Emma #107: May 1936
A trip to Crater Lake, saying goodbye in Grants Pass, and the eastward journey
Fri 1. May Day! Gertie & family will eat their first meal in their new home tonight. It has been a hard day. Have sewed a little bit. Ruth is giving Louise a music lesson. Robert is working on the car at the garage—correcting a shimmey. Dad is pining to go back to Iowa on a farm. Got word from Mrs. Walker that she will stay over night in Grants Pass next Monday night. I will try to see her.
Sat 2. I got up & made three pies, one for the SS pantry sale. I expected to sew for Margaret but she did not get down. In the afternoon Ruth & Bob went fishing with Mary Graff & her father. Ruth was sick when they got home.
Sun 3. After church & SS we drove out to Provolt to see Fay & Esther Bristol.
Mon 4. We went up town this PM and while we were gone Mrs. Walker, Mrs. Parker, Miss Lloyd, and Mrs. Bageman came. We got a nice dinner for them. They staid and spent the evening with us. Katharine sent me ten dollars for Mother’s Day. I used part of it for a Permanent today. I am so happy to have it.
Tue 5. I spent a good share of the day sewing on Margaret’s dress. Bob & Ruth sang for a funeral today.
Wed 6. Dad & I decided that we would not wait for Bob & Ruth but go to Iowa as soon as we could get ready. We sent a note to Charlie for the $300 he sent us. The WFMS met this PM. Word got out there that we were leaving soon. I felt bad because it was my last meeting. We went up to Gertie’s before supper to take her some beans and to tell her we are leaving. Went to choir practice at night.
It’s been just over a year since Emma and Tell came out west and settled in Grants Pass, but despite all the natural beauty and their active involvement in the local church, it just hasn’t worked out—I think more for Tell than for Emma—and it’s time to head east again!
Thu 7. A lovely morning! Am due at the dentists at 9 AM. The gold in my mouth brought enough so the pulling of 7 teeth cost 1.35. He gave me 3.65 back as I had paid him $5. Bob is building a small truck on his Ford Elmer. He sold Shasta.
In some notes I found Ruth describes these cars: “bought Ford Model T ($15)—drove it—bought another ($20)—made truck body with $5 rough lumber—used it to get firewood etc.” It sounds like the vehicles were named Elmer and Shasta.
Fri 8. Bob borrowed Nola Skoraki’s cleaner & cleaned the rug this AM. It surely looks nice. Did not do much today. Dad polished the car. We all drove to Medford in the evening. Bob & Ruth were on the Gleeman’s program. Dad & I saw a “shooting show”!
Sat 9. Graffs were here this AM to invite us to go to Crater Lake. We are ready & waiting. They are an hour late I judge. I am so happy to get to go. We left about 1:30, got back after midnight. Had a wonderful trip. Saw Cascade Falls in Gorge. Saw Crater Lake. It is beautiful. Went skiing & tobogganing in the Cascades. Had our dinner in a Ranger’s cabin? We had a most thrilling time. Had my picture taken on skis. Saw some bear tracks.
Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902, and is about 2 hours from Grants Pass. According to the National Park Service, May and June are transition months, where snow lingers during the transition to summer. Here’s a picture of it in the snow.
In January 1936 I shared some excerpts from a memoir letter written by Ruth. This month I will share several additional passages from the letter that provide detail about their activities.
From Ruth’s memoir letter
One of the beautiful experiences we had in Oregon was the trip to Crater Lake with the Graffs. We had been given a colored photograph of the lake (which we have a picture of in the story of Ruth and Bob’s wedding), and it seemed a bit over done: the water was just too blue. But when we saw the lake we were overcome with its beauty, and the deep, deep blue of the water. We were there in May, and because we were such plains people, were surprised to find snow all around the lake. We tried a little skiing.
