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Errett McLeod Graham (1877-1974) was a civil engineer for various railroads. He was married to Helena "Lena" Washburn Graham (1881-1970) for nearly sixty-six years. Helena Graham was a homemaker to the couple's three children. The Grahams spent the early years of their marriage in remote railroad construction camps and small towns in Tennessee and West Virginia before settling in Rensselaer, Indiana. This item is a single-volume diary handwritten by both Errett and Lena Graham in 1910 while living in Tunnelton, West Virginia, were Errett was working for the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company. The diary would be of interest to those researching women's studies, railroad history, and civil engineering.

Walter D. Gernet (1878-1928) was a civil engineer who worked for the Public Works Department in Philadelphia for fifteen years. After losing his position in 1918, he spent his remaining ten years working various engineering jobs. This collection of Gernet's diaries chronicles his daily life and covers eight years from the end of World War I until 1925. The diaries offer a view of an average workingman's day-to-day activities in a large urban center. This collection of diaries would be of great interest to social historians, especially those focused on early twentieth-century life in the greater Philadelphia area. Its detail encompasses work, family life, and interactions between family members and friends in the wider community.