Small Signs of Success

I think I have mentioned a few times here that I am brand new to the book industry.  It's a real learning curve to dive into something so different from what I am accustomed to.  Fortunately for me, the only part that I'm really diving into is the marketing of my book, which can, at times, be a rather humbling experience.  I love this story for a number of reasons, but that doesn't mean everyone will.  In many ways, the internet makes marketing easier, but I have also found it to be a rather overwhelming and impersonal place to try to put out a story so close to my heart.

So, given my feeling of being slightly overwhelmed by trying to "get the word out" about The Trail of the Gypsy Wagon, you can only imagine how happy I was to see this photo on Facebook recently:

This is, as you can see, a picture of the dogs of one of my high school friends.  Cute dogs, right?  That's what all the comments below said.  Except for my comment, which said something like "nice book!" .  I'd sent him a copy of the book a.couple of months ago, and it turns out that he really enjoyed it, and keeps it out on his coffee table.

When I saw this photo, a light came on in my head - this is what it means to get my story out - passing it along to friends who enjoy it, and will hopefully pass the word along to other friends.   There is no better marketing than having an old friend showing off your work!

Winging It!

Today I was taking a look at some maps on the internet, and as I was doing that I began to wonder exactly how the "daughters courageous" navigated their way across America in 1939.  I found this map in the scrapbook, but I'm pretty certain this is not the only navigational tool they used, as it only covers the top half of the country!  There must have been something more detailed than this to guide them along their way. . . . Yet another question I should have asked my grandmother.

From what I can tell by reading the journal, it does not seem that they had any reservations made anywhere along the way at any type of hotel or motel.  Actually, they stayed mostly at "tourist camps", which no longer really exist today, save for some that have been converted into what we call motels.  Think of the little one room cabins you see in some areas (I've seen many in the northern parts of New York State), and that's a tourist camp.  From the sounds of it, they just drove until they found a suitable camp and stayed there.  I was particularly surprised to learn that once they got to San Francisco they had no place arranged to stay and actually had to inquire at a YMCA to find a room.

In today's world, not many people have the ability to just "wing it" like these girls did.  We're such a connected society and have become so accustomed to just googling the nearest restaurant or hotel on our smartphones wherever we may be.  I know I could stand to "wing it" a bit more than I do.  It must have been an incredibly liberating experience for these girls to just hit the road with very few plans and take in the sites across our country as they came upon them.  We all could learn a little something from them.

The Gyspy Wagon hits the road

Now that my kickoff event in Albion is complete, I've moved on to the task of getting The Trail of the Gypsy Wagon into bookstores outside of my hometown.  My idea for this book is to follow the "trail", and hopefully have the book available in stores along the route that the Jolly Dutchmen followed.

This might be the time to mention that there is a substantial learning curve involved for me - I'm a lawyer by day, and the book selling industry is completely new to me.  I am, however, enjoying learning about what exactly bookstores look for and how the industry works.

And, I'm really happy to be able to say that, after only a week of trying, The Trail of the Gypsy Wagon will now be available at Eight Cousins Bookstore in Falmouth, Mass.  You can find a link to their site to the right, and stop in the next time you travel to Cape Cod.  Hopefully there will be many, many more announcements just like this one to come in the near future!

The Trail that led me home . . . .

Today was my first solo book signing in my hometown of Albion, NY, at Bindings Bookstore.  It was a very small event, part of a downtown shopping day, but I was happy with turnout and my sales.  Anybody who missed it - the book is available at Bindings Bookstore, and, for all my friends who used to live in Albion but no longer do,I would encourage you to order it through their website to support a great local business in our hometown.

Today really made me think about how this project has led me back home.  I spent a good long time trying to stay away from my little hometown, and, though I don't live very far away, I would sometimes go a year or so at a time without visiting.  The people who came to my signing today were not family members, but nonetheless, have known me since birth.  Birth.  That's a long time.  There is not a single person in the city I live in now that I can say that about.  This book has brought me back and helped me to remember the importance of connections like that.

It has also helped me see what a vibrant little town I came from.  There really is a lot going on there and a lot of people working very hard to make it a better place to live, and they really are on the right path.

After going over a year without being there at all, because of this book, I have been there twice in two months.  And I can't help thinking that there's a message from my Grandma in that.  She would tell me something like "you should no forget where you came from".

It was good to go home.

