Lennie and His Band Play for a Magic Lantern Show

Ah, it's October already. Lennie is busy this week. And the Wakefield Cornet Band is busy, too, playing for more than one event, including a "Magic Lantern show". Read on.

Sunday, October 2, 1898
A nice day. Went to Emerson after Prof
(Lennie was pretty sparse with his words so I'm reading between the lines, so to speak. Earlier in the year Lennie was not on very good terms with the Prof at school. In fact in one entry he says the Prof got mad at him but "nobody got hurt". Here it seems the Prof trusts him to pick him up in Emerson, Nebraska, for a 10-mile trip back home to Wakefield.)

Monday, October 3, 1898
Band played in Opera Hall.

Tuesday, October 4, 1898
Went to Cornwall. Played all day.
(It sounds as if Lennie and the Wakefield Cornet Band are playing in Cornwall, Nebraska. I'm assuming Cornwall was a small town in 1898 but I can't find anything on the internet. Many small settlements disappeared as populations moved to towns with railroad connections, etc. Cornwall may have been one of those towns.)

Wednesday, October 5, 1898
Got up at 7:30. Played all day. Went to bed at 11.
(And the band plays on!)

Thursday, October 6, 1898
Came home and went to school.

Friday, October 7, 1898
Started to do Smith's chores. Went to band practice.

Saturday, October 8, 1898
A nice day. Went to magic lantern show. Band played for it.
(Click here and here to read more about "magic lanterns". The "Magic Lantern" was an early kind of slide projector which was used to show pictures which had been printed on square glass plates. These shows were the closest thing to going to the movies in Lennie's teen years. Did you know that 3-D images were already being used in Lennie's time?)

As for the photo of Lennie and his friend? I haven't a clue. But I do believe it was taken several years after 1898. Lennie did participate now and then in a town theatrical production and I'm guessing this is from one of those events.

.

Lennie Enjoys Watermelon. The Exposition at Omaha Continues

Sunday, September 18, 1898
Went to Wayne with Fred. Went to Revival meeting.

Monday, September 19, 1898
Felt sleep. Went to band practice.

Tuesday, September 20, 1898
Went to social at Presb Church. (Presbyterian)
Social cost me 30 (?) cents.

Wednesday, September 21, 1898
Went out riding in morning with Ollie. (Lennie's sister who is married to Charles Schulz.)
Poffs to Omaha for 3 days.
(The Omaha Daily Bee continues with front page coverage of the Trans-Mississippi International Exposition...this week's visitors may possibly include the Poffs. It is a magnificent event and worthy of more than a single day's visit.)

Thursday, September 22, 1898
Felt ill all day.

Friday, September 23, 1898
Had a IOGT lecture in Presb. Ch.
Went to band practice.
The lecture would undoubtedly have been on abstaining from alcohol for that was the intent of the IOGT (International Organisation of Good Templars).

Saturday, September 24, 1898
Cecil & I went out after (wild) plums did not get any.

Sunday, September 25, 1898
A nice day. Went out after watermelons. Got all we could eat.

Monday, September 26, 1898
Bummed around the street with Cecil. Went to band practice in Opera Hall.

Tuesday, September 27, 1898
Lee ?? visited school. Band practiced on street.
(Josiah Davis, Lennie's father, is 61 years old today.)

Wednesday, September 28, 1898
Went out walking with two unknown friends.
(Lennie is not shy about naming his male acquaintances. I'm thinking his "unknown friends" may have been of the female persuasion.)

Thursday, September 29, 1898
Wrote a letter to Ellis P. (Ellis Paulson)
Band practiced on street.

Friday, September 30, 1898
Band played on street. Prof went to Omaha.

Saturday, October 1, 1898
Art came down and played in hall.

According to the Bee activities at the Exposition for September 30 include

• Georgia Day.
• Nebraska Pioneers' Day.
• Children's Day.
• Indians on Indian Congress Grounds.
• Omaha Concert Band
  
• Georgia Exercises at Auditorium.
• Battleship Illinois Docked at Govt Building.
• Fire Horses Hitched by Electricity.
• Grand Japanese Day Fireworks on Plaza.
• Innes' Band in Auditorium.
• United States Life Saving Drill on Lagoon.
• Organ Recital at Auditorium.
• Santiago War Balloon Ascension.
• Steriopticon War and Georgia Views, Fireworks and Cannon.

