Saturday, January 7, 1933

Got my notebook and paper. Stayed at home today. Listened to the radio. I borrowed a magazine and read it.

  RCA Cathedral Design Radio

                                         January 1933

Friday, January 6, 1933

Graded Science tests. I made M. Today was Ollie’s birthday. We made a cake, but she didn't come over.

*Poor Man's Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put 1 cup sugar, 2 cups raisins, 1 teaspoon cloves, 1/2 cup lard (shortening), 2 cups water, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, pinch of salt in a pan. Boil 3 minutes. Cool. Add 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 3 cups flour. Mix and bake in a greased and floured cake pan about 45 minutes.

Thursday, January 5, 1933

Had Science test today. This evening all of Raiferts came over and so did Ollie Gatlin and played cards.

*Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge spanning the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Because the Depression has dried up financing options, San Francisco-based Bank of America buys up the bonds to build the bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge officially opens on May 27, 1937, the longest bridge span in the world to date.

Wednesday, January 4, 1933

Made 85% on a Civics test today. Beans and cornbread for supper. Played pinochle. Daddy won. Mrs. Raifert and Hattie came over.

*Skillet Cornbread

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place a well greased 10-inch iron skillet into which a little corn meal has been sprinkled into the warming oven while you mix up the cornbread.

Sift together 1 1/2 cups corn meal, 1 heaping Tablespoon flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add 1 cup buttermilk and 1 egg to dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly and stir in 2 Tablespoons melted shortening (note: I use bacon drippings).

Pour mixture into hot skillet and bake about 25 minutes or until well-browned. Run a knife around the sides and turn out onto a plate.

Tuesday, January 3, 1933

Went back to school today. Met a new girl who walked home with me and walked to school with me this a.m. Girl was Bernice Gregory.

*Typical weekday breakfast for 1930s families eating relief food: Oatmeal with milk, bread and molasses, milk for children, coffee for adults.

*Courtesy the Betty Crocker Kitchens, General Mills, Inc.

Monday, January 2, 1933

Went over to Aunt Minnie’s today. Stayed a little while. Tomorrow school starts again after holidays.

*On January 2, 1933, the 5th Marine Regiment, United States Marines Corps, withdrew from Nicaragua. It trained and left behind a powerful National Guard in a country beset by struggle between liberal and conservative forces centered respectively in the cities of León and Granada.

Founded by the Spanish in the early 1550s, the two cities became competing poles of power. Their militant rivalry often left Nicaragua subject to outside interests even after the country gained independence from Spain in the early 1800s.

British and U.S. interests in Nicaragua grew during the mid-1800s because of its strategic importance as a transit route across the Central American isthmus. With the advent of the California gold rush, Nicaragua proved a popular interoceanic shortcut. Cornelius Vanderbilt's steamship company transported supplies and prospectors from the Atlantic, along Nicaragua's San Juan River, then across Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific.

Source: Library of Congress

Sunday, January 1, 1933

Ruth's parents: Hector and Agnes McKenzie

Went to Sunday School this a.m. Daddy had dinner ready. Mitchell came over and played cards in the evening. Last nite we went over to R’s (Raiferts). Had a lunch at 12 a.m. Played pinochle. (I read magazines.) Watched New Year in. Mother got her shoes.

*Average price of a pair of women’s shoes in 1933: $1.79.