1911 Journal: Noteworthy Excerpts #2
I can't believe it's almost mid-June and that I'll release Threaded Through Time, Book One in less than a month. I've been talking about Kate's journal as a lead up to the book's release, so this post will be the second to last one about Kate and her journal. Let's get to it:
A joyous day for me for I have my degree at last. A real B.A. Mother telephoned to me about it. Will seem queer not to study any more. – September 28, 1911
Yay, Kate!
Her degree was announced in one of Ottawa's newspapers, The Evening Citizen. She pasted the announcement in the journal. It included a photo, so I actually got to see what she looked like, which was nice. Here's the announcement:
Miss Kate [surname], who has been made a B.A. of [mumble, mumble] university in the fall supplemental examination, is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. [surname], of [address], and is well known among Ottawa's young people. She received her preliminary training at the Ottawa Collegiate institute. From this she graduated with honors (sic) five years ago and has since been attending [university]. She is most popular in a wide circle of friends.
Based on all the social activities recorded in her journal, that last line was certainly true. Unfortunately, they screwed up the headline of the announcement. They changed one letter in her first name, which turned it into a man's name. Was it an honest mistake? Kate didn't mention it in her entry, but I bet she was miffed.
She glued another newspaper announcement into her September 27th entry, this one from The Ottawa Free Press. It listed everyone who received degrees that semester from the university she attended.
The final excerpt isn't from a journal entry, but from a card tucked into the journal. It's a business-sized card for someone who ran for president in the 1908 A.M.S elections, whatever those were. The following is written on the back of the card, in Kate's handwriting:
St. Peter was grouchy; said he
The nerve of some people beats me
This flip New York kid
With the tilt to her lid
Wants me to give her a night key
I've searched for this on Google and can't find anything about it, so I don't know if she wrote it, if someone told it to her, or what. One of her sisters spent time in New York, so maybe it originated with her. If you know who wrote it or where it's from, do tell!
