Hettie Ace Diary

Diary of Hettie Arndt Ace from 1897 through 1935 which provides an interesting insight into life. Hettie recorded events of the time that touched on the lives of her and her family. Births, marriages and deaths are characterized as they happened. There was an absence of labor saving devices in every facet of life. Farming was done by hand and with the help of animals. Transportation was by horse and wagon or sleigh in the winter. The three-mile round trip to church was often on foot. Hettie highlights the introduction of motorized vehicles along with the pleasures and difficulties of automobile ownership. Cooking was done on a coal stove. Coal furnaces and potbelly stoves provided heat during the extremely cold winters about which Hettie tells us. Heat from these furnaces was not distributed through out the house. Lighting was by oil lamps and candles. In fact these diaries were written at night by the light of oil lamps and candles.