April 1, 1880 -- Thursday
The weather was very pleasant all day, somewhat smoky. Pap and I sowed the little field in clover seed in the morning. Pap then went to town. C.L. Klopp came along with me home last night from the entertainment and stayed over night. D.G. Hoover was here a while in the forenoon. We then went to Lesher's school-house and cleaned out the dirt which we made last night. I was in town in the afternoon. As this is the 1st of April -- the annual day of settlement -- there was an awful large crowd of people there. There were a great many flittings went the road. Mother and Jake were at Liz Heller's (Kaufman's) flitting. Arthur Taylor, Pete Snyder &c &c moved to-day.

April 2, 1880 -- Friday
The weather was warm and pleasant. The roads are very nice. I passed the day at home. I was digging garden in the forenoon, dug the part of the bed in which the potatoes were planted. I washed my buggy in the afternoon, it has not been washed since the holidays, and it needed washing very badly. Jacob was at Wertzs in the forenoon and he was in New Franklin in the afternoon. Pap was at Uncle Hen Snyder's working on the lime-stalk. I suppose one week at this time I will have one week put in at "St. Thomas Select Schools." I hope to-morrow evening will be nice, as it will be my last Saturday afternoon to go sporting.

April 3, 1880 -- Saturday
The weather was very inclement, rained the greater part of the day. The roads, which had been so nice will now be muddy again. I was in town in the forenoon, went in my buggy which was just washed and got it muddy again. D.G. Hoover went along. The Guilford school board met and settled off with the teachers. I received as a recompense for teaching, the sum of $26.70. The board and I are now square. There was an entertainment at the Fairview school-house near Fayetteville. Jos. Dysert is the manager. Owing to inclement weather I was not there. As this is my last Saturday evening for a while in these parts, I was away and passed a very pleasant and happy evening with Miss A.B.W--. [Anna Bell Wertz]

April 4, 1880 -- Sunday
The weather was very changeable all day. It looked, in the morning, as though it would be a nice day, then it clouded up, and again cleared off, about 4 o'clock it clouded up and we had a very heavy storm, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The evening was clear. I was at home all day. Mr. McCleary brought Charlie down and he stayed all night. We were at the New Franklin school-house in the evening. There was singing by J.D. Pfoutz. There was quite a large crowd there. D.G. Hoover came along in after singing and stayed all night so that we can get an early start to-morrow morning. This was I suppose the last Sunday night I will be at home for a little while.

April 5, 1880 -- Monday
The weather was very pleasant all day, got somewhat windy in the afternoon. This wind will soon dry up the mud. Messrs J.C. McCleary, D.G. Hoover and I made our trip to the town of St. Thomas. Pap got the loan of Sam Sollenberger's spring wagon, and conveyed us to our destination. I will now call this my home, anyhow, till the 12th of June. We arrived in St. Thomas at a little after nine o'clock, but did not go to school until the afternoon. We then went up and I made my chums acquainted with several persons. After school we took a walk for our health. John Baker one of the "bhoys" was down a while in the evening. We passed the evening trying to study our lessons.

April 6, 1880 -- Tuesday
The weather was changeable. It was cloudy and threatening for rain and actually did sprinkle a little in the evening. It cleared off about noon and got quite stormy and cool toward evening. I passed the day in school. We will soon get in the way of it, and I know we can and will have a pleasant time. We had an argument in grammar on the sentence "Milton, the poet, became blind." The dispute was, to dispose of the words "became" and "blind." We took a walk in the evening and remained in the store till about seven o'clock, then came home and passed the evening preparing our lessons for to-morrow. The branches which I am studying are Mental and Written Arithmetic, Algebra, History, Grammar, Geography, and Methods of Instruction.

April 7, 1880 -- Wednesday
The weather was quite cold all day. It was somewhat cloudy and windy in the afternoon. There were snowstorms also in the afternoon. I passed the day in my school, very pleasantly. The branches that I am studying are Mental and Written Arithmetic, Grammar, History, Physical Geography, Algebra, School Economy and Orthography. We passed the evening trying to study our lessons, but could hardly on account of laughing at the maneuvers of Dan Hoover. After he went to bed, I tied his pants in a knot. George Lohr said in school to-day "that Cornelius Lambert thinks the world is flat and resting on four saw-bucks." I wrote a postal card and a letter in the evening.

