Folder 6: Oliver's Diaries 1956-1959, 1956 - 1959

1956: A small maroon Marquette diary. Notable entries include: complications with Bill Preston from Traveler’s, cash accounts in front pages, the death of his wife, Ester, on August 31st (her obituary is included) as well as a note that September 24th would have been their 35th wedding anniversary, and a devastating ice storm in December that caused a state of emergency. Additionally, Oliver specifically notes that he did not eat after seven o’clock at night on multiple occasions

1957: A small black diary which has Oliver’s name in it and Mrs. William H. Gardiner’s name in it which is Betty’s married name. Entries in this diary took a darker turn with the first entries being about medical records and car accidents. Oliver wrote a story about a friend of his who was a heavy drinker and died in his arms in front of a hospital. Additionally, many entries are about funerals and there are several death announcements and obituaries included in the back of the diary. Oliver continued his daily accounts in this diary as well, noting the cold weather that year, and spending time with Betty and Bill. Oliver’s cash accounts are kept in the final pages in this diary, instead of at the front as in past volumes. One last notable feature is that multiple pages of this book were torn out in chunks.

1958: A small green diary with Alice P. Bill’s name and address added at the beginning, but it is presumably Preston’s dairy because of the handwriting. There are not many entries, and those which are present focus on appointments and money tracking. Many newspaper clippings are included, and the handwriting varies between print and cursive.

1959: A small black diary. This is Oliver’s last diary, he passed away on October 17th. He prewrote certain events and notes for the entire year in another color, so there is information written after he passed away. Many of the entries are shorter, and events have been crossed out when Oliver chose not to attend. Oliver’s decline can be seen as his entries (especially those after September) increase in length and focus on medical appointments, test results, information on units of insulin he needed to take, and plans to move into hospice care. A lone quote from Oliver is included in this diary: “Defeat is more often due to state of mind rather than exhaustion.” Additionally, there are many days which are marked “123” with checkmarks above them, Oliver’s handwriting fluctuates between cursive and print in all capital letters, numerous newspaper clippings are included in this diary, and there a burned hold through some of the pages in July, presumably from a cigarette.