Friday, January 30, 1920

Very mild overcast day. Arose 8 A.M. Studied. Played piano. Candled eggs. Chored around etc. Psychology exam in P.M. Fairly easy. Delivered eggs. To dentist's. Called after sandwitches [sic] etc. Bowled with Church league at nite. Took 3 games from Emmanuel Baptist. 149-149-127. Home. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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I wonder if Stanford means he called a restuarant and asked for some sandwiches to be delivered? 

Thursday, January 29, 1920

Beautiful bright day. Cold in A.M. -2 degrees in A.M. Milder in P.M. Exam in Bible 9-12 M. Long. Studied. Took nap. Played piano. Candled eggs. Downtown. To Merris's home to Kappa Sigma Pi meeting. Fine time. Chewed rag. To bed 12 P.M.

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I wonder what class he was taking that required a test on the Bible?

Wednesday, January 28, 1920

Beautiful bright mild winter's day. Arose 7:15 A.M. Studied. Chemistry exam 9-12 M. Lolapoluza. Played & chored around. Took nap. To dentists for teatment. Bowled at Morse 139-155-95. Studied. Wrote in diary etc. To bed 8:30 P.M.

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I wonder what kind of dentistry was practiced in 1920? Was it as painless as it is now? I'll wager it was not painless at all.

Tuesday, January 27, 1920

Bright very mild day. Up 7:30 A.M. To college 9-12:15 M. To Library. Studied. Took nap. To leap year progressive dinner at night 5:30 P.M. to 2:30 A.M. with G. Frances Ham. 1st course at Gertrude Anthony's. 2nd Marion Benedict's. 3rd Eldyth Propers. 4th Clossons hole for group. Consult Jan 1. Fine time. To bed 3 A.M.

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Progressive dinners are fun, though I confess it's been many years since I've been to one. I didn't know it went that far back!

Monday, January 26, 1920

Beautiful bright winter's day but cold. 14 below zero in A.M. To College 8-9 French exam. Helped father etc. Candled eggs. To college 11-12:30 and 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. Took nap. Stayed home in evening. Studied, played etc. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful.

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It was 14 below zero but he still had to go to college, and take a test besides! As John says, "they were hardier back then." Indeed.

Sunday, January 25, 1920

Beautiful bright day but windy and cold. -2 degrees. Up 9 A.M. Cleaned walk. Shaved etc. Down after Wilbur Hayes. To Church & S.S. Merlin & I out to Dot Reynolds. Ruth out to dinner. Fooled around. Fine time. To E.L. Talked. Took Doris Home. To bed 11 bells.

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I guess Doris is his Epworth League friend? And what about this Dot Reynolds? Hmmm . . .

Saturday, January 24, 1920

Overcast cold day with fine snow most of day. Arose 8 A.M. To college 9 to 11 A.M. Cleaned walk. Chored around. To Library. To Sch'dy Auto Show. Good show. GE apprentices rolled F.M.E. Juniors. Lost 3 games 114-133-139. Down to church. Talked with gang until 11:45 P.M. To bed 12 P.M.

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By "rolled" I'm assuming he means bowling? Interesting combination of competitors!

I guess I was surprised that they had auto shows back then. I picture there not being many models to choose from, but then again, at that time there were probably many car companies that have since gone out of business.

Friday, January 23, 1920

Mild overcast snowy day. Up 7:15 A.M. To college 8-9 and 1:30-2:30 P.M. Helped father and chored around in A.M. To dentists in P.M. Studied. Bowled with Church League at night. Lost 2 games to Trinity M.E. 144-161-164. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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Tsk! With scores like those, it's no wonder they lost to Trinity Methodist Episcopal!

Trinity Methodist Episcopal is now Faith United Methodist Church, having joined with Calvary United Methodist Church in 1993. Both churches worship in the Trinity building. Below is a picture of the church as it looks now.


 And here is a picture of a bowling team of that era,


the Chicago Women's Bowling Team of 1924, taken from the website, Vintage Dancer.

Thursday, January 22, 1920

Beautiful bright cold day. - 2 degrees. Up 7 A.M. Studied. Candled eggs, played piano, fooled around etc. Bowled 1 game at star with Merlin 194. To Proctors. Good show. Talked. To bed 11:15 P.M.

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Stanford doesn't say who he went to the movies with. Maybe it was Merlin?

Wednesday, January 21, 1920

Cloudy mild day. Up 7:15 A.M. To college 8-9 and 11-12. To Public Library and home between classes. Worked on debate. To dentists for treatment. To Psi Upsilon and Beta Theta Pi houses to see colleagues. To gym. B.B. game. Union frosh 22: Schenectady High 27. Studied. To Classical Club meeting in Prof. Fobes study. Good meeting. To bed 12 P.M.