April 8, 1880 -- Thursday
The weather was very pleasant, rather cool. The sky was at times somewhat cloudy, but only for short intervals. The day was however quite pleasant. The roads are very nice. I passed the day very pleasantly in school. There are now six large male scholars and two female, namely D.G. Hoover, J.C. McCleary, Saml Hafer, John H. Barker, Geo. A. Lohr, and myself and Alice Miller and Minnie Hollar. After school we took a walk for our health. We went to the house where we used to live -- the old house at "Gillan's" -- It is all now going to decay. It is now the "little old log cabin by the stream." We passed the evening studying, stayed up till about eleven o'clock. We are all enjoying ourselves much.

April 9, 1880 -- Friday
The weather was very pleasant all day, not too hot and not too cold. I passed the day in school very pleasantly. We did not have school-economy in the afternoon, but had exercises of a literary character. I read a selection entitled "That Emerson Boy". We were at the store a while in the evening, and at the school-house, where the Band was to have practice, but the leader not being present, not much practice was. We passed part of the evening reading and singing. Uncle Charles, who had been in the city purchasing goods returned. Wm Gillan and we walked from Chambersburg after dark. One of Mr. David Frieze's children died about noon. "Life is very uncertain."

April 10, 1880 -- Saturday
The weather was very pleasant. There was a south wind all day, but it was very warm. I think we will have rain before many days have passed away. We were at home in the forenoon. In the afternoon we took a walk out to Dixon's place and came home past Eberly's and were in the store a while. We were up street in the evening. The new goods which Uncle Charley bought in the city. The band played in the evening, in front of Martin Miller's. The members were not all there, but they made good music anyhow. We were studying a little in the evening after we came home, but all the studying I did, did not amount to much.

April 11, 1880 -- Sunday
The weather was cold all day. This has been I think the coldest day we have had since we have been in St. Thomas. There were frequent snow-storms during the day. We were at the Reformed Sabbath School in the forenoon. Charles and I were at the Lutheran and Presbyterian church after sabbath school. There was preaching by Rev. A.H. Shertz who preached his anniversary sermon in this place. We were at home in the afternoon. We were all at the Methodist Church in the evening. There was communion service there. The church was a large crowd there. One of David Frieze's children was buried in the evening.

April 12, 1880 -- Monday
The weather was somewhat cold in the forenoon, but got milder in the afternoon.  The evening was clear and starry. I passed the day in school. There were two new scholars entered, Messrs Columbus Walck and Joseph Kriner, two young men. There were also several smaller scholars entered. The whole number of scholars now on the roll is about fifty-seven. We passed the evening studying and we also wrote a long letter to J.F. Deardorff of Pittsburg. I received two letters and a postal card. The one of the letters was from Jake, the other from Miss A.B.W. and the postal from J.F. Deardorff giving me his address. We got our book entitled "Brook's Methods of Instruction" in the evening.

April 13, 1880 -- Tuesday
The weather was very pleasant, rather of the warm order. Owing to the fire on the mountain, the day was very smoky. A gentle south breeze was blowing some parts of the day. I passed the day in school. I participated in several arguments both in Grammar and Physical Geography. I bought a box of tinted writing paper and envelopes of C.C. Gelwicks in the evening for which I paid forty cents. We passed part of the evening studying. I wrote out a sketch of Benjamin Franklin's life to read to-morrow in the History class. We spent part of the evening at the school-house. We heard some very nice music from the "bhoys."

April 14, 1880 -- Wednesday
The weather was very warm and smoky, and the ground is beginning to want for rain. I passed the day in school. Mr. Gillan was in Carlisle and Mr. Baker, Mr. Lohr and I took his place. Mr. Baker heard the Arithmetic, I heard the Grammar and Mr. Lohr had the primary department in the afternoon. It was however a kind of holiday, for the scholars did not care for we students. Charlie McCleary took the measles and will not now be able to attend school for a few days. Dan Hoover and I took a walk up street and in company with Baker. Walck and Kriner took a walk out to Fred Gelwicks Dam. I wrote a letter to be sent home by mail in the evening.

April 15, 1880 -- Thursday
The weather was changeable all day. The sun shone in the morning, but it was very cloudy. It rained a very heavy shower in the forenoon, and was showery all afternoon. This may help to put out the fire on the mountain. I passed the day in school. Charlie was not in, he had to stay at home and nurse his "measles."  Columbus Walck and Joseph Kriner were down in the evening before dark a little while, came to see how Charlie is getting. I was up street a while in the forepart of the evening. I then came home and prepared part of my lessons. I was also studying a little while on the question, Resolved, that War has caused more misery than Intemperance. I have the Affirmative.

