Nine-year-old flashes artistic skill in two diary entries

This is an unusual spread from dad's 1938 diary... unusual primarily because he rarely included any illustrations (though his innate artistic talent is quite clear). There are several mentions of playing paper dolls, sandwiched around the Baldwins coming over on Sunday. Perhaps this was mandated by Grandma demanding he not mess up his clothes. But the paper dolls reappear on Monday, so...

In other diary entries, paper dolls were occasionally described as "fun," but that Sunday's experience elicted the equivalent of shouting "No Fun." 

Here's an educated guess as to whom "the Baldwins" referred to: Leo and Anna Baldwin lived in Tiffin and ran the local grocery story and post office station. They had daughter Betty Jean, who was a year older than Dorothy and graduated from St. Patrick's School and, later, Iowa. Dorothy's son John Kisner remembers his mom often mentioning Betty Jean... certainly one of her long-time friends. 

Betty Jean Baldwin married Charles Eicher in 1950 and Dr. Eicher may or may not have assisted with my delivery at Mercy Hospital. My apologies to Betty Jean Baldwin Eicher if the illustration iss not her. That girl appears haughty and a bit scary, and she would have been 13 at the time and likely disdainful of a pesky kid. In my imagination, the NO FUN reflects his annoyance with Betty Jean or Dorothy or both.

Monday's entry is typical until we get to "Slept with Mom to protect her," along with a vivid drawing (complete with all those ZZZZZs) of that event from ceiling height perspective. 

There is no mention of what my grandmother needed protecting from on June 20, or anywhere else in the diary. This was a one-time event, evidently. We might even speculate about who was protecting whom here. I particularly appreciate the caption for the illustration, though I wish dad had added a bit of context. 

But he wasn't writing for me.

By the way, an earlier vivist from the Baldwins -- from Sunday, April 24 -- received rave reviews. He wrote that day that they brought Betty Jean home after church, eventually playing not only with paper dolls but playing "cops and robbers," described as "lots of fun." High praise. 

The Baldwins came to dinner later, picking up their daughter. Dad writes that they "played Grand National. Fun." That is the lone mention of that game, which likely referred to a board game that mimicked the British horse race, with dice and betting as the "track" included unpredictable hurdles. Well, that's what I found online. 

If dad awarded the coveted "fun" designation, my guess is that he did well.