I've Got Some Lovin' to Do
The Diaries of a Roaring Twenties Teen, 1925–1926
by
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Sunday, July 12, 1925
I have decided to keep a diary in which I can confide my dreams, my hopes and ambitions. I went to C.E. today. There was a Christian Endeavor delegate from Los Angeles there. He gave a perfectly marvelous talk. He was only about 18 and so good looking. I used to say that religious boys were silly things but I’ve changed my mind. This boy has done more to influence my life than all of Daddy’s lectures can begin to. I see things in an all together different light than I did before. This boy is just the type I am going to marry. I’m through with all this silliness. Boys kissing you good night and etc cetera [sic]. It’s the bunk and starting tomorrow, I’m going to lead a straightforward spiritual life.
Monday, July 13, 1925
Hot day. I tried to think uplifting thoughts but (I must be truthful), ice cold lemonade and a book appealed to me more.
Tuesday, July 14, 1925
Lily and me went to the park tonight. We were swinging and asked a boy to swing us. Then we decided to come home. The darn fool then followed us all around. He was [ugly] looking and rather nice in his speech but so greasy and awful. He repelled me. It was practically impossible to get rid of him. And finally we had to take the bus. Even then I think he would have come with us but I said goodby and gave him a broad hint to beat it. I hate boys. They’re such vulgar creatures...
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About the Book
It is July of 1925 when, on a whim, fifteen-year-old Doris Bailey decides to keep a diary—a place where she can openly confide her dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Doris is flirtatious, untamed, and romantic, imagining herself in and out of love with each passing day.
In this first volume of Th e Doris Diaries, her great-niece, Julia Park Tracey, shares Doris’s journals capturing a year in the life of a precocious teenager in the rapidly changing world of the mid-1920s. Doris chats on the telephone and dances to records on the Victrola. Not only does she flirt, kiss, and ride in cars with boys, but she also sneaks out, cuts school, and chops off her hair. While Doris constantly pushes the boundaries of acceptable behavior for a young girl, she retells juicy gossip from St. Helen’s Hall, a military academy dance, and an Oregon dude ranch—sharing an unforgettable glimpse into a treasure trove of authentic American life in the Northwest.
I’ve Got Some Lovin’ to Do, with commentary, footnotes, and photographs, presents an entertaining portrayal of an American girl brimming with curiosity, a zest for life, and a hunger to experience love for the first time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeuoA73i_nM>
About the Author
Julia Park Tracey, the great-niece of Doris Bailey Murphy, is an award-winning writer and editor and the author of Tongues of Angels: A Novel (2002) and Amaryllis: Collected Poems (2009). She divides her time between Alameda and Forestville, California, with a motley crew of cats, five children, and one very patient husband.