Friday, February 1, 1924

No entry for this day.

Thursday, January 31, 1924

No entry for this day.

Wednesday, January 30, 1924

Fair and cool. The morning routine. Devotions. Breakfast. Read. Communion Service in Chapel at 10 A.M. Studied a bit. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Service in P.M. with Matriculation Day address by Dr. Elliott, Editor of Methodist Review. Registered for second semester with Prof. Cell. Down to supper. Met Mary Leah and Marie. Went to supper again with them. We walked to Morgan Memorial with her. Went to see Gloria Swanson in "Zaza." Home. To bed 11:30 P.M. Thankful.

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Dr. Elliott is Rev. George Elliot, who took over as editor of the Methodist Review in 1919. Below is an excerpt from The Methodist Year Book for 1919 which tells a little bit about both the publication and Dr. Elliott.

Zaza was a silent film that premiered in 1923. Below is a poster from the film and a plot summary from a reviewer.

Taken from IMDB

"Gloria Swanson plays Zaza, a spirited French music hall star who battles her rival (Mary Thurman) and chases after a rich man (H.B. Warner) only to get her comeuppance. 

"In a stretch for Swanson, Zaza requires her to portray a French woman in a silent film. Through gestures and facial expressions she succeeds admirably in playing a character unlike any other in her long career. The brazen Zaza is always adorned with the letter Z on her clothing, jewelry, hats, etc. 

"The film is marked by a terrific music hall sequence in which Swanson swings way out over the audience and tosses flowers down on various men. Thurman cuts the rope and sends Swanson smashing onto the floor. Later they have a great catfight scene in the country cottage Warner houses Zaza."

Tuesday, January 29, 1924

Beautiful--bright--mild. Thawing & wet under foot. Arose 7 A.M. Studied. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. M.L. met me. A bunch of S.T. & R.E. men and women to home of Miss Alice Reynolds in Newton Highlands. Out for hike to Echo bridge etc. Back home. Wonderful supper. Played games & sang songs. Back to Boston 10 P.M. To bed 10:30 P.M. Thankful for opportunities of Xn fellowship.

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Alice Reynolds is probably Alice Gertrude Reynolds, a woman who in 1920 was working as a nurse-companion for a private family. She was born in 1890 so she was about 34 at the time of this get-together. She must have been one of Mary Leah's classmates, as by 1930 she was working as a director of religious education. She died at the age of 90 in 1980 in Newton, Massachusetts, where she had lived most of her life. She never married. Below is a picture of her as an adult of unknown age (on the left), and one of her when she was likely a teenager with her siblings. Both photos came from someone's online family tree.

Alice G Reynolds

Alice with Siblings

Monday, January 28, 1924

Fair and cool. Arose 7 A.M. Wrote letter and studied. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Studied and read. Supper. Mary Leah and I to Tremont Temple to Community Testimony Meeting for Jesus Christ. The first of a series of fundamentalist meetings. Packed--2800 present. A real inspiration. Talked. To bed 12:30 P.M. Thankful for heritage of long list of saints of past.

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Sunday, January 27, 1924

Bright and cold. Arose 8 A.M. Out to breakfast. Devotions. Read paper. Very cold and windy. Mitchell, DeWolf and I to Old South Church. Dr. Gordon gave a good sermon. "Standing in front of the mirror"--life as a sieve to which process of sifting all are subjected. Stayed to S.S. A very good class. I appointed chairman of Publicity Committee. To Walton's for dinner. To "72." Took nap. Played piano and read. M.L. & I to Chelsea. I spoke to E.L. [Epworth League] at Mt. Bellingham M.E. Church for Brother Wallschlaeger. Lunch. Chatted with H.H. a few moments. A heart to heart chat with M.L. To bed 12:30 P.M. THANKFUL.

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Mt. Bellingham is apparently a high point in the Chelsea neighborhood of Boston. The Methodist Church (now United Methodist) is still there, although from the photo taken in 2011, it looks like it now has a Spanish-speaking congregation (numbering 160) and was at that time, unfortunately, in need of a roof repair. The pastor is Patricia Pena, who is also the pastor for the Jamaica Plains, MA congregation, on the other side of Boston. It has a membership of only 50.

I think these "heart to heart" discussions with Mary Leah and Hanford are leading to the big revelation in one week. Stay tuned!

Saturday, January 26, 1924

Cold, raw, bleak, windy. Bright. Arose 7:30 A.M. Breakfast & devotions. Studied. Dinner. Worked 12 M-2 P.M. Pressed clothes. Talked. Brother left for Lancaster. Took shower. Studied. To supper with George Mitchell, or vice versa. Called up M.L. Played ping-pong with Paul White for about 10 Minutes. To see "Whispering Wires" with Alice Webster. A pleasant evening. Home 11 P.M. Talked with George Mitchell and Ernest Steinkraus. To bed 12 P.M. Thankful for Christ.

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Hmmm . . . I wonder who this Alice Webster is? Just a friend? Maybe Mary Leah couldn't go and Stanford didn't want to waste the tickets? Perhaps enlightenment will come later.

Steinkraus is a friend at BUST. You can read a little bit about him at this post: December 8, 1922.