November 6, 1941 (Thursday)

HENRY GOES TO GRAND RAPIDS TO SEE THE HOGS GET WEIGHED

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A nasty rainy day

much colder to-night

turning to snow.

Orlo + Hank storing the

tools the A.M.

Sold six hogs to

Harold Yoder at 9.90 per

cwt. brought $1.20 [?]

Henry went to G.R. to

see them weighed.

Putting up some new

curtains in dining

room. Had to shorten them.

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I sometimes have difficulty deciphering things that Edna writes. With a little squinting, a call to my dad, or a Google search, I can generally figure it out. I struggled to figure out two things Edna wrote in this particular journal entry.

At first, not being experienced in livestock, I thought Harold Yoder paid $9.90 per "cut." That didn't make a lot of sense to me so I started to search the internet for livestock sales terminology. Thank you, Google. I think Edna wrote $9.90 per "cwt."

According to the internet "the abbreviation "CWT" refers to centum or cental weight, meaning hundredweight. This was set in law in 1835 when the Weights and Measures Act established one hundredweight as 112 pounds, In the U.S. and Canada, one hundredweight, then and now, is 100 pounds."

The USDA reports that the average cwt for hogs in 1941 was $9.50. It seems that Harold Yoder paid Henry and Edna a good price for the six hogs he purchased.

Something I was not able to determine was what Edna meant after noting that Harold paid $9.90 per cwt.

Bought or brought? I am not certain.

$1.20 seems clear. But what comes next?

Ignore the bottom half of the P from the line above. Is that "ov" or "or" or "ou" or something else written above the pencil line? Is she referring to what they originally paid?

I am sure those of you in the know about farming and livestock can clear this confusion up for me rather quickly.

August 5, 1941 (Tuesday)

ORLO RECEIVES NOTICE FROM LOCAL DRAFT BOARD

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Cool + Dry and Sunny Day.

Did usual routine of

daily work. Took another

nap this P.M. Catching

up on rest + sleep.

Did most of the ironing

to-night.

Henry went to G.R. to

Road Comm Meeting.

Vera Watts came to ride

to G.R. with Henry but

he had gone and

forgotten about her

wanting to ride with

him.

Orlo received his notice

from draft board to go

to G.R. next Tuesday Aug

12 for physical exam.

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The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was implemented on September 16, 1940. It was the first peacetime conscription in United States History. Exactly one moth later, Orlo Hostetler registered for the draft.

Following World War I, there was an effort made to better screen individuals for physical and mental health before entering into service. Tuberculosis took a toll on servicemen during World War I. It was a leading cause of disability discharges. In addition to tuberculosis and other physical health matters, about 122,000 men were hospitalized for mental health issues during that war. As a result, the Federal Government paid out well over 1 billion dollars for disability, compensation, and hospital treatment of WWI vets for mental health related issues alone.

At the time of the the 1940 draft, a physical screening to "eliminate the physically and mentally unfit" was put into place.

Prior to entering into war, the United States hoped to enlist 900,000 "highly qualified" men. The pool from which to secure those men was about 17,000,000. As such, standards for selection for service was quite high. This changed significantly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Physical standards were lowered as the demand for service personnel significantly increased.

Local boards were given the authority to make determinations about an individuals ability to serve. Physical exams, appeals, conscientious objector status, and deferment requests were all determined by these local boards which were often made up of prominent and influential community members.

On this day in 1941, not quite a year after registering for service, Orlo Hostetler (age 22) received his notice to report to the local draft board for his physical exam.

Four months and two days after receiving that notice, the United States would be at war.

August 4, 1941 (Monday)

SWEET CORN AND HOME GROWN CUCUMBERS

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Quite a lot cooler

but no rain as yet.

Washed - a [big?] one.

Didn't do any ironing.

Too tired.

Took a nap this P.M.

Orlo and Hank are

hoeing corn.

Hank went with ball

team to Lowell to play

Woodland. Hot Points won

the game.

Henry went to G.R. on Right

of Way.

Sweet corn and home

grown cucumbers for

dinner.

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Other than homegrown tomatoes, cucumbers fresh from the garden are one of my very favorite foods!

My three favorite ways to eat them (in no particular order) are:

• Sliced with or without the skin - plain (no salt needed)

• Canned as bread and butter pickles

• In a creamy cucumber salad

When I was a kid my mom would grow garden cucumbers and make jars and jars of homemade bread and butter pickles. Canning pickles was an all day event. She also made dill pickles. The dill pickles were delicious but the bread and butter pickles were my favorite. My mom used a recipe that was handed down to her by her grandma (Josie) Jones.

Josie Jones

Josephine (White) Jones was born in Fulton, New York on June 8, 1876. Josie married Albany Lloyd Jones on November 21,1895. Together they had six children, Harold, Beatrice, Maxine (my grandmother), John, and twins who did not survive.

My grandmother, like her mother Josephine (Josie) , was born on June 8th.

My grandmother Maxine had four children of her own; Sally (my mom), Jane, Mary Ann, and Jill.

Like her mother Maxine and her grandmother Josie, my Aunt Jill was also born on June 8. My Aunt Jill's first born daughter decided enough was enough. She made her way into the world on June 1.

Josie Jones died on February 14, 1958. She was living with her daughter (my grandmother) at the time.

My mom, the oldest of her four sisters, was just 19 years old when her grandmother passed away.

I never knew my great grandmother Jones but I was well-acquainted with her bread and butter pickles. My mom kept a neatly written recipe for those pickles on a card in a box along with other family recipes.

I asked mom if she could send me a picture of the recipe card so I could share it in this blog. It didn't take her long to find it in her treasure trove of recipes.

Mom wants it noted that the picture is not blurry. It is the ink on the card that has blurred over the years.

Two summertime staples that regularly appeared on my childhood dinner table also contained garden-grown cucumbers. Both recipes were similar with vinegar and sugar as the base. But my favorite of the two also contained sour cream. Either can be made with or without onions. I prefer them with.

I still make both of these cucumber salads today. My recipe for my favorite version follows:

• Pour a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar into a bowl

• Add as much sugar as you see fit, until it dissolves

• Dump in some sour cream until you get the consistency you like

• Add sliced cucumbers and sliced onion (I prefer Vidalia onions)

• Mix

• Chill before serving

• Enjoy

I don't think my recipe will be shared with future generations given my inability to provide accurate measurements but you get the basic concept. If not, I am sure a simple Google search will produce hundreds of similar results.