Lessons we could learn

The recent government shutdown has infuriated me, on a number of levels. But, since I am not a political pundit, I'll not go into all of that.  While listening to the radio recently, I heard a story about a man and his son who had planned an epic, once in a lifetime trip down the Colorado River, which they were unable to take because of the shutdown of the National Parks.  He had spent countless hours planning this trip, tens of thousands of dollars in rental fees and permit fees, and taken his son out of school for the length of the trip.  Unfortunately for them, their point of access to the river was inside Grand Canyon National Park, so when they arrived, they were told by the rangers that they had to turn around.  This story made me think of how this same scenario might have played out 74 years ago when the Daughter Courageous made their epic trip.

I wondered about the logistics of their trip.  They didn't get to any of the national parks until at least two weeks into their trip, and, at the age of 23,none of them were likely glued to any type of news media, such as it was in 1939.  So, had these same events occurred then, it seems to me entirely likely that these young women could have driven up to the gates of the  Grand Canyon to find a sign that said, "sorry! we're closed", without any advance warning.

So, what then?  The Grand Canyon is remote now, with really nothing around it for miles outside the park, and I'm sure it was even more so then.  So, in an era of no cell phones, really no pay phones hardly, no internet to find the next hotel, gas station or roadside attraction, they would have had no choice but to press on, and make still the best of their trip, without the epic visit to the Grand Canyon, and later Yellowstone.  And, being nicknamed the Daughters Courageous, I have no doubt that they would have found another epic adventure to make up for their loss.

I tend to think that they would have pressed on and really not have been too crushed by a hiccup such as this, because that is what I knew of my Grandma.  She did always press on, and whatever it was, it was always ok.  Her generation of Americans had that resilience, and our country could do well to remember that now.  We need to remember how to make the best of what we have, instead of wanting for more.

Hopefully the man in the interview I heard was courageous enough to press on and find another epic adventure.

On My Own Trail . . . .

Now that The Trail of the Gypsy Wagon has made it's way into paperback form, I have begun the task of spreading the word about this wonderful tale.  For an introduction into the world of book promotion, I was lucky enough to piggyback with my aunt, Marilyn Smith Neilans, at a recent signing at Bindings Bookstore in my hometown.  The book is currently available to for sale there, and you can find a link to their website to the right of where you are reading now.

The first event was a great tribute to my Grandma, full of old friends, teachers and family.  The memories of her were wonderful to share, and it was nice to hear fond recollections of her.  My favorite was from one gentleman with whom I was discussing how the Grandma that I knew growing up sounded so different from the "Peaches" in the story.  He was not surprised by the stories of her dancing with cowboys - he said "she always had a twinkle in her eye" that let you know there was more to the quiet woman we all knew.

October 19 marks my first "solo" signing, again at Bindings Bookstore in Albion.  October 19 is Albion Shopping Day, a day chosen by the local Chamber of Commerce to promote local businesses. I'm excited to be able to be a part of that day in my hometown, where my family was very much a part of the local business scene for many years.  I'll be there from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm.

My plan after that date is to begin to promote the book along the Trail that the "Jolly Dutchmen" took on their trips, hopefully placing the book in small, independent bookstores along the way.  As it becomes available in other stores, new links will be posted here.

This is an exciting journey for me so far, into an industry that is completely unknown to me.  I am looking forward to the learning experience this will bring, and to sharing this book with people near and far.

It's done!

It appears that I last made a post here about a year ago . . . Can that really be?  Well, this will be a short one . . . Thanks to my incredibly creative Aunt Marilyn, this book is finally finding it's way to book form.  It will be available this very week from her website, www.neilans.com.  This is almost like magic to me, and is the realization of something that I had hoped to do many years ago, before we lost my grandmother.  Though I am certain she would have dismissed any attention she may have received over this, I am proud to be able to pay a tribute to her in this way, and am still eternally amazed at the adventurous spirit these four must have had to make this trip as they did.  Thank you, Grandma, for giving me this story to tell.

LA, Baby!

After dressing for Sunday, the Daughters Courageous headed out on their first trip in LA - Forest Lawn Memorial Park - which they described as "the most beautiful and the most life inspiring park that could ever be created."  There are not any good pictures of the cemetary in my Grandma's book, but they describe seeing the Little Church of the Flowers, the Kirk of the Heather and Memorial Court, where they saw a stained glass replica of daVinci's The Last Supper.  Apparently at sunset, the disciples disappear from view in the Last Supper, and all that is left is the faint outline of the face of Christ.  The girls were unable to see that window on Sunday, but bought tickets for a return trip on Monday morning at 8:00 am to see the window in an artificial sunset produced with shutters.


