Comments on: Twitter from 1937

By: Snork

Snork — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 22:24:00 +0000

I worked on a Civil War diary once that was full of one-liners. Usually the guy would just remark on the weather. He joined up with Sherman’s march to the sea. I think his entry for the day they burned Atlanta was something along the lines of “Burned Atlanta.” It killed me that he couldn’t be bothered to say more.

Anyway, Twitter and Facebook and blogs are all well and good, but if you care about the future at all, print that stuff out!!

By: Will

Will — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 13:30:00 +0000

I have my grandfather’s “Line A Day” diary from 1918-1921. It follows him from life on his German immigrant’s father’s farm in upstate NY (”Killed Barney. Dragged his body out to the edge of the woods.” Thank goodness Barney was a lame horse!) to life at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during WWI, including the 1918 flu pandemic, where he talks about all the young men dying around him, to meeting my grandmother, to getting married. It’s a wonderful document about the most important years of his life. A friend suggested I turn it into a one-man show.

It’s a shame we don’t have more documents like this.

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 12:53:00 +0000

When I broke my leg in 2005 I had nothing better to do so I kept a log and have been doing it ever since. It is such fun to see what went on weeks ago! Try it, you’ll like it.

By: Camille

Camille — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:35:00 +0000

I love that they named the calf after the Duchess of Windsor. I wonder if it was supposed to be a compliment or not.

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:41:00 +0000

Very cool – definitely will be following this twitter!

Sarah, my grandma does the same thing, because of her descent into dementia. It helps keep her aware of where she was and what she did on certain days.

By: David Griner

David Griner — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Thanks for writing about this project, Chris. The response has been great, which will help inspire me to keep plunking in more entries.

One fun gem I haven’t shared yet: In an entry from 1938, she mentions hearing “an awful thing on the radio.” We googled the date. It was “War of the Worlds.”

By: Melanie Seasons

Melanie Seasons — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:03:00 +0000

It really is a fantastic idea. Thanks for passing it along!

Melanie
(Fake Plastic Noodles)

By: Sarah in CA

Sarah in CA — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:12:00 +0000

My mom’s mom has kept daily diaries for more than 60 years although severe dementia has limited that over the last couple years. Maybe translating them into an online form will be something I will do with hers after she passes.