Tuesday, March 26, 1901

26th – Worked at the mill all day. Ate breakfast, dinner & supper at boarding house, cost 50¢ a day. According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, fifty cents in 1901 has the same spending power as $14.87 in 2019. Fifteen dollars maybe buys a tall mocha at Starbucks ($5) for breakfast and a fast food value meal for lunch ($9),…

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Monday, March 25, 1901

25th – Went to work for the G.B.L.C. at mill. Worked all day. Began boarding at the mill boardinghouse. Ate dinner & supper there. There was a Gate City Lumber Company at the time. That could be where Jesse was working. There was a Georgian Bay Lumber Company at the time, and it was a large company that had stores…

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Sunday, March 24, 1901

24th – John & I went to S.S. at 11:00 & to church. Mr. Couch & I went over to Francis Smith’s in the evening. Had a good time. Francis Smith might be Francis Matilda Smith, the 17 year-old daughter of farmer Edward Warren and Sarah Evelyn Brown Smith. In 1903 she marries Will M. Brock.

Saturday, March 23, 1901

23rd – Went to moving picture & a gramaphone show at night. After show there was a dance. Jesse does not say if this is the first time he ever saw a movie. Maybe Mr. Lee in Utica was playing them this early, but Jesse never mentioned seeing one before in Utica or Chillicothe, so maybe not. Some films produced…

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Thursday, March 21, 1901

21st – We are staying with our friend Fred now at the Mascot Hotel. He has got 2 mighty fine looking girls. We are going to work for the Gate City Sawmill soon. Maybe those two girls did Jesse’s and John’s laundry as part of the hotel amenities? After ten days of travel and two days working in a logging…

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Wednesday, March 20, 1901

19th – Waded mud-dragged wire ropes up the mountainside & everything else. Stayed all night again at the bunkhouse & on the 20th, we walked & carried our grips to Elma. 5 miles, & There took the train for Gate City. On Sunday night we stayed at City Hotel at Hoquiam. John & I went to Church. Heard a fine…

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Monday, March 18, 1901

On Mon. Mar. 18th, we went down to the camp 5 miles from Elma. Stayed all night at the bunkhouse with nothing to sleep on but some hay & nothing to cover with but our own coats. We worked in the camp.  Poor Jesse! They were roughing it for sure and probably very cold. They showed up not knowing they…

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Sunday, March 17, 1901

On Sunday (17th) I went to S.S., got acquainted with Mr. Couch & some others of Gate City. At 1:00 we went on over to Hoquiam. There we found out that Tom was working on the Elk River for Lidle in their logging camp. We got a job there to work in M C’s logging camp for $2.25 a day.…

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