Of course, all this sight seeing made the girls hungry, so the next stop was Louis' French Cafe in Hollywood, where they drank coffee from glasses and described everything as "beautiful".  Of course, no trip to Hollywood would be at all complete without a tour of the stars' homes, which they describe as mostly fences and rooftops!  The Hollywood sign then was a bit different than it is now - still saying "Hollywoodland" instead of the shorter version we see today.


Evening took the Daughters Courageous to what was then the oldest street in LA, Olvera Street, sometimes called Mexican Street, which would have looked something like this in 1939:

There they window shopped, and, of course, had their handwriting analyzed by Mr. C.E. Bower.  The journal says that "Peaches" was determined to be "precise, meticulous and domestic."  He couldn't have described my Grandma better!

Following their return trip to Forest Lawn, the girls donned their swim wear and went to Long Beach for a swim in the Pacific.  They describe being thrilled to swim in the Pacific, but not enjoying the salt water at all.  One can only assume that this was the first time any of them had been to the ocean, all being from the Western New York area.  They spent the day there basking in the sun, and then got cleaned up and ready for dinner with some of my grandmother's friends, the Greiners, which will be saved for another day!

Again, no letters home, and not many pictures, even of Hollywood.  While going through this book, I have to keep reminding myself that people really didn't take as many pictures as we do in the digital age.  You waited and found something you really had to capture, and then took the photo.  I am gathering that my Grandmother wasn't overly impressed by this part of the trip, as there are no souvenir cards or brochures or anything from this part of the trip, as there are from places like the Grand Canyon, or other particularly interesting restaurants or stops along the way.  But, there's more to come!

California here we come!

    It seems that the girls were a bit tired after two nights of dancing and sightseeing at the Grand Canyon, and it also seems that they were in need of making good time across the desert and into California.  So, on their next leg of the journey, the stopped in Kingman, Arizona for gas, water, and other necessities for a drive across the desert and set out on their journey west towards Los Angeles.  They left Kingman at dark, and drove through the desert all night, with the car thermometer reading 104.  Before leaving, Grandma took a minute to write home for the first time in a day or two (and it would be another four days before she wrote home again!):

Sat. 6:30


Dear Folks:
   
   We left Grand Canyon about 2:30 this afternoon.  We just had supper here in Kingman, Ariz.  We are now going to cross the desert.  It is about 96 here now. Love, Alberta. 




     There's not much excitement in this part of the trip . . . . crossing the desert at night doesn't lend itself to much, I guess.  I myself, have never driven across the desert for any length of time, but can only imagine the stuffy feeling of four people in a car overnight, and I still marvel at four young women making this trip at that time. They describe their arrival at the state line of California, and how they had to stop at the Port of Entry for an inspection.  This is an interesting concept to me, as there's obviously none of that anymore, but they welcomed the chance to get out of the car and get a cold drink.


    Their trip through the desert ended about 4:00 am, with their arrival in San Bernadino, California, where they pulled over to take a nap and find breakfast.  Between San Bernadino and Los Angeles, they describe seeing lime, grapefruit and orange trees for the first time.  They bought dates from a vendor along the way, which none of the girls had ever tried fresh before.  Once in Los Angeles, they settled in at the Rex Auto Court Apartments and got themselves cleaned up and dressed for Sunday.


    As soon as they were cleaned up and ready to go, it was off to explore LA, baby - first stop on that trip was Forest Lawn Memorial Park.  That's right, a cemetary.  We'll save this exciting day and the rest of their time in the LA area for the next installment - don't worry, it gets more exciting from here!

What does a girl do when she's done riding a Mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Why, Dance, of course!

Alberta Kleinfelder Neilans wasn't, in my lifetime, anyone that you could ever imagine letting loose and cutting the rug.  She owned a radio, a small one, which sat on her kitchen table, and was perpetually tuned to talk radio. There was rarely music in her home.  When she was someplace that music was playing, she never appeared to be particularly stirred by it.  In fact, in thirty eight years of my life, I don't remember her even tapping a toe.  I have one picture of her dancing the obligatory dance with one of her sons at his wedding, and she was barely smiling. Church was the only place that she seemed to enjoy or embrace music at all, singing loudly to her favorite hymns, "The Old Rugged Cross" and "In the Garden".