And in downtown Omaha today in conjunction with the Expo:

• Sunday School Conference, First Methodist Church.
• Bohemian Catholic Union, Metz Hall
• Library Congress, Library Building
• Art Congress, First Congregational Church

Page 5 of the Omaha Daily Bee reports sad news...as follows:
John Svestka, a Bohemian living at 2327 South Nineteenth street, was seized with a peculiar mental disorder last night which necessitated his removal to the police station. He received the impression that there was an evil spirit about his premises which he must overtake and destroy. He raced madly about the house, driving the family out of doors, and finally threw all the furniture out of a window over the brink of a high bank. The spirit still eluded him however, and seizing an ax Svetska attacked an apple tree in the front yard, felling it in the hope of finding his enemy concealed at the center. He was finally overpowered and placed under arrest.

Lennie Kills a Mouse in Chemistry

Today's photo is a picture postcard of Main Street in Wakefield, Nebraska some years prior to Lennie's diary of 1898. But by the year of the diary, not much had changed. There were still no cars on the street. No airplanes in the sky.

Sunday, September 11, 1898
Applegate preached his last sermon.
Had a union meeting.
(I'm almost certain Applegate "preached his last sermon" because of some mundane reason, such as retirement. Lennie's succinct statement almost makes it sound as if the poor fellow died, thus "preached his last sermon". )

Monday, September 12, 1898
A rainy day.
Arthur Shumway came home from War.

Tuesday, September 13, 1898
Another rainy day.
Pa built our coal house.

Wednesday, September 14, 1898
A clear day.
George Knuth (sp?) came home.
Am going to a party at Davises.
(I suppose this is the home of one of Lennie's older brothers.)

Thursday, September 15, 1898
Guy and Caus (sp?) went to Lincoln to school.
Went to Wayne after school to the Barbecue on horseback.
(Please be advised that Lennie "traveled to Wayne" on horseback. I very much doubt he went to a "barbecue on horseback". Perhaps you did not need me to explain that. *smile*)

Friday, September 16, 1898
Killed a mouse in chemistry.
Medican (sp) man selling medicine on street.
Went to band practice.

Saturday, September 17, 1898
Did not do much.

.

Lennie Reveals His Mischievous Nature

If you scroll to the entry for Sept 10 you will read that Lennie confesses to going "ticktacking". You've probably already surmised that while Lennie is an industrious lad, he also has a mischievous side to his personality. An online dictionary defines "ticktacking" as "a prankster's device for tapping on a door or window from a distance". The prankster would toss a handful of corn kernels at someone's window and then run and hide. Do you suppose there was a pretty young Miss behind those windows?

Sunday, August 28, 1898
Excursion. Went to Sioux City. Guy & I went out walking.

Monday, August 29, 1898
Helped Charlie Smith thrash.
Went to band practice. Went to a party at Dearborns.

Tuesday, August 30, 1898
Did not work. This was a dead week for me.

Wednesday, August 31, 1898
Did not work. The same thing over again. Charlie is fixing his kitchen.

Thursday, September 1, 1898
Guy and I went in the country. Frank came home.

Friday, September 2, 1898
Took Georges dinner out to him. Band Practice.
George may be Lennie's brother...George Weldon Davis. George is thirteen years older than Lennie and is married with three children at this time.

Saturday, September 3, 1898
Rained last night. Cool this morning. Made a trunk. Fred Poff and me ate a basket of grapes.

Sunday, September 4, 1898
A hot day. Charlie printed pictures. Went to Poff's for watermelons.

Monday, September 5, 1898
Started to school. Had no band on account of Chas Herrington.
I don't know how Charles died but he was only 38 years old according to census data.

Tuesday, September 6, 1898
Buried Chas. Herrington.
Pres. CE had business meeting.
Stopped taking the corn.

Wednesday, September 7, 1898
Pa built Charlie a coal house. Cecil and I made a kite.

Thursday, September 8, 1898
Cool. Went out riding with Bennie.

Friday, September 9, 1898
Went to band practice.

Saturday, September 10, 1898
Finished trunk. Worked for Charlie.
Went out ticktacking.

.

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!
.

