New Year’s Day                                                       January 1, 1934

Had a good time last night. Aunt Me and I went to the midnight show, ‘Convention City,’ at the Paramount…”

This begins the 1934 diary of a Springfield teenager. Agnes Rita Walsh spends the next several months documenting her life – her plans, the people she knew, and activities of her church. She swam at Fassnight Park, saw shows at the Gillioz, and had picnics at Clear Creek Park. The baseball team played at White City and apparently didn’t have a very good year.

Miss Walsh spent her life in Springfield, becoming a social worker. Her diary is a recent donation to Special Collections and Archives. Researchers wanting to learn more about the volume should contact Anne Baker, head of Special Collections, at AnneBaker@missouristate.edu or 417-836-4299.

A little extra for those who like trivia.… The movie “Convention City” was considered so risqué that it was put back in the vault after the first theatre run. Today there are no known copies. And the Paramount was located on the Square. We know it as the Fox Theatre.