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I guess the freshman and the high schoolers were evenly matched! I wonder what they talked about at the Classical Club meeting?

Tuesday, January 20, 1920

Bright still day but cold. 10 below zero in A.M. Arose 8 A.M. To College 9-12:15 M. Took nap in P.M. Wrote in diary etc. To Public Library to work on debate. Supper. To college to B.B. game. Union 33 - Dartmouth 7. Home. Studied etc. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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I'm liking this basketball team! Below is a list of their win-loss records for each year from 1898-1921. Notice they had winning years from 1910-1920 (except 1919-20). This chart was taken from the Union College website.

SeasonWinsLossesTiesHead CoachCaptains
1898-99070F.M. Thebo
1899-1900no team
1900-1230Thebo
1901-2no team
1902-3040A.L. Anderson
1903-4no team
1904-5no team
1905-6no team
1906-7680W.HardmanP.F.Shutler
1907-82100George TildenH.E.Starbuck
1908-9280TildenW.W.Brown
1909-10370TildenJ.G.Charest
1910-11720O.KuoltR.R.Micks
1911-12850KuoltT.S.Fairbain
1912-131110F.DawsonJ.Beaver
1913-141130DawsonBeaver
1914-151310DawsonE.Houghton
1915-16960DawsonH.Zimmer
1916-17970DawsonH.A.Scoby
1917-181510KuoltI.Yavits
1918-19830HardmanYavits, W.L.Jones
1919-20890HardmanG.Brucker
1920-211090B.R.MurphyJones







And here is a chart showing their all-time record in games against Ivy League teams such as Dartmouth:

Union vs. the Ivy League
vs. Brown -- 2-2 (last game 1927)
vs. Columbia -- 1-11 (last game 1981)
vs. Cornell -- 0-6 (last game 1922)
vs. Dartmouth -- 3-3 (last game 1946)
vs. Harvard -- 0-1 (1930)
vs. Princeton -- 3-1 (last game 1920)
vs. Yale -- 1-4 (last game 1980)

Monday, January 19, 1920

Nice winter's day but very cold. 8 below zero in A.M. To college 8-9, 11-12 and 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. Helped Father, studied, read, played etc between classes. Candled eggs in P.M. Bowled at Y with Ruth 182-191. Bowled at Y with MJF, REN, WJH, HH [Finch, Norris, Hayes, Hanford] etc. To bed 11 P.M.

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I wonder if Stanford ever considered being a professional bowler? He sure did like it!

Sunday, January 18, 1920

Overcast cold very windy winter's day. Arose 9 A.M. Down to Hayes' room. To Church & S.S. Mr. Mervis sick. Mr. Park taught class. Talked. To car with D.W.S. Home. Took nap 3-5 P.M. Cold some better. To Epworth League. Good meeting. Mr. Gladwell leader. Talked with Finch, etc. To bed 12:30 P.M.

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Sounds like a full day! 

Saturday, January 17, 1920

Cold blustery day with about 6" of snow. Arose 7:30 A.M. To college 9 to 11 A.M. Got haircut, cleaned walk etc. Candled eggs, studied, jacked up hudson etc. To library. To basketball game. Union 45-Wesleyan 16. Down to church after money. Bowled at star. To bed 12:15 A.M.

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Busy day for a Saturday!  I'm not sure what "jacked up hudson" means. If he jacked up the Hudson, what was the reason? He doesn't say.

Another basketball game, another victory. It seems their basketball team is better than their football team.

I'm also puzzled by the sentence "Down to church after money." Cryptic messages . . .

Friday, January 16, 1920

Beautiful bright day but gol darn cold. 12 degrees below zero in A.M. To college 8-9; 11-12:30 M. and 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. To dentists [sic--maybe he left out an apostrophe?]. Have cold in head. Bowled at star with H.H. Stayed home in evening. Studied, talked etc. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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How different the temperature on this day than in 1919!  It seems Stanford is studying more this year, perhaps because he is a senior . . .

Thursday, January 15, 1920

Beautiful bright cold very windy day. Arose 8 A.M. To college 9-12:25 M. Bolted Chemistry. Studied. Learned formal oration etc. Candled eggs. Around town on errands. To Library etc. Supper. To Albany Theatre with Wilbur Hayes. Good pictures. Fine time. To bed 10 P.M. Thankful for friends, health, education etc.

