Folder 4: Oliver's Diaries 1948-1951, 1948 - 1951

1948: A small green Marquette diary. The clippings are about Traveler’s Insurance, funerals, and the war. Oliver was thorough in his writing and marked the end of each entry with an “x” to note that they are complete. He also included announcements from his Lodge.

1949: A small blue diary. Oliver’s name is written on the side of the pages. This diary has a heart drawing on the front. Oliver also included little colored square stickers/cutouts with dates and names on them throughout the diary: 1706 Franklin, 1807 Robert E. Lee, 1824 Stonewall Jackson and Ground Hog Day, and 1809 Abraham Lincoln. Oliver’s mother died in 1949, and many of his entries in this diary are time specific, with some dated to the minute. Newspaper clippings were also pasted into the diary.

1950: A small brown diary. Betts and Bill got engaged and married this year. Grandpa Preston, Oliver’s father, passed away on December 22nd. There is less writing and fewer clippings in this diary than in others. A shift from simple facts to more personal reflection occurs throughout the entries. The binding is fairly fragile.

1951: A small blue diary with Oliver’s stamp on the title page. A couple important entries in the diary are Oliver’s retirement from Traveler’s Insurance of Friday, September 14th and Bill and Betty’s wedding on October 14th. The entries are detailed and often run onto the next page.