Sun 10. Mother’s Day! We are talking of going back to Iowa this week. May not get off. We plan to go via Oregon caves & Crescent City. Heard they were to give a Farewell surprise party on Tuesday night but then called it off when we decided not to go so soon.
Mon 11. We found plenty to do today after a busy Sunday. The Griffins called last evening & we all went to the concert at the Christian church. This evening we saw them again at the SS Board meeting. The people there prayed that we might find something here so we would not need to go back to Iowa.
Tue 12. The Int. Prayer band met here this AM. In the PM I went to a party for Mrs. Ellis. Had lovely eats. Dad & Ruth got in on them when they came after me. We called at Eclus Polluck’s afterwards. Mr. P. showed us a lot of polished agates & other stones. Mrs. Ellis & Betty called in the evening.
Wed 13. Ruth and I went up to Aunt Gertie’s to wash this morning. We got it done. Came home. Slept & ironed a lot this afternoon. It has rained off & on all day. The family letter came today. Ebert & Marie are going to Europe. We can find no work out here.
Ebert (Tell’s nephew) and his wife Marie were living in Caracas, Venezuela, where he worked in the oil industry. I found ship records showing them coming to NY from Venezuela in May 1936, returning to New York from Cherbourg, France on the S.S. Aquitania in August 1936, and heading back to Venezuela later that month.
Thu 14. We are planning to leave for Iowa next Wednesday. I was up at Gerties sewing. The Willings “students” did not show up.
Fri 15. Bob & Ruth went to sing at WCTU meeting this PM. Came after me at Aunt Gerties. Had her suit almost finished.
Sat 16. We have begun our packing today. Dad took me up to Gerties in the evening & I finished sewing on her suit. It is ready to wear.
Sun 17. SS, church in the morning! The preacher gave us a splendid compliment. He hates to lose us. Went to New Hope with Mrs. Douglas. Played the organ! How I was complimented. Had to introduce our WFMS speaker at night. Miss Bernice Cornelison from Lima, Peru spoke.
My goodness, these missionaries were hardy! I found an article about Bernice Cornelison in a 1960s paper—apparently after Peru she went to the Philippines, where she ended up in a Japanese prison camp for 3 years in World War II. She recovered from beri-beri and malnutrition, and used a war reparations payment to buy a home in Tucson, where she became the director and manager of a community center.
Mon 18. We finally got the letter from Donald which settled things for Bob & Ruth. They will go with us to Denver & possibly on to Iowa. They are now planning to be in Denver next year. Ruth & I washed up at Aunt Gerties this PM. We were all there for supper. Bob & Ruth will sell their piano to Mrs. Anderson. They will try to sell the rest of their stuff.
From Ruth’s memoir letter
Musically things were pretty unsatisfying. We began exploring possibilities elsewhere. Bob’s brother Don was attending Iliff Seminary in Denver, Colorado, and somehow it was decided that we go there. Dad never did like Oregon, and the folks also made plans to leave this area which had been pictured to us as God’s Country.
Tue 19. We are hurrying this morning to get the packing done. I wrote to Katharine. Bob & Ruth have decided to take their truck. We all went to a church dinner tonight in honor of our leaving. I hate to go.
Wed 20. We left Grants Pass this morning about 11:15 AM. Gertie gave us a nice lunch. We decided to visit the Oregon Caves. Ate our lunch beside the road. Got to the caves in time to go with a party about 1:15. It took about two hours. We saw some wonderful formations. Climbed up and down ladders and stone steps. I got terribly tired. Saw stalactites & stalagmites in many formations. Was in the ghost room—when the lights were all off, it was too dark to see one’s hand 6 inches from his face. It was an experience I am glad I have had but would not want again. It cost us 1.25—my coveralls were 25¢. We drove through some large redwoods and are in a cabin at Crescent City. It is rather rainy.
