the west and north, which reportedly traversed some 12,500 kilometers (8,000 miles) over 370 days. The route passed through some of the most difficult terrain of western China by traveling west, then north, to Shaanxi.

Monday, October 15, 1934

Went to school. Mother stayed in bed sick today.

Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra

Coon-Sanders Original Nighthawk Orchestra was the first Kansas City jazz band to achieve national recognition, which it acquired through national radio broadcasts. It was founded in 1919, as the Coon-Sanders Novelty Orchestra, by drummer Carleton Coon and pianist Joe Sanders.


The orchestra began broadcasting in 1922 on clear channel station WDAF, which could be received throughout the United States. They were broadcast in performance at the Muehlebach Hotel in Kansas City. They took the name Nighthawks because they broadcast late at night (11:30pm to 1:00am). By 1924 their fan club had 37,000 members. Fans were encouraged to send in requests for songs by letter, telephone or telegram. That move became so popular that Western Union set up a ticker tape between Sanders' piano and Coon's drums so the telegrams could be acknowledged during the broadcasts. Their song "Nighthawk Blues" includes the lines: "Tune right in on the radio/Grab a telegram and say 'Hello'." In 1925, they recorded the Paul Whiteman and Fred Rose composition "Flamin' Mamie".

At their peak, each member of the Orchestra owned identical Cord Automobiles, each in a different color with the name of the Orchestra and the owner embossed on the rear. The Orchestra's popularity showed no signs of abating and their contract with MCA had another 15 years to run in the spring of 1932 when Carleton Coon came down with a jaw infection and died, on May 4.


Joe Sanders attempted to keep the organization going; however, without Coon, the public did not support them. In 1935, he formed his own group and played until the early 1940s when he became a part time orchestra leader and studio musician. In his later years he suffered from failing eyesight and other health problems. He died in 1965 after suffering a stroke.

The Kansas City Public Library acquired the scrapbooks and other memorabilia collected and prepared by Joe Sanders and the information is available to researchers.

Sunday, October 14, 1934

Went to Sunday school and church. Changed classess. Helen and I saw "Flying Down to Rio."

Starring Dolores del Rio, Gene Raymond and Raul Roulien
Genre: Comedy/Musical/Romance
Run Time: 89 minutes

Plot Summary:

Aviator and band leader Roger Bond is forever getting his group fired for flirting with the lady guests. When he falls for Brazilian beauty Belinha de Rezende it appears to be for real, even though she is already engaged. His Yankee Clippers band is hired to open the new Hotel Atlântico in Rio and Roger offers to fly Belinha part way home. After a mechanical breakdown and forced landing, Roger is confident and makes his move, but Belinha plays hard to get. She can't seem to decide between Roger and her fiance Júlio. When performing the airborne production number to mark the Hotel's opening, Júlio gets some intriguing ideas...

 

Saturday, October 13, 1934

Aunt Jennie was up. Got overshoes today. Helen's were over. Went up to Pauline's. Nadine's sister had a baby boy. Ollie was over.

Friday, October 12, 1934

Daddy took us to school. Stayed for typing. Pauline and Ruth Ray were down. I got some grapes.

Christopher Columbus (Italian: Cristoforo Colombo; Spanish: Cristóbal Colón; before 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506)

Columbus Day is a U.S. holiday that commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the New World on October 12, 1492. It was unofficially celebrated in a number of cities and states as early as the 18th century but did not become a federal holiday until 1937. For many, the holiday is a way of both honoring Columbus' achievements and celebrating Italian-American heritage. Throughout its history, Columbus Day and the man who inspired it have generated controversy, and many alternatives to the holiday have appeared in recent years.

Thursday, October 11, 1934

Went to school. Daddy worked today.

Shawnee Indian Mission Historical Site
3403 West 53rd Street
Fairway Kansas 66205
(913) 262-0867

The Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway, Kansas served as a manual training school for children from the Shawnee, Delaware and other Indian nations from 1839-1854 and continued as a school without manual training until 1862. The territorial governor, Andrew Reeder, established his offices at the mission in 1854. The first territorial legislature met at the mission in 1855 after adjourning from the first territorial capital at present day Fort Riley. During the legislative session the "bogus laws" were passed in an attempt to further slavery in Kansas. The mission was also a supply point on the Santa Fe and Oregon Trails and an Union camp during the Civil War. Thomas Johnson, the Methodist missionary who founded Shawnee Indian Mission, is buried in the nearby Shawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery. He was killed in 1865 for his antislavery sentiments.

Wednesday, October 10, 1934

Ruth Ray and I walked to school. Tests in Shorthand and English. Went to the nurse. Rode home. Pauline and Nadine came down in the evening.

