1917 Diary of a Radcliffe, Iowa Man Studying Bookkeeping Upon His Return from the Great War

On offer is a fine diary of a young man who had just returned to rural United States from WW1 service. The author of this diary is Martin Oliver Skrovig (1894-984). Skrovig was born in Radcliffe, Iowa. To learn more about Skrovig, see BIO NOTES at the end of the listing. 

Martin kept this diary in 1917, in his early 20s. Although he makes no reference to his service, context suggests that he had been recently released from service and is now working on his accounting/bookkeeping education. He attended Capital City Community College in Des Moines. 

Excerpts give a sense of Martin’s writing: 

“Finished my Trial Bal. And Balance Sheets and closed my books. Boys went skating” [Jan 16]. 

“Doc Earle of [ ] College at chapel. Got 100% in Word [ ] test Still beat Four C. ... Got home 1:30. Pressed suit A.M. and P.M. cut wood. Over to Neubaner’s eve” [Mar 23,24]. 

“Tom, Alf & I to G.C. to register forenoon and chopped wood P.M. Raw weather. Windy & stormy” [June 5]. 

In the autumn of that year, we see that he is working not only on his studies but on helping on the family farm, mostly picking corn

“Penmanship. Wrote about 14 pages…” [Oct 18].

“... At home. Started picking. Picked 70 bu. Rain eve but picked our rows out 6 apiece” [Oct 26]. 

“Tom & I picked each 90 bu it was 28 below [ ] picked 24 rows & 75 bu. Si over & helped. Picked 39 rows” [ Dec 13].

For a social historian, this diary gives a very clear picture of life for a young man in the American midwest in the early years of the 20th century. Even though he was working on his education, the demands of daily life to ensure the means to maintain that schooling had to be met. Those demands were accepted as part of the normal course of life and offer a clear contrast to student life a century later

BIO NOTES:  Martin Oliver Skrovig was born to parents Ole Ivarsen and Thorbjor (Tilda) Endresdatter Enderson, both of whom immigrated from Norway. He served in the United States army in WW1. Martin married Myrtle Olson (1901-1998) in 1924, and together they had three children. Skrovig worked in banks in Radcliffe and Ellsworth before coming to Marshalltown, Iowa in 1932. In Marshalltown, Martin was a bookkeeper for the Marshall Canning Company, then a clerk for the Railway Mail Service and at his retirement, he was a bookkeeper for Vernon Pries Insurance. In his private life, Martin was a Deacon and choir member at Elim Lutheran Church, and a member of Frank Louis Glick American Legion Post 46. He was a Chaplain and funeral ceremonial unit commander in the Legion Post. He was also commander of WWI Veterans Barracks 1104, and a Scoutmaster. 

This diary measures 5.25x2.5 inches and contains 52 pages. It is 100% complete. The covers are intact but show definite signs of staining. The binding is good and all of the pages are intact. The handwriting is cramped but legible.