Historic Hood River
Composition
Notes
Grace chose a very simple but personal object for today’s artifact: A composition notebook Edna Plog used as a journal.
This composition journal was used by Edna Plog beginning on January 1, 1915, when she was 16 years old. The journal contains entries almost daily from January through May of 1915. One entry reads,
“January 3, Sunday,
Went to S.S. Edna T. came down for dinner. Mr. & Mrs. Krohn and Leroy were here this afternoon. Leroy was on his way to town, and in the evening he and Walter drove down there. Went to Endeavor. Edna and I were sitting in front of a bunch of boys; I had on my stocking cap and Blinky pulled it off. I felt like a fool.”
“S.S.” likely stands for Sunday School; in the 1910s, it was common for children to attend Sunday School until age 18. Endeavor is possibly the Christian Endeavor Society of the United Brethren Church, which was a youth ministry movement that began in 1881. Old issues of the Hood River Sun state that a Christian Endeavor Society meeting was held at the United Brethren Church every Sunday at 7:00 pm.
This checkered patter reminds me of the marbled notebooks I used in elementary school. I wonder if the pattern helps date the notebook.
Dale Nicol
I think the notebook pattern is called “gingham” and one of the ladies can verify it to be sure.
L.E.
You are correct Dale. I think, in gingham fabric the square pattern was the same on both sides of the fabric.
You don’t see gingham skirts as much any more. At one time they were very popular. I remember the ladies in bowling leagues, wore gingham skirts.