April 16, 1880 -- Friday
The weather was cloudy almost all day. In the afternoon there were thundergusts and hail stones fell. There were also gusts in the evening. I was in school almost all day, went up about ten o'clock. I wrote a letter before I went up, to "my dear." We had exercises of a literary nature in the afternoon. Miss Minnie Hollar read a selection entitled, "The new church organ." Dan Hoover read "The Champion Snorer," and I read "Pete Sorghum in love." There was also a dialogue by S. Hafer, D.G. Hoover, G.A. Lohr, J.A. Baker and me, the subject was "The debating society." The question for debate for next Friday afternoon is "Resolved, that we derive more benfit from reading than by observation," and I was studying on the affirmative side in the evening. I received a letter from J.H. Stoner from Shippenburg in the evening.

April 17, 1880 -- Saturday
The weather was quite pleasant somewhat cold in the morning, but got very nice and pleasant in the afternoon and the evening was clear and beautiful. I shaved myself and cleared up our room a little in the forenoon. I also wrote two letters, one to J.T. Pfoutz and one to J.A. Snively. I was up street in the afternoon. I was also up street in the evening till quite late. The band played after the Odd Fellows Lodge adjourned and the United Brethren church was out. There was a quarterly conference of the United Brethren. The winter is now almost over, and the gentle spring, with her balmy breezes will soon be here , and as Uncle Charles says "the croquet mallet will be heard on the green." There were several fights in the evening.

April 18, 1880 -- Sunday
The weather was very pleasant. The sky was clear and the atmosphere was very pure and mild. I was at the Reformed Church in this town of St. Thomas. Mr. Stewart preached. I was also at Sunday school in the forenoon. I was at home (that is here in St. Thomas) in the afternoon. D.J. Dixon came along with Uncle Charles down street in the afternoon and got his supper here. I was also at the Reformed Church in the evening. There was preaching by Mr. W. J. Stewart. Jennie was down in the afternoon. Mrs. Fuhl is very poorly, but expected to live long. There was a band of gipsies encamped in Seller's woods, and several people from town were out and got their fortunes told by an old Gipsy woman.

April 19, 1880 -- Monday
The weather was changeable. It was very cloudy in the morning and threatened for rain, but in the afternoon it cleared off quite nicely and in the evening about five o'clock there was a very heavy rain, accompanied by thunder, storm and lightning. I passed the day in school. Charlie is getting along very well with his measles. They are now almost all gone and he will be about again in a few days. I was at the store a while in the evening after the storm. I got a letter from home. They are all well with the exception of Mother having a touch of Rheumatism. It also says that Annie Wertz is sick, but is getting better. I passed the evening studying. I was trying to find the most important events of Jefferson's Administration for to-morrow.

April 20, 1880 -- Tuesday
The weather was very pleasant the greater part of the day although it was somewhat of the cloudy order in the forenoon. It was raining and sleeting in the morning, but it cleared off and got very pleasant. I passed the day at school very pleasantly. We had several arguments in regard to Mental and Written Arithmetic and Grammar. Dan Hoover went with John Baker out to his home to get a book, in the evening after school. I was in the store a while in the evening also at the school house, at which place there was band practice. I then came home but not being able to get my "mind concentrated and brought to a focus, so as to burn a hole in the book," I did not study very much.

April 21, 1880 -- Wednesday
The weather was very pleasant all day, and the sky was clear, and the sun shone with bright lustre and effulgence. The air was mild. I was in school, passed the day very pleasantly. Charlie was out of the house to-day for the first time, he was up in the store for a little while in the afternoon. He has experienced a patience lesson, Being penned up in the house now for a week. I was up at the school-house playground in the evening after school, and took a game of croquet with Misses Minnie Hollar and Alice and Lizzie Miller and D.G. Hoover and J.A. Baker. I received a letter from F.T. Snyder, and wrote one to J.H. Stoner and one home.

April 22, 1880 -- Thursday
The weather was very mild and pleasant, and the evening was beautiful. The bright full moon shone down upon us in all its emulgency. I passed the day in school very pleasantly. Geo. Lohr and I removed our seats from upstairs down to the lower ante room, and will make it permanent. School went well to-day, but after school, there was a small logomachy between Dan and me. We had visitors in the evening -- Misses Della Sellers and Jennie. They spent part of the evening here. We (students) took a walk for exercise in the evening after school. I passed part of the evening after the visitors left, in preparing my lessons for the recitations of to-morrow.

April 23, 1880 -- Friday
The weather was quite pleasant, somewhat hazy, although the sun shone all day, but dimly at times. I passed the day in school very pleasantly. We had a written review on History, but I have not yet heard what the result will be. We had exercises of a Literary character in the afternoon, consisting of Essay Reading, and debate. The question discussed was: Resolved, that we derive more benefit from reading than from observation. J.A. Baker and I debated the affirmative, and D.G. Hoover and S.E. Hafer debated the negative side.  G.A. Lohr and Columbus Walck rendered their decision in favor of the affirmative. I was at the school-house in the evening helping to play croquet.

