Wherein Lennie Works, Bums, Plays in the Band, and Bikes!

Our hero, Lennie Davis, works on neighboring farms all week, thrashing oats, shelling corn, fixing fence. Finally, on Friday afternoon, he gets some time off and bums around town. And in his entry for August 27, he goes bicycle riding!

Sunday, August 14, 1898
Frank went to Chicago. Art & Charlie came down. Walked out to Petersons.

Monday, August 15, 1898
Thrashed for Dillon.

Tuesday, August 16, 1898
Thrashed for Dillon until 4 PM. Stacked oats rest of day.

Wednesday, August 17, 1898
Finished stacking oats. Fixed fence. Came home.

Thursday, August 18, 1898
Shelled corn for Anderson.
Went out to Porters (sp?) with Ida LeMay.

Friday, August 19, 1898
Shelled corn. Bummed around town in afternoon.

Saturday, August 20, 1898
Helped ?? (sp?) in shop. Hotest day in Neb for years. 104 degrees.

Another week has gone by. The weather has turned hot. This following week Lennie takes time off to play.

Sunday, August 21, 1898
Another hot day. Went to Presb Church. Took Ed and Ells (Ellis Paulson) home.

Monday, August 22, 1898
A hotter day than Saturday. Band practice. Went to lecture at Prest. Church.
(Hotter than Saturday? Hotter than 104 degrees!! Please be reminded that the Presbyterian Church did not get air conditioning yet for decades!)

Tuesday, August 23, 1898
A cool day.
Fixed pictures in this book.
(Lennie is speaking of his diary. In the front and back inside covers he had glued tiny photos. Unfortunately, they are faded beyond recognition. These tiny photos are not to be confused with the photos in his pocket-size photo album which contained dozens of well preserved photographs of friends, self, and yes, even his dog, "Sport". )

Wednesday, August 24, 1898
A nice day. Worked for Edmond & Bradford. Went down to tennis court.

Thursday, August 25, 1898
Did not work. Shellington's farm caught on fire. Woodman's pinick at ?? (sp?)

Friday, August 26, 1898
Helped George and Charlie put up hay.
Got a letter from Sioux City to play for Carnival.
(Lennie and the Wakefield Cornet Band have a gig!)

Saturday, August 27, 1898
Guy and I went out to the country on bikes.
Aha! Lennie is enjoying the weekend! We wish we had a photo of his bicycle, but we don't. However, as you can see from the prints included here, bicycles haven't changed an awful lot, but costumes have! Especially for the gals!
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