As you’ll see from the map below, the caves and Crescent City are in the opposite direction from their destination, so it looks like the travelers took a run down the Redwood Highway to the California coast just south of the Oregon border before heading back east. I could do a whole article on the Oregon caves, the ghost room, the redwoods, and Crescent City (including a cool old lighthouse and highway 101), but you’ll have to do your own research there! Here are some 1936 images of the coast road near Crescent City to get you started.
Thu 21. Started with Bob & Ruth for Denver. We had a hard time getting over the mountains. Got as far as Yreka last night. Staid in a double cabin. Ruth was terribly tired. We called on Mrs. Martha Larmore Goodman (Mrs Atkinson’s sister). Had a nice visit. Ate lunch by roadside just a little way from Grant’s Pass.
From Ruth’s memoir letter
And so in late May we all started east. Mother and Dad drove the Franklin, and we the little model T, which Bob had made into a truck. All of our worldly goods that we could manage we had in the little car. It was a memorable trip. Since we were prone to have problems, Bob and I started out early each morning, leaving Mother and Dad to take care of packing up the food from the cabins. Most such cabins had kitchens, and so we had breakfast before we left. Somewhere down the road, they would catch us, and we would plan the rest of the day’s trip. Then with confidence that we could make it, they would go on to find a cabin for the night, and Mother would have supper ready for the hungry stragglers. They would leave the Franklin conspicuously parked, so we had no trouble finding them.
Fri 22. Started from Yreka this AM. Bob & Ruth have gone ahead. We were in sight of Mt. Shasta for 41 miles & it is still in view. Wrote to Gertie, Will, Gerald, Katharine & John this morning. Caught up with “The Sunbonnet Babies” just a few miles from Redding. Ate dinner by the side of the road at Redding. Came on to Chester Cal, over a mountain. Had to pull Bob’s car over the steep places. Found a nice cabin—electric stove, good beds. Robert worked late on his car.
Sat 23. Robert has to work on his car. I did a little washing & mending. We have another mountain drive today. Hope to be at Reno or further by night. Got to Sparks & staid all night in “Coney Island Camp.” Robert looked up his Uncle Fred Birdsall—his mother’s brother. They called in the evening.
Coney Island, between Reno and Sparks, was a family resort built in 1905, with an auto park added in 1924. Fred Birdsall was a locomotive engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad who lived in Sparks.
From Ruth’s memoir letter
These roads were mountainous, and before many days, we had to stop for Bob to reline the bands (brake, clutch, and reverse). The radiator had a leak—maybe more than one—so we carried pails of water on the running board. One time we stopped and borrowed some barbed wire from a fence along the road. When we had a flat tire in the desert, I was petrified with fright, for there was a sign right beside the car, “Beware of rattlesnakes—stay in your car.” And there was my true love repairing a tire—right there!
Here’s their route from Grants Pass out to Crescent City and then back across California into Nevada.
Sun 24. Left Sparks rather late this AM. It has been terribly hot driving across the desert but we have got along OK. Dad won’t let me drive any. I am hating so to go back to Iowa. Do not see anything but hard work ahead.
Mon 25. Bob & Ruth got up early & started. We wanted to do up the work & clean the cabin. Staid in a one-room cabin at Valmy last night. Only 1.25. The mosquitoes are fierce here. We drove through a great host of locusts today—also had a pest of mosquitoes last night. Drove about 300 miles today. We are at a Cabin camp in Grantsville. Robert had two flat tires this afternoon. We waited an hour for them.
Valmy, Nevada had a population of 37 in the 2010 census. It was first established as a siding and settlement for the railroad in 1901. The Victory Highway came through 1921, and in about 1931 Eugene DiGrazia opened the Valmy Auto Court. In 1977 Eric Meola did a photo shoot with Bruce Springsteen in Valmy—here’s one of the images in front of this building (which has since been torn down).
Tue 26. We are just about 35 miles out from Salt Lake City. Crossed the Utah Salt Desert yesterday—about 45 miles of it—it is twice as long. Visited the Mormon Temple and museum and staid for the Organ recital—12.15-12.45. Drove as far as Evanston. We have a lovely cabin.
