January 1, Dewitt's Diaries

January 1^st. A day when we begin a new year, when we can reflect on the year(s) before and plan for what is to come.

Most journals or diaries begin on January 1. This is the case with Dewitt C. Bassette, Jr. and his 60 plus years’ worth of entries. Dewitt would often note if the diary was a gift from someone, or where he purchased the volume.

Wednesday January 1, 1919 Cloudy all day with rain to-night. Very mild weather. Sawed wood today. Earl Wilson and Charles VanLew helped. No snow this winter so far. Winter wheat looking fine and growing some. Roads in bad shape. Went to Trumansburg Sunday. Played basket ball with Odessa Saturday I.H.S. 20 Odessa 19.   

So begins the first volume. For the next 62 years Dewitt will record weather, daily events, marriages, births, deaths, war and life in general.

January 1, 1953 Mild today but no sun. We did not get the predicted snow. Mom and I drove over to Bob Aikens this afternoon and watched football game between Syracuse & Alabama. Syracuse got badly beaten. A. 61 S. 6. Cloudy & mild tonight. Temperature 32

(This diary was bought on March 13, 1953 and I have Jan 1 to March 12 to copy into this book from notebook I been keeping diary in since Jan 1. This was written on March 13)

Dewitt Clinton Bassette Jr. was the third son of D.C. and Mary Peterson Bassette. We don’t know a lot about the oldest brother, Harold Ditmars (1889—1890).

Dewitt’s older brother was my grandfather, Myron Wheeler Bassette. Myron will be noted many times in Dewitt’s diaries and will be a part of other Snippet items as he was a part of the banking and community history in the village.

Front: Myron, Mary Peterson  Bassette, Francis "Pete"
Back: Dewitt, Lemuel

Lemuel Jared Bassette (1901-1982) grew up on the family farm and would return to spend time with Dewitt and the rest of the family. Francis Peterson Bassette was the youngest member of the family, (1908-1992). In the early diaries he is Francis, sometime later becoming Pete. Lem and “Pete” purchased a summer home on Interlaken Beach Road, which today is owned by Pete’s grandson. Dewitt often comments on fishing from the dock, or spending time at Lem’s.

While each new year begins, it is also a link in the passing of time. Several of the diaries in this group are actually multiple-year volumes. One such case is the 1941 to 1944 set.

1941 January 1, a mild winter. War in Europe goes on with terrific bombing of London and cities in Germany. They are drafting men for defense here.

1942 mild and mostly cloudy, high south wind. Went over to Edna’s folks for dinner. Snow and rain tonight

1943 cloudy Bunny H and I went foxhunting. Saw one fox got none. Temperature 30 sleet and foggy tonight. Every swamp and creek is full of water.

1944 set some traps for muskrat. Mild today and a beautiful day.

It is interesting to read diaries and journals knowing “the rest of the story.” On January 1, 1941, the war was in Europe. January 1, 1942, it has been less than a month since Pearl Harbor; January 1, 1943, Dewitt’s son Leland has been serving with the Army for two months, and January 1, 1944, the war goes on; but knowing the family history, we know that Leland will come home in time and continue working on the family farm.

Occasionally, Edna would make entries into the diary, the weight of the baby or comments when Dewitt was sick. When Dewitt and Edna went to Florida for several weeks, Leland recorded the weather while Dewitt kept a notebook and taped those pages into the diary when they returned. In 1972 Dewitt was admitted to the hospital and it wasn't until he was beginning to feel better did Edna bring him the diary. On a scrap of paper in that volume is a list of items she was to bring him, the diary was one of the noted items.

Dewitt and Edna also had a daughter Catherine. She married and lived in Tampa Florida with her husband Howard Holloway. Howard's daughter gave the collection of diaries to the Interlaken Historical Society a few years ago along with other family memorabilia. 

Dewitt's Diary Thursday January 1, 1981 [the last year in the collection] Temperature 14, cloudy. A few snowflakes. Mom was stomach sick today and not eating anything. Temperature in the 20s but no sun. We are not having any sunshine. The water level is down after long spell of dry weather. Steven Decker was in yesterday. He is hobbling around with a broken ankle for more than a month. In hospital when Edna was. Bob Ritchie was in this evening, lives in Wooster, Mass. He is a truck driver. Some cooler in December than normal. We raised our price for eggs from 75 cents to 85 cents per dozen today.