Lennie Sweats While the Crowds Enjoy the Expo in Omaha

This week we again feature Lennie's daily entries in his 1898 diary.


Charles Leonard (Lennie) Davis, age 17 , of Wakefield, Nebraska spends a busy week in the wheat and oat fields doing the sweaty work of harvesting.


Meanwhile, a world's fair, the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition is in full swing in Omaha. It will run from June 1 to November 1, 1898. While Lennie is sweating in the sun, thousands are enjoying themselves at the Expo. It is indeed a grandiose event as you can see by the photos.


You can read more about the 1898 Expo at this site and this and many links to photos here (photos by F. A. Rinehart). I'm including a few of Rinehart's photos in today's post to whet your appetite. Isn't that a cool photo of the John Deere & Company exhibit? (Remember that you can click for a closer view.)


Meanwhile...Lennie writes the following. His words are in bold black.


Sunday, August 7, 1898
Nice Day.
Ellis Paulson came down from Norfork (Norfolk, Nebraska, some 10 miles to the west of Wakefield.)


Monday, August 8, 1898
Stacked wheat.
Fred went to town after Joe's watch.
(Lennie had recently purchased a watch for himself. It appears he has influenced Joe to do the same.)


Tuesday, August 9, 1898
Stacked wheat.
Joe went to town twice after watch finally got it.


Wednesday, August 10, 1898
Stacked wheat.


Thursday, August 11, 1898
Thrashed at Will Moers (Moore's ??)


Friday, August 12, 1898
Thrashed in forenoon.
Stacked wheat.


Saturday, August 13, 1898
Stacked oats in forenoon.
Thrashed for Dillon.



The weather has been cooperating in this labor-intensive work of harvesting wheat and oats. The Omaha Daily Bee reports daily highs in the 70s and mid-80s. This is near perfect weather for the Expo as well as for Lennie and his fellow harvesters. Next week, however, it will get hot. HOT!



Take note of these last two photos. The last photo is labeled a "war balloon". And the photo just prior is the machinery used to fill the balloon with "gas"...whatever that gas is, I don't know. Perhaps simply heated air.


The Omaha Daily Bee continues to mention the Spanish American War (as well as the Expo) on a daily basis. The hostilities end this week according to the front page of the Bee.

Wherein We Look to Lennie's Future

In Lennie's diary it is Aug. 2, 1898. Thirteen years from this day in the year 1911 Lennie will marry Alma, the niece of Lennie's brother-in-law, Frank.


Lennie will be 30 years old. His bride will be 18. Their marriage will last as long as they live and they will raise three daughters. One will die in her early 20s from a blood clot. One will marry but will remain childless. One will marry and raise five children.


Oddly, on this same date in 1918 Lennie will receive a letter from the Post Office Department appointing him a rural carrier for Wakefield, effective Aug 16. The letter notes that his annual salary will be $1488 and suggests "you provide yourself a vehicle of such capacity as will enable you to handle all mail that may be intrusted to you and protect it from adverse weather conditions."


Lennie's grandson remembers that Lennie often carried a shotgun with him on his rural mail route, grabbing it up occasionally to shoot a pheasant out the window of his vehicle. That's illegal these days (to shoot a gun from the road) but perhaps it was okay then.


During their marriage Alma's only sibling, her older brother William, will die on the battlefields of France during the Battle of Cantigny in May 1918. His body will first be buried on the field, then disinterred and placed in a cemetery dedicated to Americans. The U.S. Army will contact Alma, asking her if she wants his body brought home for burial. She makes that request and Lennie makes arrangements for William's body to be buried beside his parents at the Wisner, Nebraska cemetery. (photo is William Henry Kuckku)


When World War II comes along, the youngest daughter of Lennie and Alma will be living in New York with her husband and three children. During those years rationing will make it difficult to buy meat, eggs, sugar, tires, clothing, etc. Lennie and Alma will periodically fill a large wooden egg crate with eggs, ham, and other goodies and put it on a train to New York. The young family will return the empty crate to be re-filled and shipped again on a regular basis.


Many letters will be written between Alma and her young daughter...letters that detail the daily lives of the grandchildren. There will be many visits to Wakefield where Lennie, otherwise known as Grampa, will make his grandchildren feel welcome and loved.


.