So, then I read this journal, and discovered that, after a long day of mule riding at the Grand Canyon, the Daughters Courageous cleaned themselves up and put on their dancing shoes.  I thought maybe for a moment that Grandma just went along, but maybe stayed on the sidelines, but, no, she was right out there, dancing with a guy nicknamed Texas.  By the end of the night, Texas was calling her Peaches, and they were planning another evening of dancing the following night.


According to the journal, the girls returned from the mule ride, "dressed in their best bibs and tuckers" and headed to the Bright Angel Lodge for a dance.  Their mule ride added to their "appeal", and they quickly all found dancing partners.  Once the band at the Lodge finished playing at 10:30, the girls took their guys, Texas, Ralph and Herm, and headed to the "Well", which sounds like the local watering hole.  There they taught the boys the Beer Barrel Polka.  The following day they describe as a day of catching up on sleep and laundry, and preparing for their next evening of "tripping the light fantasic" again at the Well.


The group got a late start on the following morning, heading away from the Grand Canyon, but only after "Dr. Texas" helped remove some cactus needles from Miggles' foot.  The Daughters Courageous were on the road again.


There are no pictures in the journal of this day of the trip (hence no pictures on this entry), and Grandma didn't write home to tell her parents of her night of dancing.  No pictures of the guys they danced with, or matchbooks from the Well.  I wish I could have seen my Grandma having what sounds like so much fun.


I have to admit that I enjoy knowing these things about my Grandma.  She always seemed old and wise and stoic, and I always thought she must not have had very much fun in her life.  It's fun to picture her as a pretty, vivacious young woman, letting loose with her girl friends, meeting new people and enjoying herself.  I once asked her if she left any broken hearts along her way during this trip, to which I got the customary "Humph, I don't think so".  Somehow I suspect there was something she wasn't telling me!

Back on the trail

It has been nearly a year since I did any posting here . . . . a year ago I left The Trail of the Gypsy Wagon for the campaign trail.  I managed an unsuccessful but really good for a first try campaign for District Attorney here in Cayuga County.  It was one of those experiences that couldn't help but be a good one, even though the outcome wasn't what we wanted.  After election day, I have taken almost six months to get caught up on projects at home and at work, and am now ready to resume and finish up this project.


In case you have all forgot, I started this blog to go along with the book which contains the journal of my grandmother's trip across America in 1939.  I am hopeful that the book will be ready for publication in the next few months, and plan to pick up the blog posts at the Grand Canyon later this week.  


Thank you all again for reading and following my blog and this journey!  More to come. . . .

Through the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest and on to the Grand Canyon

After a brief hiatus, I am back to blogging . . . This is, admittedly, my favorite part of their story, mainly because I have been to these areas myself.  As I might have mentioned before, some of these places are pretty desolate now, I really can't imagine what they were like when these four girls took this trip.  That said . . . 


When we last left the Daughters Courageous, they had made it to the Painted Desert, and planned to get up early the following morning to see the sunrise there.  They describe waking very early, being a bit drowsy, but the majestic colors of the sunrise waking them up.  Following the sunrise, they drove on to the Petrified Forest where they spent a few hours exploring the trails and listening to lectures there.

Then it was on to the Grand Canyon. . . this is truly the part of the trip the earned them the name "the Daughters Courageous".  Route 66 carried the girls through Winslow, Arizona, where they stopped for some souvenir shopping, then took them on to the Canyon.  After arriving, settling in their cabin and getting their first view of the Grand Canyon, they decided to check out the evening entertainment.  Cowboys showed off their roping skills, and a movie about the mule rides down the canyon topped off the evening.  The movie gave the girls the idea that the mule ride would be fun, so the following morning, they saddled up for a guided tour down the canyon on Missouri Mules.

Years later when I visited the Grand Canyon, I saw the mule riders on their trip back up the canyon while I was perusing the trail down the canyon.  It looked terrifying to me, as the trail is narrow and any misstep by the mule could be disasterous.  I sent a post card home to my Grandma telling her that I couldn't believe she had done that, and how I am not nearly as brave as she was.  Turns out that she was not a fan of the mule ride, that she was terrified too, and hated the mule, but she did it for the experience and to say she rode a mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon!

In contrast to my post card, the one that my Grandma sent home from the Grand Canyon didn't mention the mule ride: "Dear Folks, We came into the Grand Canyon yesterday afternoon about 4:30.  Before coming here we went to the Petrified Forest.  Nothing I have ever seen can compare in beauty to Grand Canyon.  We spent all day here today.  Expect to leave for Boulder Dam and Los Angeles tomorrow.  Alberta."


