1934-1939 Diary of a High School Student Living in the Rural Coal Region of Pennsylvania

On offer is an interesting 5-year diary written by a teenage girl living in the rural coal region of Pennsylvania during the Great Depression. The author of this diary is La Verne (sometimes Laverne) Genevieve Casseday (1920-2010) of Scalp Level, Pennsylvania. Laverne was born to Roy and Mildred (Horne) Casseday. In 1950, she married Dean Shank Hostletler (1919-2004). Dean served in England in WWII, attended the Cincinnati School of Embalming, and eventually worked in sales at Schmidt’s Blue Ribbon Bakery. They had one daughter, Gail (1952-2003). La Verne was an entrepreneur who worked as a hairdresser and beautician. In adulthood, she was heavily involved with Windber Museum and the Windber Coal Heritage. She was also a member of the Red Hat Society. La Verne attended Windber High School in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She notes in the back of her diary that she is a freshman in 1934.

La Verne begins her diary in 1934, but is a highly inconsistent diarist. She skips around over the next few years, sometimes writing regularly for several days or weeks, sometimes ignoring her dairy for months only to return for a few entries. Her last entries are in 1939. Some excerpts give a sense of the flavour of her diary:

“Went to town. Got picture taken. Bought a new dress for school. Stayed home in evening” [July 30, 1934 or 1935].

“Ironed. Went to Central City to swimming pool. Martha and Duf Lockrie, Betty, Janet, Aunt June. Ethel was here in Eve” [July 7, 1936]. 

“Went to the show. Some boys walked us home. Too bad we were seen by anybody” [Mar 26, 1937].

“Received watch. Graduation gift. Handkerchief from Mrs. Hakenbury. Commencement Ethel Shaffers” [May 26, 1937].

“Verna and I went to Oakland. Had a pretty good time. Lloyd Hostetter and Jac Faust brought us home” [May 26, 1938]. 

"Mother & Dad & Janet went to Windber. Janet & I went to see “Way Down South”. Had a nice time. Went into Schaffer’s to see. Went up to the Drug store" [Aug 23, 1938].

“Guess what? Home! No! Lucille Yoder asked me to join Dramatic Club” [Oct 14, 1938].

“Very sad. Germany war time. Girl dies…” [June 8, year unclear].

“Went to game. Pretty good. Windber won. Show the Irish in us was good. Mildred went too” [Sept 7, year unclear].

The diary ends with four pages of names and addresses of friends.

This diary would make an excellent addition to the resources for a Women’s Studies or Social History program. A genealogist would find this an excellent research resource as her diary is chock full of the names of family, friends and acquaintances.. This would also be a valuable addition to research in Women’s Studies. It gives a glimpse into life in rural Pennsylvania during the Depression through the eyes of a young teenager.

ABOUT SCALP LEVEL, PA: Scalp Level and nearby Windber were coal-mining communities that were in the heart of the coal mining strikes and labour disruptions of the 1920’s and 1930’s. The nearby coal mines were owned by the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. Berwind-White imported workers from eastern and southern Europe and exploited ethnic divisions in the area. On Good Friday 1922, coal miners walked out of the mines in Windber and several nearby locations, attempting to force the mine owners to recognize their United Mine Workers union, as well as improve the terrible pay and conditions under which they laboured. The company employed legal tactics as well as strike-breakers, but the miners received considerable favorable national publicity and local support and held out until the end of the following summer. However, the UMW successfully organized the mines during 1933, after the Great Depression led to the election of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The diary measures 5.25 inches by 3.5 inches and contains 365 pages. The diary is about 50% complete. The cover is a brown leather suede which shows signs of wear. The cover has separated from the binding an d several pages are loose. Some of the first pages have small sections cut out. The handwriting is legible.