Joan’s Doodles

In Joan’s diaries, she often doodled little drawings.  They sometimes depicted a scene she was writing about or might show her latest outfit or hair style.  Below you’ll find a few samples of her  sketches along with the diary entry that describes the image.

From Wednesday May 25, 1938, Age 15

My feet hurt in art today and I took off one shoe; everyone passed out.

The picture of her on the left has arrows pointing to “foot” and “shoe”; the one on the right points out “people having passed out.”

Joan loved to go to the movies so movie stars names are part of a hangman game in her journal.

From Monday October 10, 1938

“Franchot Tone, Jayne Morris, Clark Gable, William Powell, Randolph Scott, Jon Hall.”  Another one has the names:  “Shirley Temple, Tyrone Power, Mickey Rooney.”

In December 1938, Joan was chosen to portray the Virgin Mary at her church.  She was thrilled.  See under “Journal Entries” for a photo of her as the Virgin Mary and a related journal entry.  Here is a different journal entry from that time period and a drawing.

Saturday Dec. 17, 1938, Age 15 (almost 16!)

            …You know I’m the Madonna and I sit there in front with a white kerchief on my head, surrounded by all the little angels.  There was a straw-filled manger beside me.  And suddenly I felt ashamed of myself and silly and good and enjoyed rehearsing it.  Just as I was about to leave, my Joseph came and we had to rehearse once together in the dark church.  He’s Cameron Brown…. It’s all very beautiful but the rehearsal was terrible.    [Drawings of her in costume.]

Joan had to take modern dance.  Here is a passage from her journal and some of the sketches accompanying it.

From Monday Jan. 23, 1939, Age 16

[After chatting with a boy we] reached the locker room and I staggered to Modern Dance.

Speaking of Modern Dance, we’ve got a new exercise now.  I’ll try to sketch it if you promised not to laugh—it’s sort of a contract and expand thing.  Oh, it’s horribly painful.  And then there’s this:  [Drawing].  And so forth:  Oh — And then one more—falling to floor in 3 counts:  [Drawing].  Only gracefully—but oh gosh and oh – gee — it hurts!

Joan worked as a Nature Study counselor at camp every summer in Michigan. This dates from Wednesday 7-12-39 when she was 16.

Dear Journal—I wish I were writing this as rapturously as I could have Sunday morning but I had no paper then and I’ll do my best to recapture the feeling.  Anyhow—Saturday night was the barn dance.  We went to the barn dance—me in a poke bonnet with rosebuds and blue ribbons. Then afterwards our quartet sang—and then–!!! He asked me to go canoe riding with him—oh-oh!  It was wonderful.  Phyllis was going too and there was only one canoe and anyhow we all went together—oh it was wonderful!  We landed at a little beach up the river on the north side and he and I sat in the back and about midnight the gold half-moon rose.