1911-1915 Diary of an Engaging Pittsburgh High and Carnegie Tech Student Coming-of-Age Before Enlisting in the Great War

On offer is diary filled with the musings of a student, age 17 when he begins writing, that provides exceptional insight into the experience of a teenage boy in the years before World War One. 

The diary belonged to Edward Dudley Tucker (1893-1977), who went by Dudley [SEE BIO NOTES AT END OF LISTING].  

Dudley kept the diary regularly from January through August of 1911, while completing his junior year of high school. He returns to his diary for a couple entries in 1912, when he had just completed a summer job at an electrical company and is beginning his studies at Carnegie Tech (which would later become a part of Carnegie Mellon University). The diary concludes with a final entry in April of 1915, where Dudley writes of the death and burial of his family’s 17-year-old dog, Toby. He also uses a few additional pages to note his expenses while attending Carnegie Tech. Tipped into the diary are two manuscript letters and a printed dance card from Dudley’s high school dance in April, 1912. The two letters are from 1911, one being a newsy, familiar letter written to Dudley by his friend Hazel and another being a detailed letter written by Dudley to his Aunt Helen where he provides great detail about his studies in senior year and his devoted work on his model airplanes. 

His diary is written in a ledger book, allowing him freedom to write extensive and descriptive entries, which he often does. Some entries span pages and provide details of his experiences, lists of friends’ names and even drawings. Other entries are just a quick line or two. 

“I went out to the library to get some material for my debate on the 20th today. I did not know how to act but found out…”  [Jan 17, 1911]

“I lost my debate to-day but only by a little bit, they clapped me but not Beistel. I lost on account of the following. I should only write the headings and write them large and in ink and number them and leave a space of about a line between each….Be sure to get the material on both sides of the question and get things to knock out his proofs. And greatest of all go slow, take plenty of time…and don’t be afraid to pause…” [Jan 20, 1911].

“We initiated Cornell into the club [the 500 Club] to-nite, we did a lot of things to him. We were all dressed up so he wouldn’t know us. We gave him some sweet stuff, then some quinine, then we put a mustard plaster on his arms, then we painted U.S. on his hands with iodine and then tarred and feathered one finger. Then we gave him a dippy note to give the druggist. He gave it to him and the druggist laffed and showed it to a customer. Connell says he’ll make the next initiative strong enough for the next member. I am reading sweet book, “The Golden Kingdom” by Andrew Balfour. This is some songs taken out of it….” [Feb 10, 1911]. 

On May 20th, he describes a hike in the countryside and accompanies the description with a very detailed map of the immediate area he explored with some friends.

“...Hyppo and Eli and I took a walk down in Fern Hollow yesterday. We went down past the gas wells and then climbed up where I found the Indian [ ] last Sunday. There Eli got a couple of ferns I had told him about and then we climbed to the top of the hill where there is an orchard, an old disused railway and a path…” [May 20, 1911].

“I was down to Tech to see Dean Leete today and had my personal interview. I met a fellow from Texas whose name is McBride. I spent 10 cents for cab fare” [March 25, 1912]. 

“...I hated to see those little kids doing those stunts on the stage the other night [at the Rowland Circus]. It seems barbarous to me that we should allow such things when it probably shortens the life of the person greatly. I saw Sue Trotter this afternoon for the first time for about a month. Gee she sure has got some shape. I saw Jennie Mountford this afternoon, too. Her hair is sure bleached some. She makes everybody call her “Jean” now. Some loving believe me…” [Dec 15, 1912]. 

At the back of the book is a list titled “Things I want To Do. From context, this list was written after his return from WWI or during a leave. It includes:.

“Fix my army stuff to my walls, Find a way to take a picture through a telescope, Put electric lights in my cabinet..” and more. 

For a social historian, this diary gives a fine look inside the life of an American teenage boy in the years immediately preceding WWI. A genealogist would find the list of school friends very helpful in researching family and community connections.

BIO NOTES: Dudley was born in Westboro, Massachusetts to parents Frances Augusta Robinson and Curtis Allen Tucker and raised in Edgewood, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, He graduated from Pittsburgh Central High School in 1912 and later graduated from Carnegie Tech. He became a civil engineer and worked in a variety of places, including Koppers Company. He served in World War One from November, 1915 through June, 1919. In 1923, he married Mary Strang in Wilkinsburg, PA. Together, they had one daughter, Mary Jane Tucker. 

The journal was kept in a ledger book measuring 11.75x7.5 inches. It contains 100 numbered pages plus 6 others inserted into it. It is about 50% complete. The covers are in good condition as are the binding and the pages. The handwriting is legible. Overall VG.