Back to the Mules . . . The Mule tour took the Daughters Courageous zig zagging down the side of the Canyon to the Colorado River Bed.  Once at the bottom of the Canyon, the girls were so moved that they began to sing a verse of "God Bless America" to which the others in the party joined in.  Thinking of what that moment must have been like gives me chills.  They returned to the Canyon Rim about 5:30 and prepared for their evening out . . . which will have to be saved for another installment!

The Gypsy Wagon Heads South . . . towards the Grand Canyon

Following the "world class" tour of Denver and its surroundings by their trusted guide, Davie, the four Jolly Dutchmen piled again into the Gypsy Wagon to head south through Colorado and New Mexico towards the Petrified Forest and the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon.  


First stop on their way was Colorado Springs, where the ladies did some interesting sight seeing.  Their stops included the Garden of the Gods, and the Cave of the Winds, which is described as "most interesting".  The girls visited the Old Maid's Kitchen, where legend had it that if a girl left a hairpin there, she would be happily married within a year.  Those that returned after a year and were happily married left a safety pin as a token.  None of the girls fessed up to leaving a hairpin behind, but I do know that if my Grandma did, the legend didn't quite work for her, as it was several years later before she was married.  They described the weather that day as sort of rainy, so they could not see Pike's Peak, and, after a picnic at Manitou Springs, the Gypsy Wagon hit the road once more to head to New Mexico.

The back of this post card reads: "Dear Folks:  We just went through the Cave of the Winds.  It certainly is beautiful.  Coming up here we drove through these Narrows.  There is only room enough for the car.  It is awfully cold today.  About 58.  We have on coats and sweaters.  Love, Alberta."


Soup and ice cream was dinner that evening in Walsenburg, Colorado.  It was here that the girls changed their group name from the Jolly Dutchmen to the "Daughters Courageous".  They must have figured out by then that they were really on an adventure, and the Jolly Dutchmen didn't fit so well!  After crossing the New Mexico border, they stopped for the night in Raton, at the Green and White Tourist Camp.

After suffering a night so cold that their teeth chattered, the Daughters Courageous were up and ready to travel across New Mexico with the goal of reaching the Painted Desert by sunset.  They had to drive one hundred miles just to find breakfast to Las Vegas, New Mexico, and describe driving through "mud villages" where they paid Indian children a penny to take their pictures.  They took the Santa Fe Trail through New Mexico,  and described how, the further west they drove, the more meager the Indian homes were, and the more traditional dress they saw.   

Having been to this area myself, seventy years later, I can say that this area is still pretty barren, and many of the native american people still live a very simple, traditional life.  Along the way the ladies did stop to take a swim in the Rio Grande in Albuquerque, and enjoyed another picnic on it's shores.


The card sent home from Las Vegas, New Mexico, reads:  "Dear Folks: We just had breakfast here in Las Vegas.  We stayed all night about 100 miles from here in Raton.  We slept in a very nice cabin.  It had two bedroom and a private bath for .75 each.  We are having a grand time and the car is still going strong.  In 1500 miles we only have had to add one quart of oil.  Then we had it changed in denver.  Guess we's better get on our way.  Love, Alberta."

Unfortunately, the Daughters Courageous did not make it to the Painted Desert by sundown, so they decided to stop for the night about fifteen miles outside of the park and see the sun rise over the Painted Desert instead. . . more to come . . .

Denver with Davie

The Gypsy Wagon rolled into Denver at about 11:30 pm, and the traveller's took up residence at Mrs. Corman's Tourist Home.  

The following morning, they were up an ready to see the City, so they enlisted the services of "Davie", who they described as "the human talking machine".  The group was picked up at 8:00 am by their guide driving a "roofless Pierce", and were shown Denver in all its glory.  Below is a picture of the group, along with Davie, their guide.

When they returned to their Tourist Home, Mrs. Corman told them about a Rodeo in Estes Park.  The girls piled in the Gypsy Wagon and drove the 67 miles to Estes Park to see a real western Rodeo.  The highlight of that trip was one of the riders being taken away in an ambulance!  Following the Rodeo, they did some shopping in Estes Park, where Grandma bought the scrapbook, and had their fortunes told by a palm reader - all four determined that 1940 would be a very good year.