The organ at the Salt Lake Tabernacle is still featured in daily noon recitals. Here’s a full-length virtuoso concert on this instrument for your listening pleasure!
Here’s their route across Nevada and Utah and into Wyoming.
Wed 27. It is now about 6:50 AM. We are just ready to leave Evanston. (Snow by the side of the road.) Stopped to see Jim Bridger monument—great scout, trapper etc. on trail. Discovered Salt Lake. Nine miles from Lyman Wyoming Monument to Mormon Pioneers, July 7, 1847. Passed “Church Butte“ a wonderful stone formation like a church. Drove as far as Medicine Bow. Got supper and went to bed. El 6560.
So many fascinating things to explore! I could write a whole article about Jim Bridger, Church Butte, and Medicine Bow, but in the interests of time and space will have to leave that research to you.
Thu 28. We are leaving Sunset camp at Medicine Bow about 7 AM. Bob & Ruth will be with us as far as Laramie when they will turn south into Denver. We will look up Harry Andrews and drive on towards Beresford. Saw the Dinosaur sign telling about Camp Ridge 1.3 miles to the north of the high way, just beyond where hundreds of fossils had been taken out & shipped. Sign put up by State of Wyoming. Also stopped to see a group of cowboys branding, castrating & testing for T.B. 300 calves with their mothers bawling around them. Saw the Ames monument erected to the two men who built Union P railroad over the mts. Saw “the Old Pine Tree” growing out of a rock—iron fence around it—cracked the rock. Held together by iron bands. Original site of UPRR. Had the car greased in Cheyenne. I bought Dad a shirt & some pants. Mileages 50687 Lodgepole.
So many things to see along the way! Here’s where they stayed in Medicine Bow.
Fri 29. We staid in a tiny little cabin in Lodgepole last night—the worst we have had. Leaving 4:35. It has rained on us for over an hour. Car leaks. We “met” a stream-line train between Brule & Ogalala. Passed through Cozad, Nebr—largest Alfalfa shipping point in the world. Irrigation in Nebr. Saw the beautiful little city of Kearney. The drive bordered with trees as we entered was very lovely. We arrived in Freemont, Nebr about 5 PM having driven 362 miles today. We are hoping to get to Beresford by noon tomorrow. Dad is 1 hour slow. Should have changed at North Platte. Wrote Ruth a card today.
Streamliner trains, featuring a sleek appearance and high speeds, debuted in the US in 1934. As I looked at Emma and Tell’s route, I realized that Union Pacific railroad tracks ran right alongside them. A little research revealed that they almost certainly saw this train, the City of Portland, which left Chicago on the 28th and was headed for a 9:15 a.m. (Mountain Time) stop in Cheyenne, Wyoming. What’s even more interesting is that based on Emma’s entry, her comment about time change, and the timetable for this train, they almost certainly got up and left that early just so they could see the train!
Sat 30. We are leaving Freemont—10 minutes of five. Our last lap to Linnie’s. Stopped in Lyons Nebr about 6 AM. Looked up Miss Newell who had just got home at midnight the night before. Had a nice visit with her. Crossed a toll bridge into Iowa at Soo City. Back into SD. This is the eleventh day of riding. I will be glad to stop awhile. We arrived in Beresford about 9:30. Linnie had not got the card that we were coming.
Here’s the last leg of their trip through Wyoming, Nebraska, and to her sister Linnie’s home in South Dakota.
Sun 31. Went to church & SS this AM. Linnie taught a class. She is a fine teacher. I wrote Katharine, Ruth & Gerald today. We had letters today.
In March of 1935 we traced their journey along Route 66 to the west coast; now we’ve followed them back to the midwest. Tune in next week to see where they go from here!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this installment of Emma’s journals. See you next week for June 1936.