Edward "Ned" Kelly (June 1854 or 1855 – 11 November 1880)

When the Kellys Rode is a 1934 Australian film directed by Harry Southwell about Ned Kelly and his gang. A policeman comes to arrest Dan Kelly, which results in him being shot and Ned Kelly going on the run with his gang. They rob several banks but are captured and killed at the Glenrowan Hotel. The movie was released in Australia in October 1934.

Tuesday, October 9, 1934

Rode to school. Went up and played at Pauline's. Got apples. It sure was warm today.

Stayman's Winesap Apple

A Stayman (or Stayman's Winesap) is a triploid apple cultivar developed in 1866 by Joseph Stayman of Leavenworth, KS; sold by nurseries from 1895. There are two other varieties of Stayman apples; one is green, the other yellow. Staymans remain a locally popular cultivar of apple where grown.

Monday, October 8, 1934

Daddy took us girls to school. Got warm today. Went up and played tag, etc. with some of the kids.

James Buchanan Brady (August 12, 1856 – April 13, 1917)
AKA "Diamond Jim" Brady

An American businessman, financier, and philanthropist of the Gilded Age,
Brady was known for his penchant for jewels, especially diamonds. He collected precious stones and jewelry in excess of US$ 2 million (more than $50 million in today's dollars).

Brady's enormous appetite was as legendary as his wealth, though modern experts believe it was greatly exaggerated. It was not unusual, according to the legend, for Brady to eat enough food for ten people at a sitting. When he died in his sleep of a stroke, doctors discovered his stomach was six times the size of a normal person's stomach.

Sunday, October 7, 1934

Went to Sunday school and church. Kate and Helen were over. Went to see "It Happened One Night" again. Ollie was over.

1934 movie poster for It Happened One Night

Saturday, October 6, 1934

Went to court. Guy got three days. I got candy, books, paper, etc. Daddy listened to the ball game.

The legendary 1934 "Gashouse Gang" (St. Louis Cardinals)

The 1934 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" winning in seven games for their third championship in nine years.

Friday, October 5, 1934

A man started to steal something out of our car. Police got him.

Tropical Storm Eleven -
Duration: October 1-6, 1934

The ninth storm of the 1934 Atlantic hurricane season formed in the western Caribbean near Cuba's Isle of Youth on the first of October. It moved somewhat slowly northwestward past the western tip of Cuba and into the Gulf of Mexico. On October 4, while in the middle of the Gulf, it re-curved to the north-northeast, reaching its peak intensity of 60 mph (97 km/h) as it did so. It made landfall on Dauphin Island, Alabama late into the next day as a weakening storm. It dissipated inland the next day, having caused no significant damage.

Thursday, October 4, 1934

Note: Ruth didn't write in her diary today.



Wednesday, October 3, 1934

Daddy took Mother to the doctor for a hypo today.

Old Mill - Lee's Summit, Missouri

Lee's Summit, Missouri was founded in 1865 by William B. Howard. Lee's Summit began as a bustling, entrepreneurial town because of its location on the Union Pacific Railroad. A Kentuckian, Howard established the first park in Lee's Summit, called Howard Park. It was used by the townspeople for all kinds of events, including the Lee's Summit Fair which eventually became the Jackson County Fair.  

Tuesday, October 2, 1934

Mother stayed in bed sick today.

Josephine Baker (June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975)

Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, she became a citizen of France in 1937. Fluent in both English and French, Baker became an international musical and political icon. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess". She married her second husband, Willie Baker, in 1921 but that marriage also was short lived. She retained that last name simply because her career began taking off during that time and that is the last name with which she became best known.

Baker was the first African American female to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou, to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a world-famous entertainer. She is also noted for her contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States (she was offered the unofficial leadership of the movement by Coretta Scott King in 1968 following Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination, but turned it down), for assisting the French Resistance during World War II, and for being the first American-born woman to receive the French military honor, the Croix de guerre.

Josephine Baker died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Her funeral was held at L'Eglise de la Madeleine. The first American-born oman to receive full French military honors at her funeral, Baker locked up the streets of Paris one last time. She was interred at the Cimetière de Monaco in Monte Carlo.

Monday, October 1, 1934

Walked to school and home with the girls. Read a magazine after I finished my night work.

Claire Trevor (March 8, 1910 – April 8, 2000)
October 1934

An Academy Award-winning actress, Trevor was nicknamed the "Queen of Film Noir" because of her many appearances in "bad girl" roles in film noir and other black-and-white thrillers. She appeared in over 60 films. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Key Largo and was nominated for her roles in The High and the Mighty and Dead End.

Claire Trevor died of respiratory failure at the age of 90 in Newport Beach, California. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6933 Hollywood Blvd.