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Wish we could have known what movies Stanford and Wilbur watched!

Wednesday, January 14, 1920

Bright cold blustery day. Arose 7:20 A.M. To college 8-9 and 11:12:20 A.M. Helped father, wrote in diary, studied etc. in A.M. Aunt Gertie and Ed Closson here to dinner. Took nap in P.M. Studied. Home in evening. Talked, played etc. To bed 9:30 P.M.

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As you may recall from my August 2nd post in the 1919 blog, Edward Closson was Eli Closson's son, cousin to Stillman and nephew to Gertie, John Henry's wife.

Tuesday, January 13, 1920

Cold windy cloudy day with about 2" of snow. Up 8 A.M. To college 9-12:30 M. Cleaned walk. Out on errands with Ford Car after Ruth etc. Studied. Bowled with church league at night 151-161-193. F.M.E's took 2 games off of Pilgrim Congregational. To Church to E.L. Meeting. Home with Doris. To bed 12:30 A.M.

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Wow! What a busy day! My head is spinning! 

Monday, January 12, 1920

Beautiful bright cool day. Up 7 A.M. Johnny March Bolted french. Home. Helped father and studied. To college 11-12:30 and 1:30 to 2:30 P.M. Down street. Bowled at Star 189-108. Purchased soft collar etc. Studied. Bowled at Y with Doris, H.H., Dot Gallup, Hayes, Finch & Norris. Fine time. To bed 11 P.M. Thankful for associations.

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It's not clear who "bolted french"--was it Stanford or Johnny March? Or maybe Johnny March is not a person? I'm confused . . .

Sunday, January 11, 1920

Overcast mild day. Up 9:15 A.M. Shaved etc. Down to Hayes' room. To church and S.S. Communion Sunday. To car with D.W.S. Out riding in P.M. to Rotterdam etc. Merlin Finch along. Et lunch. To Epworth League. Good meeting. Talked with gang at church. To bed. 11 P.M.

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I wonder if Stanford kept in touch with Wilber Hayes? They seemed to be very good friends.

Saturday, January 10, 1920

Beautiful and bright but rather cold. Arose 8 A.M. To college 9 to 12 M. Candled eggs. To hockey game at college with Mohawk Golf Club. Union won. Studied. Basketball games at nite exciting. Union Frosh 28 - Troy High 26. Union Varsity 25 - N.Y.U. 33. To bed 11 P.M.

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Interesting--a college team playing a high school team?  Or a Golf Club? Guess they had to get their games where they could in those days.

Friday, January 9, 1920

Cloudy mild day. Arose 7 A.M. To College 8-9; 11-12 and 1:30 to 2:30. Studied and helped father between classes. To Dr. Cooney's to have teeth overhauled. Studied, played piano etc. Drew water off ford etc. Bowled with church league at nite 142-154-152. Took 3 games from English Lutheran. Walked around town. To bed 12 P.M.

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I'm not sure what Stanford meant by "Drew water off ford." Any guesses out there?

Dr. Cooney was Stanford's dentist. See the July 25 post on Date Book 1919 for more information about him. I know how Stanford feels--I've had my teeth "overhauled" once or twice too!

I'm not sure where English Lutheran Church was, and I couldn't find a church that exists today by that name, but I did see in RootsWeb mention of a St. Luke's English Lutheran Church in Amsterdam where someone was married in 1897. Maybe that was it. At any rate, they were apparently not good bowlers.

Thursday, January 8, 1920

Overcast mild muggy day. Up 8:30 A.M. Studied. To College 10 to 12:15 M. Did odd jobs. Candled eggs. Down street on errands. Bowled 2 game at Morse alleys. Home in evening. Studied. Played euchre and Croconole. Ate popcorn etc. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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Croconole is a parlor game, apparently, although I'd never heard of it before. Here is what a Wikepedia article has to say about it:

Crokinole (/ˈkrkɨnl/ KROH-ki-nohl) is an action board game similar in various ways to pitchnut, carrom, marbles, and shove ha'penny, with elements of shuffleboard and curling reduced to table-top size. Players take turns shooting discs across the circular playing surface, trying to have their discs land in the higher-scoring regions of the board, while also attempting to knock away opposing discs.

If you want to read more about this game, go to the Wikepedia article: Crokinole.

Wednesday, January 7, 1920

Overcast mild day. Up 7 A.M. To College 8-9 and 11 to 12:15 M. Studied and helped father between classes. Chored around. Went skating with H.H. at Central Park from 2 to 4. Home. Studied. To Palace Theatre with Doris Smith. Good time. To bed 10:30 P.M.

