Kay played tennis about once a week, often at Lillian Karn's next door, attended ballet dancing school and took piano lessons. She and her friends hiked "nearly to Hunting Hill," and roasted weenies near the schoolhouse. Occasionally they rode horses or took the wagon out with the boys. In the winter, the children went sledding on the hill out back or skating at Karns' pond. Family Christmas traditions must have made quite an impression on young Kay; she writes in her diary about lots of shopping, a tree decorated with electric lights, and caroling at the community tree in downtown Rockville.

The Dawsons were very involved with the Methodist Church where Rose's late father had been minister. Kay often went to Missionary Society meetings, and the Near East Relief was also a popular cause. Rose was known for her singing in the choir, and she and Kay often attended sermons on weeknights as well. Once the congregation went to the poorhouse and another crowd was already there so they joined services. Kay took basic courses at school, was tutored in French and Music at home, and enjoyed checking out books from the library. Ice cream or a hot chocolate at Jack's was a frequent after-school treat. She usually got a ride into town (preferably in Uncle David's Pierce Arrow), returning home on the 5:30 trolley.

The SECO Theater showed silent films in 1922, and the Dawsons made weekly visits to the movies. Plays produced by local churches and schools or the National Theater were popular entertainment destinations. At home they played games such as rook and canfield. Kay sewed doll clothes and held doll weddings with girlfriends. She also enjoyed riding her bike. If Granny Ellie saw her playing baseball with the boys, she would be called in. Baseball was a favorite pastime in Rockville. My grandfather (Kay's brother) Sam would visit Uncle Hal at Rocky Glen (Dawson Farm) where some of Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's would occasionally hang out. Sometimes Rose and Helen Welsh would take in a game after shopping and lunch. In his 1971 tribute to Rose, Helen's son Barney wrote about playing ball with my grandfather, Bill Bouic, Val Wilson, and others known as the "uptown gang."

Weekend drives in the country were common, as were shopping excursions with lunch in Washington, DC. Rose enjoyed a busy social life and often had the "library ladies" over for bridge. They gathered the day after the 1922 election to read palms and to celebrate women's recently affirmed right to vote. Rose also held the first reunion for the National Park Seminary girls school at Forest Glen. The family visited with Grandpa John Dawson at the Beall-Dawson House. The train was used for longer destinations such as when Granny Ellie went to Florida or when she took the children to visit their cousins in St. Paul for six weeks. When they returned, the County Fair was in full swing, and Kay quickly caught up with her friends at the Grandstand. Imagine the excitement of new technology when, on October 4th, 1922, they went to the Masonic Hall and heard the "radio phone."

Kay's diary recorded life at Rose Hill from a young girl's perspective. Today it provides us with a window through time, with a view of a place that retains much of its character through historic preservation.