The following morning, the open air Pierce with Davie at the wheel arrived at Mrs. Corman's Tourist Home for another day of sightseeing.  Today's sights included Buffalo Bill's grave on Lookout Mountain, where the Jolly Dutchmen tossed coins as a donation at the monument of his favorite horse, and visited a museum established by his adopted son, Johnny Baker, and run by Mrs. Johnny Baker.


After paying their respects to Buffalo Bill, the Pierce drove on and took the Dutchmen to Mt. Evans, where they climbed to the summit at 14,260 feet (all in dresses, might I add!).  They described it being so cold while they were driving up Mt. Evans that the four of them huddled in the back seat of the car until Davie rolled up the roof and closed the windows to keep the snow out . . . the girls were amazed that they were driving in snow on August 6!

Once finished with Mt. Evans, they stopped for lunch at Echo Lake Lodge, where they ate, warmed up, and learned to dance the Beer Barrel Polka under the guidance again of Davie, who apparently doubled as a dance teacher as well!


Next stop was the first Gold Mine discovered in Colorado, then on to Denver Mountain Park, where they viewed the red rocks, and met a "thoroughbred Sioux Indian".  He let one of the girls wear his headdress, allowed his picture to be taken, and then charged the girls a dime for the privilege.


On the way back to Mrs. Corman, they stopped again to Polka in Evergreen, and viewed Dinosaur foot prints on the side of a rock.  


Following their first day of sightseeing, my Grandma wrote a long letter home:


"Dear Folks:


I've thought a lot about you today wondering how you made out on Saturday with all the extra order. (Note - her father owned a bakery, so they must have had something extra going on that day).


We have had a pretty busy day.  Stayed in Denver last night and are staying in the same place tonight.  We have a grand big room with two double beds with inner spring mattresses.  It really is the nicest room we have had so far, and it costs only .75 a piece.  We got up about 8:00 am and took a sightseeing tour of Denver.  Got back to the house about 12:30 and took the car and drove about 67 miles to Estes Park, through the mountains to see a real western rodeo.  Today we saw the mountains for the first time, some of them are snow capped.


We are now one mile above sea level (we're kind of getting up in the world don't you think?).


Tomorrow (Sunday) we are going to take an all day trip through the Rocky Mountain National Parks and to Mount Evans which is higher than Pikes Peak.  We think we will stay in Denver again tomorrow night because it will be almost dark by the time we get back from our mountain trip.


Last night (Fri) we got into Denver about 11:00 pm.  We drove about 640 miles yesterday.  We crossed the plains and was it hot!!  That is why we came all the way through - it cooled off beautifully in the evening and there isn't anything to see crossing the plains.  We drove one stretch of about 30 mi. in which there wasn't even the slightest turn in the road - and we think Transit Road is straight!


The scenery is really very beautiful around here now, but it was very monotonous when we crossed the plains - there weren't even any trees.  Nothing but fields and sun.


I hope you've been getting some mail each day.  I've sent something every night.


Well, I guess I'd better get to bed because I'm tired and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.


Love - Alberta"


I am finding that I am truly enjoying this project - I have almost finished the text of the journal which I will put together as a book, and will be available soon ( shameless self promotion - I know!), and I feel like I have learned so much - not only about what our country was once like, but about what my Grandma was like as a young lady, just getting started in her life.  I have often told my own daughter that she had a very strong, independent and adventurous Great Grandma, but I am getting the feeling that I only know a part of that story!  

The Dust Bowl

Being from Western New York,  I am certain that the Jolly Dutchmen thought they knew "flat" . . . that is, until they made it to Kansas.  It is clear from their journal that they were surprised by the landscape of Kansas, as they describe the foothills of the Ozarks "flattening out to plains".  At first, it seemed that the plains were "fertile", as they travelled through the corn belt.  There they saw (and smelled) pigs, which were "larger, blacker and woolier" than any they had seen before.  The group went from St. Louis to Kansas City in one day, arriving there about nine thirty.  Somewhere between those two larger cities, they drove through "Pipertown", a bustling metropolis with a population of eleven, all living in the same house!


