BY ANDY TAYLOR
chronicle@taylornews.org

CANEY — Almost a half century of daily diaries — whose author recorded everything from the price of milk to the daily weather — have been pulled away from a once-certain doom in a landfill.

It happened about one year ago in Caney, where city crews were making stops on their daily trash collection circuit.

They noticed a normal looking box sitting next to some trash cans filled with a week’s worth of food scraps, old newspapers and a few dirty diapers.

But when a trash collector attempted to throw the box into the trash truck, one of the diaries somehow fell from the box and hit the ground — as if saying “look at me.”

After a second glance at the book, the trash crew discovered something of historical importance — all pointing to an author who, by all indications from the diaries, rarely made a trip outside her Chautauqua County home.

This is the story of the lost diaries.

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Very little is known about the diaries’ author, other than the last name may have been Haberly and she had several relatives who were close to her. They were named Don, Will and Helen. Her husband may have been named Don.

The diaries reveal that Mrs. Haberly, which is what we will call her, wrote them from her home near Peru. A 1936 diary has “Peru, Kansas” scribbled on the front.

Those things are certain, but because of the style of now-hard-to-read handwriting that was prominent in the early part of the 20th century, other details from the past are clouded in mystery in the yellowing, crumbling and faded pages.

She also failed to use punctuation, which makes for difficulty in separating her thoughts and her facts.

She did not delve deep into her heart and mind, much like many diary authors who use the pen and paper as an open book for thought.

Instead, over the course of 47 years, Mrs. Haberly took out a writing tablet and gripped a poorly-sharpened pencil to write about the things that crossed her mind or even came into her view from her home in Peru. There are many vague details about the weather (“clear and warm today”) . . . or the price of underwear at a general store (“bought Don’s drawers for 25 cents a pair) . . . or even the number of eggs collected from her chickens (“25 eggs today”).

She also wrote about her family and friends: where they went each day, how they came home, and what they were doing on the weekends. She also mentioned the people — often with only the first name or last name, but rarely both — who visited her.

Here are some samplings of her writings over the course of her 47 years of keeping daily diaries. Word usage is that of the author while notes from this writer are in parentheses).

From one of the first entries in May 1903 (when a cellar was being built at the family home): “Riley and Blakeney got through at half past four. Will paid them $13.50 for their work. McClain worked till quitting time. Paid him $3.00. Cloud and rainy looking. Will and McClain are putting dirt on the cellar. Came up a big rain at half past six. Rained ‘til eight but not hard after that time. It was clear at midnight. Used 2 1/2 barrels of lime in the cellar, 25 loads of rock and four loads of sand.”

Several pages from the February 1904 diary includes a listing of all new homes (and their owners) in Peru as well as the names of all businesses in Peru.

From Friday, Oct. 2, 1908: “Clear, cool, windy and clouding up late. I am still feeling bad. Helen walked to school and from. Will painted on the house all day. Did not hear from Don again. P.P. Campbell spoke at Niotaze. Quite a few from Peru went down. I baked cakes, bread and churned. 16 eggs.”

From Monday, Oct. 11, 1909: “Cloudy, cold and sprinkled some. I washed and made two gowns. Made Helen a gown. Don worked on R.R. all day. Will shucked corn all day. Mac Richardson fell dead on the street this morning.”

From Tuesday, Nov. 12, 1918 (one day after the end of World War I): “Clear, and fine. Aunt Helen and I drove to Sedan to the jollification over peace. It was sure good. Jim Lumbley helped. Will hauled in feed all day. Sold his two calves for $55 and bought a calf for $45.00. Peace today at 11 o’clock. Herbs are done tonight.”

From June 13, 1920: “Clear, warmer. I washed clothes and a quilt. Will went to Sedan twice after canvas for binder. He began cutting barley this afternoon. We went to Caney tonight to IOOF. Big time. Dora and I went to a show. Helen shut up the chickens.”

From June 6, 1921: “Cloudy, rained. I washed, mended. Had my first blackberries. Will hoed potatoes and plowed corn. Dora is in Caney having a growth taken off her eye. Was at Aunt Carrie’s tonight.”

From March 24, 1933: “Hazy, cleared later. Helen was out while Ralph went east. Will disked all day. I have been lonesome. Helen’s coming makes me so when she’s gone, I can’t do much yet so hard to pass the day.”

From Saturday, Jan. 12, 1935: “Cleaned up house, baked three mince pies. We went to Sedan this afternoon. Lizzie and I went to Rost’s funeral. He was killed with two others north of Cherryvale. There were federal men when we went to the courthouse. Ralph Hinkle has his stenographer show us relief offices (a possible indication of the Depression-area federal program offices that dotted the courthouse landscape in the mid-1930s).

From Tuesday, April 29, 1913: “Clear and beautiful. I was shed cleaned the smokehouse. Lee and I sprayed the apple trees. Will planted Kaffir all day. Got done with the north piece. Began listing the long stripe. We went up to Mrs. Reeds and got a lb. of butter at 25 cents. 18 eggs.”

From July 20, 1936: “Grasshoppers worst since 1874. Potato bugs have stripped gardens.”

From Sept. 25, 1938: “The whole is in an uproar over Check (Czechoslovakia) and Germany. It will be settled tomorrow by Hitler if they have war or not.”

From Friday, Jan. 30, 1942: “Begun raining at 7 a.m. Cold. Snowed hard all afternoon. Dad went to town. Got shaved. Helen, Ralph and I went to Mom Bates funeral. Dad and I did not go to cemetery. Was so stormy. So bad not many there. She looked so nice. So many beautiful flowers.”

From May 7, 1949: “We went to S.S. and Mother’s Day exercises at church. Two babies, three young men were babtized. Orville Ashbrook was babtized. Big crowd.”

By the time 1950 rolled around, Mrs. Haberly’s handwriting was largely unreadable. She shifted to an ink pen, which did help the legibility somewhat. However, the signs of old age are prevalent in the handwriting.

From her last entry on Aug. 22, 1950: “We ironed. I done at 9 p.m. So tired. Don’t do enough to keep up. Helen gone to have her hair set. Baked cookies.”
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The Montgomery County Chroniocle plans to give these diaries to an area historical society.