April 24, 1880 -- Saturday
The weather was very inclement, very damp and cool. It was raining a greater part of the day. I was reading and shaved, washed and so forth in the forenoon. I was also at the school-house, went up to take a lesson in algebra, but as the house was not very warm, I did not have it. I wrote a postal card to W.A. Reid, of Greencastle asking if he had any Question Books yet. I passed the greater part of the afternoon working out problems in algebra. I was also at the same business in the eve, I was at the post-office after supper and got a letter directed to "the company," from J.F. Deardorff who is attending school at the Iron City Commercial College in Pittsburg.

April 25, 1880 -- Sunday
The weather was cloudy and rainy the greater part of the day. There was a right heavy gust in the afternoon. I was at Reformed Sunday School in this place in the forenoon, which was not very well attended, owing to the inclemecy of the weather. I was at home in the afternoon, which I passed reading and studying. I was at the Methodist church in the evening, there was preaching by Rev. Mr. Shipe. My Oh! What a name, he must have been behind the door when names were given out. I wrote a letter to Miss Annie M. Snyder in the afternoon. I suppose that this was the day that Mr. Comfort preached his farewell discourse at the Hill.

April 26, 1880 -- Monday
The weather was somewhat cloudy in the forenoon, and damp, almost I would have made a mistake, it was very nice and clear in the forenoon, but it clouded up again in the evening, and rained a shower. I passed the day in my school very pleasantly. This day three weeks ago, we took our departure from the Dutch Settlement. I was at the school-house playground after school, and took a game of croquet, or rather played the game. I received two letters, one from home and the other from C.B. Dysert, who is now at Pine Grove Furnace. Jake states in his letter that Mother has rheumatism and that my "particular friend" is getting better, which last I am glad to hear. I wrote a letter to C.B. Dysert, also to J.F. Deardorff, in the eve.

April 27, 1880 -- Tuesday
The weather was somewhat cloudy, but it did not rain. It got quite cool in the evening. I passed the day very pleasantly in school. There was a visitor present. Mr. A.L. Benedick, he was there a while in the forenoon and heard the recitation in Grammar. I was up street at the store after school. I received a letter and a postal card, the former from Miss Annie B. W--, and the latter from W.A. Reid from Greencastle, stating that he will send 3 books for $4.00. I wrote a letter to Miss W. in the evening in reply to the one just received. There was a wedding up street in the evening, Mr. John Grove to one of my old school-mates, Miss Luella M. Hollar.

April 28, 1880 -- Wednesday
The weather was fine, very clear and pleasant all day and the climate was mild, the atmosphere pure, &c. I passed the day very pleasantly in school. I received from Luella M. Grove, my old school-mate the present of part of the wedding cake. Jno. Baker brought it to school for me. I was at the school-house ground after school, and played a game of croquet. I did very poorly, and I think I will stop the business. I received two letters in the evening, one from Alice L. Shetter and the other from J.T. Pfoutz. There we two funerals in the Lutheran Church-yard, Clayton Brandt, and Mr. Henry. I passed part of the evening studying. There was a meeting of the teachers at Mr. Stewart's in the evening.

April 29, 1880 -- Thursday
The weather was very inclement. It began to rain in the morning before seven o'clock and continued all day to rain very fast. The old saying, of rain, that "if it begin to rain before 7 it will stop before 11," did not hold good in this case. I passed the day very pleasantly in school. We had a very big time in the Grammar class. There were some lively discussions, and I partly offended S.E. Hafer, but I made it all right. I was at the store a while in the evening, but did not remain there long. I then came home and passed part of the evening at my books. I wrote a letter during the day to A.L. Shetter, and sent it off, or put it in the office.

April 30, 1880 -- Friday
The weather was cloudy at times, but was on the whole quite pleasant the forenoon of the day, but in the evening it got very cold, and there were some snow-storms. I was in school, passed the day very pleasantly. There were exercises of a literary character in the afternoon. The question debated was "Resolved, that the hope of reward is a greater incentive to action than the fear of punishment," It was discussed by J.A. Baker, Jos. Kriner, & J.C. McCleary, J.C. Walck. It was decided in favor of the last named gentlemen. I was the president. Miss Alice Sellers was at our room in the evening. We were playing croquet after school. Received letter, J.H. Stoner.

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