Kansas City must not have been a very exciting place, since all the Dutchmen did was to visit the drug store, get some "black cows" (root beer sodas) and do their laundry.  Grandma also took a few minutes to write a letter home to her parents: " Dear Folks:  Well, here we are in Kansas City, Mo - Got in just after dark so we haven't even looked around the city yet.  We have nice rooms.  We stayed in St. Louis until 2:40 this afternoon when we drive about 250 miles to Kansas City.  It is about 89 here, so that's not so bad - but it's plenty warm enough.  Tomorrow (Fri.) we would like to get almost to Denver - it's about 500 miles between here and there.  Yesterday as we were driving from Indianapolis to St. Louis it rained and cooled things off a bit.  By the time we got into St. Louis it had stopped raining and the rest of the day was ideal.  The open air opera was very lovely - it is in a huge outdoor stadium or amphitheather which seats about 12,000 people and it was packed last night.  There really isn't much to see in this section of the country - it is very very level and there are only a few trees that aren't much bigger than good sized bushes.  Well, I guess I'd better sign off and get to bed.  Love - Alberta."

This is one of my favorite pictures from the scrapbook . . . the caption on the back reads "Telephone poles in Kansas" . . . though I am certain that you cannot see it here, in the actual picture, if you look closely, you can see the wires strung through the tall "pole" in the middle of the picture.  We've come a long way since 1939!


They left again the following morning at 5:00 am, after my Grandma's wake up call, and headed out across the plains.  When they left, they described it as comfortably cool, but soon, the temperature climbed to 102.  The describe the tress disappearing, the grass thinning, and the sun blazing.  They saw the dust swirling in the breeze, which was described as being the same as what would come from a "hot air furnace".  Mercifully, it would seem, the Gyspy Wagon carried them past a Municipal Swimming Pool, where they stopped for a picnic and a swim.  I should note now that I never knew my Grandma to swim, she always said she was afraid of the water . . . so I'm certain she wasn't swimming, despite the extreme heat.  I should also note that she bought her first pair of shorts for this trip, which I'm sure are the ones she's wearing in the pictures from the pool.

Once they had cooled off and had a picnic lunch, they climbed back in the car and started out again on the road that "lay as straight as an arrow across the Kansas desert".  One of the four was so excited at seeing cacti that they had to pull over for her to pick one.  They happened on a gas station where they stopped, picked a cactus, and filled up the car and their water jugs.  Further on into the dust bowl they drove, through towns which were "meager, shriveled up places that looked as hot and dry as the prairie itself."

Kit Carson, Colorado was the stop for dinner that evening, before arriving in Denver about 11:30, after a very long, dusty day of driving. . . It was from there that Grandma sent home her daily post card . . . 

"Dear Folks:  Today we drove across the state of Kansas from Kansas City, Mo.  We are now in Kit Carson, Colo.  Just had supper here.  We had very very level country - temp. this morning 68 - this afternoon 102 - now it's about 85 or90.  We are going to drive to Denver tonight because it is cooler.  It is about 150 miles.  Love, Alberta."


For reference - the postage on these postcards is one cent, and there were no zip codes necessary with the address . . . 

Meet me in St. Louis . . .

Day two of the journey saw the travelers head from Indianapolis to St. Louis, where they were to stay for a day or two with friends.  Again, they left early, in order to get out of town before the traffic started, and made it to St. Louis around 2:00 pm.  Once settled in to Mrs. Manze's apartment, the four took a tour of the city, which included the Chain of Rocks, a park which ran along the Mississippi River.

This photo is a view of the river and the filtration plant.  The four were quite impressed by crossing the Mississippi, as they then considered themselves in the West!

Following the city tour, they attended an outdoor opera at a theater located in Forest Park.  According to the journal, the theater seated 10,000 people.

The show ended around 11:00pm, and then it seems the real fun began.  The tour of the city apparently included a tour of the city's "elegant hotels and tap rooms, including the Jug, Merry-Go-Round, and the Hawiian Room at the Jefferson Hotel".  The group settled for the night at the last stop, where they listened to Hawiian music, ate cheese popcorn and sipped Tom Collins (this is particularly interesting, as Grandma NEVER drank!).  At 2:00 am they decided it was time to return home for chocolate cake and coffee.

After five hours of sleep, they were up again to see the rest of the city, which included a tour of the Art Museum, the Jefferson Memorial and the Airport.  Below is a picture of the four travelers outside of the art museum.

Grandma's postcard home from St. Louis was brief, understandably so, since the party was rather busy sightseeing and "hotel" hopping . . . "Dear Folks,  We got into St. Louis at 2:00 this afternoon.  Went to Sylvia's friends' - cleaned up and went sight-seeing again - Just had dinner and we are now going to the opera.  The car is behaving beautifully.  Love - Alberta.

Next stop . . . Kansas City . . .

And they're off!

Grandma graduated from the State Teachers College at Buffalo in 1938 with a degree in Home Economics. She was lucky enough to get a job as soon as she graduated at Fillmore Central Junior / Senior School. Her salary for her first year of teaching was $1000.00!

At the end of this first year of working in the "real world", she and three of her friends decided to take a month long road trip from Buffalo to San Francisco. Grandma owned a car at the time - a 1932 2 door Oldsmobile that she bought when she got her teaching position, but her father did not think it would make it all the way to the West Coast. So, her Dad loaned the girls his car - the girls describe it in their journal as a "scrumptious" black Oldsmobile. The only condition on that loan was that they put new tires on the car. So, for $25.00 apiece, each traveler bought a new tire and were then ready to roll.

They rose early on August 1, 1939, having spent the night at the home of my great grandparents. After eating a good breakfast, taking pictures and saying good bye, they were on the road by 6:55 am. The bunch nicknamed themselves the "Jolly Dutchmen" and sang songs in the car to pass the time on the road.

At lunchtime, they stopped outside of Cleveland, Ohio to have a picnic that was packed by Grandma. Even when I traveled with her fifty years later, she was still packing great picnics for lunch. The picture below shows her standing, pouring lemonade, and is a rare pictures of her smiling!

They didn't stop again until they made it to Indianapolis, where they found a "tourist home" for the night. According to my Grandma, they could stay at one of these roadside parks for about $2.75 per night for four of them, in a cabin with a kitchenette.

Grandma wrote home to her parents faithfully, almost every day, and evidently, her parents kept the post cards, as they are all included in the scrapbook. Her first card, pictured below, is of the Indiana World War Memorial, in Indianapolis, Ind.. The note on the back reads: "Tues Eve. Dear Folks: Arrived in Indianapolis at 9:15. Made 480 miles today. We have a nice room - 2 double beds in it. Everything is OK and we are having a good time. Saw corn, pigs and cattle today. -Alberta

The only sight seeing the four did in Indianapolis was a walk between their "tourist home" and the corner drug store, where they bought post cards and a Coca Cola. After that, it was to bed, as their trip was set to continue early the next day, when they were scheduled to go on to St Louis . . .

My Grandmother died on December 3, 2010 at the age of 94. Even though she was 94, her death was sudden and a shock of sorts to our family. She was in good health, except for the broken pelvis she had suffered after a fall the week before. She had been transferred from the hospital to a rehab facility and had begun a rigorous routine of physical therapy in hopes of returning home for Christmas. In the evening on Friday, December 3, she lost consciousness and passed away about an hour later. I suspect that she felt that her life was complete, and picked that time to go.

Since that time, I have struggled with a way to pay tribute to her life. She was truly an incredible lady. Her life spanned nearly a century, during which she witnessed incredible transformations in our way of life and monumental world events. Unlike many women of her generation, she was a very independent woman, somewhat out of necessity, having lost her husband in 1965, when her children were 18, 15 and 13. I always thought that it was this loss that made her so, but have learned in the past years that she apparently was always an independent sole.

Grandma wasn't a "Talker". She really didn't tell us much about her own life, and really never liked us to ask questions. I learned in the mid 1990's that she had travelled across America in 1939 with three of her friends to see the Golden Gate Expo in San Francisco. This bit of information was shared in one paragraph of an article which was written about her in the local Office for the Aging's monthly newsletter. She never talked about this trip, except to say that she didn't like riding down the Grand Canyon on a Mule. In the mid 1990's, the "coolness" of this was sort of lost on me. As I have aged a bit and travelled to the West myself, the "coolness" of this amazes me.

Finally, in 2009, I asked my Grandma if she had any pictures from her trip. She said, "why, of course", and went to her cedar chest, picked out a scrapbook and gave it to me. At that point, her vision was failing her, and she couldn't really tell me about the pictures, but she let me take it home with me. What I found when I sat down to look at it was amazing. Not only were there pictures, there were maps, stickers, brochures and cards from all their stops along the way. Best of all was a story written by one of the travelers (I don't know which one) chronicling the trip.

In the months since her death, I have decided (along with my family) that this scrapbook will be my tribute to my Grandma. I will be publishing the journal, but there is much in it that will not fit into the book, and which I will post on this blog. To me, this trip that she took really represents her spirit, and the journal from this trip shows a side of my Grandma that I never knew.

i count myself blessed to be able to say that I had my Grandma with me until the age of 38. Not many can say that. And, although I had thought many times that we would lose her someday, it still is very difficult. But, that said, I am happy to share a story of hers that she didn't share with many while she was here. . .