Gertrude Evadean Groff Handy

  Diary

  1926

On Feb. 2-5, 1926, Herbert and I attended the 53rd session of the N. Y. State Grange at Watertown. We went as delegates. On the day previous, Floyd took us to the train at St. Johnsville. We reached Watertown about 5:30 and walked to our rooming place. The meetings were held at the Armory. We went to dinner with Lyman & Mary Fox. He was the Fulton Co. Grange Deputy at that time and we knew them. On Feb. 5, when the meetings were over, we went by train to Utica and then took the trolley to go to Vernon. We reached the home of my sister, Lucinda, at 10:30 p. m. We stayed until Monday.

Asa Bernard Handy was born at Crum Creek, Fulton Co. N. Y. on Aug. 8, 1870. He was the son of Peter and Mary (Fullum) Handy. He had 2 brothers and 2 sisters. On Easter morning, April 4, 1926 he went to the barn to milk. After a while he got up and left the barn. Before Herbert went to see where he was, Harold came up to the house and told me dad was lying in the road. I told mother Handy, who had not gotten up yet, grabbed a coat and went down to the road. When I got down there I thought he had fallen on the ice. I asked him if he could sit up and we would try to help him to the house. It was a very bitter wind and I told him he would take cold if he stayed there. When he said: ‘The wind won’t hurt me”, I knew he did not know what he was saying. Herbert, Uncle Delos Timmerman, Harold and I put him on a large hand-sleigh (which he had made). We managed with great difficulty to get him up the hill and into the house, by a couple of us pushing and the other 2 pulling. Everything was covered with ice. Herbert went to the next farm to phone for a doctor. Dr. Waterbury said he would come to Inghams Mills and Herbert would meet him there. After Dr. Waterbury had examined dad he thought dad some mental disease. On Wed., April 7, Herman, Herbert, Dr. Waterbury and Burton Schuyler took dad to the Albany Hospital. After dad had been in the hospital a few days, one of the doctor’s decided dad was delirious, not insane. They found out eventually that he had a brain tumor and he died on April 30. As the road past dad’s house was so muddy that cars couldn’t get over it, we decided to have the funeral at Herman’s at East Creek. The service at the house was held at noon and at the Lutheran Church in St. Johnsville at one o’clock, Monday, May 3, 1926. He was buried in the St. Johnsville cemetery.

Seymour Handy, Jr. helped Herbert with the work from early summer until Nov. 26. Alonzo Shulenberg also helped at various times. In Nov. Dan Cromer came to work and stayed quite a while. They finished the haying on Sept. 13. On Sept. 14, Charles and Etta Allen went with us to Vernon, and we stayed with Lucinda & Harry. The next morning we went to Rochester to attend the wedding of Cecil Names and Kenneth Groff that evening (Sept. 15, 1926). We stayed all night at the home of Josiah Groff in Rochester. On Dec. 23, Floyd got his eye cut, while working in the woods. Herbert took him to see Dr. Feldstein and then took him to see Dr. Newton, who said he should go to the Little Falls Hospital. On the next day we took father and mother Groff and started to go see Floyd. We only went to St. Johnsville, as the roads were covered with ice. In the evening we attended the Christmas entertainment at the Crum Creek church. On Saturday, Dec. 25, mother Handy and Harold went to Dolgeville to spend Christmas. We went to father Groff’s and took father & mother to see Floyd. Then we went home as Herbert had to be there to do the milking. About 3 o’clock the next morning, I woke Herbert up and told him we had better go over to father Groff’s and call the doctor, as I thought our baby was going to arrive. We had not expected to have to go until the second week in Jan. It was a bitter cold morning, and after a while Herbert got the Ford to start and we went to father Groff’s. They were surprised to see us that early. Dr. Feldstein came. As the practical nurse, whom we had planned to assist the doctor was on another case and couldn’t come, Mildred Handy Thresher, a nurse and friend of ours came over to help. Herbert had to go home to milk, but he got back before the baby came. About 10 o’clock on Sunday, December 26, 1926, our baby boy, Keith Raymond Handy, was born. Through the hospital we secured a practical nurse, who came for a week to take care of the baby. After she left, Floyd helped many nights to take care of Keith. Mother Groff had heart trouble and we did not want her to get up in the night.