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Doris is still in the picture, it seems. I wonder how Stanford is doing with his skating?

Tuesday, January 6, 1920

Beautiful bright cold day. Up 8 A.M. To college 9 to 12 M. Took nap in P.M. Studied. Candled eggs etc. To Bachelor Apts. after Hayes. To Church. To Kappa Sigma Pi meeting. Fine time. Larkin, Finch and I bowled Hayes, Norris and H.H. at star alleys. Won 2 games. Walked around and saw the town. To bed 12 BELLS.

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This is the first time that Stanford mentions the name of the building where Hayes was living--Bachelor Apartments. It's full name was Gleason Bachelor Apartment Building. Here is the recent picture I posted in the May 11, 1919 blog post:

Gleason Bachelor Apartment Building

Monday, January 5, 1920

Exquisitely bright day but all fired cold. Up 7 A.M. To College 8-9, 11-12, and 1:30 to 3:30 P.M. Chored around between classes. Studied. Candled eggs. Down to Y.M.C.A. to bowl. With Hayes, Finch and H.H. Walked around and visited ice cream parlors. To bed 11:15 P.M.

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Apparently, the ice cream business was doing well in 1920, even in the winter, although I did run across an article in The Ice Cream Trade Journal of 1919 that told of a debate about increased taxes and decreased prices and the effect those changes were having on the ice cream business.

Sunday, January 4, 1920

Beautiful bright day but quite cold. Arose 9 A.M. Shaved etc. Down to Hayes' room. To Church and S.S. Demobilization of service flag. Good service. Talked after S.S. To Car with D.W.S., Nettie Bacon to dinner and supper. To Russel Norris's house in P.M. To E. L. Home with Doris. To bed 11 P.M.

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You may remember Nettie Bacon was the Methodist Missionary who had just returned from India and mentioned by Stanford in the 5 June entry of the 1919 blog. Here's the link to that post: June 5, 1919.

Saturday, January 3, 1920


Nice bright cold winters day. Up 9 A.M. Helped father. Candled eggs etc. Went skating at Central Park with Wilbur Hayes. Fine time. Down town. Bowled 1 game at Y. Home. Down to Y to bowl with H.H., Hayes, Finch and Norris. 198-147. All to Proctors in SPIT. Good show. Fooled around. Home. To bed 12 P.M.

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I wonder what Stanford means by "SPIT"? Could it be a car? I tried to find it to no avail. Maybe later . . . 

Friday, January 2, 1920

Quite cold bright winters day. Up 8:30 A.M. Helped father and chored around. Candled eggs. Took nap in P.M. To Public Library to seek for intellectual material. Mother, Father, H.H. and Nellie to Uncle John's in evening. Ruth and I to Y to bowl To bed 10 P.M.

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I wonder what he needed "intellectual material" for? Must have been a school assignment.

Thursday, January 1, 1920

Overcast in A.M. Bright in P.M. Up 9 A.M. Family to Uncle Henry Cornell's to dinner. Fooled around. Home 5:15 P.M. K∑∏ [Kappa Sigma Pi ]sleigh ride started from church 7 P.M. Party at Dot Gallup's. Most wonderful time. Walked home. To 2:30 A.M. [Here Stanford appended list of guests at party] Merlin Finch/Russell Norris/Lew Larkin/Mildred Whitney/Ruth Closson/Marion Benedict/Gertrude Anthony/Bill M./Hanford Closson/Wilber Hayes/Stanford Closson/Dot Gallup/Eldyth Proper/Doris Smith/>< ><

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Most of the people in Stanford's party list were mentioned at least once in Date Book 1919--search that blog for more information. There are a few new ones, however: Mildred Whitney, Bill M (unknown last name) and Eldyth Proper. More on them later.

Of note: Stanford gets two kisses.

Also noteworthy: Marion Benedict, future wife of Hanford H. Closson, Stanford's twin brother, is in the group.

Uncle Henry is identified (at last) as Henry Cornell, who is related to the Cornell side of the Closson family. Susan Cornell, Catherine Cramer's mother, had a brother Oliver, and Oliver had a son Henry. So Henry was Catherine's first cousin (and Oliver was her uncle). Stillman, therefore, was Henry's 2nd cousin and Stanford was Henry's third cousin.  Therefore, Uncle Henry Cornell was actually Cousin Henry Cornell to Stillman and Stanford.

The organization Kappa Sigma Pi, or the Knights of St. Paul, is a religious organization for boys. You can find more information about it in Date Book 1919. Here is a copy of Stanford's KSP membership card, issued in 1917: