Inez Lucretia Parsons Ashcroft
Eastern States Journal
Wednesday, October 2, 1957
After a hectic week of flu and farewells, we left Cedar City Wednesday morning, October 2, 1957. Picked up a few apples, pears, and grapes to eat along the way. Arrived in Salt Lake in time to do a few errands and buy Don a few missionary clothes to send home. Called Aunt May and then got on our way. Spent the nght with Gertrude and Rich at Smithfield. Early in the morning Theron helped Rich and Bob get in the last three loads of hay. We then hurried to Amalga so he could help get Percy’s in before storm. While he did this I rode to Newton. Visited the cemetery and found all the markers which I had ordered in place and everything satisfactory. I visited Aunt Mary, Uncle Dave and Aunt Martha, Uncle Sam and Aunt Francis, and Uncle Walter and Aunt Edith. I found Uncle Walter much improved from his accident. He bears a strong testimony of being miraculously saved and healed by faith. The rest of the uncles and aunts are about as usual -- all growing old graciously.
After the hay was in the barn we went to Logan to visit with Phyllis and then back to stay with Gertrude that night. It snowed during the night. Morning found us visiting friends in Hyde Park and Leland. Went through his mink pens and watched him feed and water them. He has many beautiful and choice animals. Called at Audrey’s again (she was working at the corn plant the day before), and then rode up to Leda’s. Had a good chicken supper and spent the night. Leda gave me the pattern to a beautiful afaghan.
Saturday, October 5, 1957
Left early Saturday morning for Idaho Falls. Stopped in Downey while I looked up my cousin, Wendell Whitaker, and got addresses of his brothers and sisters for my work with Parsons genealogy. Theron had a personal interview with Miss Neola Van Orden at Idaho Falls. Was favorably impressed and called Director Braithwaite to report. On to Victor, where we took time out to hunt up my cousin, Esther Allen, Uncle Frank Parsons only living child. She was living in a cabin way up against the hills all alone. She had just returned from a stay in the hospital. She has diabetes and surely did not seem very well. She welcomed us and was very happy to have us call. She promised to help gather names for me to contact.
After leaving Victor, we rode up over the Teton Pass, through the beautiful Jackson Hole country and into Yellowstone Park through the South entrance. Everything had been closed and boarded up for winter. There was a coat of snow and even the animals all seemed to be bedded down for winter. The only living things we saw were three deer, two elk, three bears (a mother and two cubs) one buffalo and one tiny squirrel. We left Yellowstone by the East entrance and missed all the beautiful scenery from there to Cody because night had overtaken us. We stayed at he Blue Haven Motel in Cody (a very nice motel).
Sunday, October 6, 1957
We took pictures of the Buffalo Bill Monument. We tried to get into the museum, but found it closed for the season, so we rode on towrd Sheridan. Tried to find an L.D.S. church to go to, but when we found it they had finished their fast meeting. Rode on to Gillette and Custer, South Dakota, but there was no Mormon church at either place. We saw mostly hay and grain in the fields. Lots of good cattle and sheep. These towns are both mining towns, very old and very rough looking. The scenery during the day was beautiful, but was rather hard on me most of the time. It seemed to be one series after another of hairpin turns and switchbacks with very little straight roads inbetween. But it was beautiful country also. We spent the night in the Star Motel in Custer. Couldn’t find anything to look at in the city, so will go to bed. Called home. All is well.
Monday, October 7, 1957
Awoke to a rain-drenched countryside and it has rained all day. Not once has the sun shone through or the clouds raised. We were so disappointed at the poor visibility. We took the scenic drive through Needles National Monument and Custer State Park, but the fog and clouds cut off all the view. When we reached Mt. Rushmore we could barely see the figures through the clouds. I’m sure it would be a most inspiring sight on a clear day or at night with the huge bank of lights turned on it. We could not take any pictures but bought a few colored slides.
At Rapid City we visited the campus of the South Dakota School of Mining and Technology. They had an excellent museum. We also went through their school of Engineering and Chemistry building to get ideas for our new science building at C.S.U.
The countryside from Rapid City to Chamberlain on the Missouri River where we spent the night was mostly rolling hills of alfalfa or wheat fields. The hay was stacked in small mounds in the field. There had been enough rain that it had turned the stacks as black as coal. It did not look like it would be too good as feed. Also we passed several fields where there was as high as 50 steel graineries lined up in rows. Saw very few sheep or cattle today. Hope we see more sunshine tomorrow. We saw “Beau James” at Chamberlain -- the story of Jimmy Walker. Wondered how authentic it was. Put clocks ahead one hour today at the town of Muro.
Tuesday, October 8, 1957
Left Chamberlain about quarter of eight and rode about 180 miles before breakfast. Ate at Town and Country Club in Sioux Falls. It was a very nice place, with good food and reasonable prices. Crossed over into Iowa and rode toward Sioux City. It was still cloudy and overcast, but no rain fell during the day. Farm land has changed to corn crops with some milo or millett. Large farms with well-kept homes and outbuildings. Lots of machinery of all kinds. Many cattle in the fields and every farm has large herd of pigs. Theron stopped and went into one farm and talked to the farmer for about half an hour.
We decided to stop and film a yard of wheat bins we mentioned yesterday. We counted the bins and there were 22 to a row and 10 rows with four extra. The caretaker said they got rid of their 1952 crop last year and then filled them all up again and bought 43 new bins besides. Each bin held 2750 bushels. They are government owned and there is a group in each county, so they appeared about every five or ten miles apart.
When we arrived in Sioux City we drove past the stockyards and went to both Swift and Armour company packing plants, but their tours were both over. We will try and go through a plant in Omaha.
Rode south to Cresent City and crossed the Missouri River over the new Mormon Bridge (toll, 35 cents). One of the suburbs of Omaha is Florence (Winter Quarters to Mormons). Here we found the monument on the State Park to the Mormons who settled there. Two or three blocks from Park is the Mormon Cemetery where 600 saints were buried. There is a beautiful monument in the cemetery done by Avard Fairbanks in honor of the 6,000 pioneers who lost their lives between there and Salt Lake. Found a street named Mormon Street. Had supper in Omaha and found a motel just over the River in Council Bluffs. Theron went into Omaha to do the town. I stayed home, washed clothes and shampooed my hair. Wrote a few cards and called it a day.
Wednesday, October 9, 1957
Left motel before 8 a.m. and spent an hour looking for a camera repair shop. Went to Swift meat packing and took their tour at 10 a.m. They employed about 2200 men. It was down to 2000 at present. Their plant handled 600 pigs per hour, and not quite so many beef and sheep. It was interesting, but a little gruesome in places. In Omaha we visited a very fine museum -- The Jocelyn Memorial.
After leaving Omaha we traveled toward Des Moines. The country was typical corn country with lots of hogs and cattle. We stopped at a place called Walnut Grove Research Center, where they were doing research on raising and feeding hogs. Later we stopped at what we thought was a typical farm to take some pictures. It was owned by a man and his sister, and was a very prosperous-looking place. He tinkers in a shop as a hobby and had made some very interesting things including a miniature waterwheel and windmill, bird houses, etc.
We were much impressed by DesMoines -- the homes were large two-storied frame and brick. Some of them were of mansion proportions -- all of them well kept. The streets were lined with large beautiful trees, oak, maple and many others I did not know, all in their fall colors. If the sun had only shone we could have got some beautiful pictures. Came as far as Newton and stopped at Mid-Iowa Motel. Got took for dinner to the tune of $3.60. To bed early so we can get an early start for Chicago.
Thursday, October 10, 1957
Left at 7:00 a.m. Drove as far as Iowa City for breakfast. Sent Kay a birthday telegram and Don one also. Drove out to Iowa State College campus -- 10,0009 student campus on both sides of the River -- large old buildings. Some new construction going on. Stopped at a farm just outside of Moline, Rock Island, Davenport (these 3 cities join each other). The farmer and his wife were filling a corn crib and we stopped for a picture. They told us this crib holds 1500 bushels, and they had two others which held 1000 bushels each. They were putting in male corn for seed, which sold at 10-11 dollars per bushel. In Iowa they plant their corn two rows of male corn and six rows of female corn. They detassel all the female corn (girls do it by hand several times over the field until all the tassel are out). The male corn then pollenizes all the rest. The two rows of male corn is then harvested for feed and the female corn is used for seed. He said in Illinois they do just the opposite -- plant two rows of female and six rows of male and use the female for seed.
Drove on to Chicago and became nervous wrecks trying to find a place to stay. In desperation we finally stopped at the Conrad Hilton and Congress Hotels. They were way over our heads so they sent us to a dinky little hotel on a dark street called Dalton Hotel. We finally took a room there, much to my dismay. While driving around trying to find a parking lot for the car we found several much better hotels, so we took a room in the Midland. We went back to the Dalton and got a refund, parked the car in a parking house and went to look over town’s shows. “My Fair Lady” was opening on November 5, but nothing till then. The movies cost $1.50 per and we were too tired to enjoy one anyway, so we made our way back to the hotel and to bed. I had a toothache part of the night.
Friday, October 11, 1957
Made a call on John Edmunds, brother of Paul K. at 1 North LaSalle Building, but he was not in. It was an impressive marble building in the heart of downtown Chicago. Decided to try a tour of the city with Grey Lines. Chose a four hour $4.00 tour to take in both North and South Shore drives. It was interesting, but not worth $4. Outside of the stress of driving in traffic you could do much better on your own. Returned about 3:00, got a bowl of soup and decided on a movie. Not much choice here -- television has closed out most of the theaters. Saw Joan Crawford in “The Esther Costello Story,” a story of a blind girl and her rehabilitation. Leave for Detroit tomorrow.
Might mention a few figures on Chicago. There are 3,700,000 people in Chicago proper -- 700,000 negroes. About double this figure including the suburbs. The negro population is gaining fast -- they have almost taken over the entire South section. Huge housing projects are going up, most of them for colored tenants. They are razing all of the old fancy mansions of olden times to make room for these modern 21 story apartment buildings. It was also interesting to note that two of the buildings which survived the Chicago fire were the old Pump House and the old City Tower.
Saturday, October 12, 1957
Tried to go through the National Board of Trade Building, but being Columbus day, it was closed. Left Chicago by South Lake Shore Drive. Transferred to a tollway and really sailed along for about 200 miles. These freeways are beautiful divided highways, parked along both sides. The trees were beautiful this time of year with the autumn colors at their best, but the grass still green. Left the highway at Angola and traveled north to Coldwater and then east on 112. When we reached Quincy, Michigan they were having an Autumn Festival and Corn Picking Contest. We stopped and saw the parade, which consisted of High School Band and Jr. High Band, Harvest Queen and Dairy Queen, and 4-H Girls and Boys on horseback. Drove on into Dearborn -- looked up the church and found out what time meetings were held. Talked to Bud Lowe from Monroe and he recommended a tourist home for us. They could not take us there, but they sent us to anothert very nice one where we stayed.
We went to bed early -- Theron was asleep and I was trying hard to be when the fireworks started. It kept getting closer and louder and I began to think an atomic war had started. Finally I woke Theron and we decided it was a fireworks display -- what for we don’t know.
Smith Tourist Home (one block North of Michigan at Oakwood)
21731 Garrison -- Dearborn, Michigan
Sunday, October 13, 1957
Spent the day in the Detroit area. Visited the Dearborn Ward for priesthood, Sunday School, and Sacrament meeting. Met some fine saints. They have a diffiult time I imagine. The Bishop told us that out of 150 families over a hundred of them were split homes, most of them with the mother belonging to the church. That would leave 50 members of the priesthood and many of them are inactive. However, they had built a lovely new church, finished a year ago. We met Rada Little Warner, a Delta girl and former B.A.C. student. Also heard good word of Garth Chatterly and family who had been members for three years. Spent the afternoon at Greenfield Village and museum. A person needs to spend a full day, there is so much to see.
Monday, October 14, 1957
Spent nearly three hours at the Dearborn Community Jr. College. Talked to the Dean for about an hour and picked up literature, then toured their new Science building and Technical Building. Picked up a few ideas for CSU. Ate dinner in their cafeteria with their faculty. Went out to the Rotunda and joined a tour going through the Ford Plant. It was very interesting. However, we did not get to see the cars come off the assembly line. The new cars are not out yet and it was still a secret.
Headed for Niagara. Met a very fine young couple while getting gas. They were going almost to Niagara and told us to follow them. They led us on to a new beautiful highway which took us almost there. Then we got onto the Queen Elizabeth Way and it was even better. These are four lane divided highways, parked (I think she means planted) on both sides and through the center median. In many places the native trees are growing on either side and this time of year the colors are beautiful. They are mostly maples, oak, walnut, and birches. Where it is not wooded they have planted sections of evergreens and then sections of native trees. It will be wonderful in a few years.
It was dark when we arrived at the Falls so we went directly to the viewpoints and took some pictures. We then tried to get a bite to eat, but restaurants were cleaned out of everything. We asked “how come” and they said, “It is Thanksgiving Day today, which makes a three-day weekend and all food is gone.” That accounts for so many people being on the highways. We found a very nice Tourist Home and spent a very comfortable and restful night.
P.S. We had a bad time getting in to Canada Our car had an Arizona license plate, our drivers licenses were from Utah, and we did not have our car registration with us.
Editor’s note: In the top margin is written:
The Margaret
Mrs. Marjorie A. Stewart
Highway 20, 2624 Lundy Lane
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Tuesday, October 15
Walked over the Rainbow Bridge to the American side of Niagara Falls. Bought some film because it is much cheaper there than on Canadian side. The walk across the bridge is beautiful. We decided to take the boat trip on the “Maid of the Mist.” It was fun -- we sailed right to the base of the falls. The water got pretty rough and we were soaked, even with our slickers on. You surely get a good view of both falls on this trip. Came back to Canadian side and spent some time talking to the head gardener for the Niagara Park Commission. He has some very beautiful formal arrangements around the port, most of it done with privet hedge
We tried to get to see the Nabisco Shredded Wheat factory, but they do not take tours. We followed the Q. E. W. out of Niagara toward Toronto. The day was beautiful -- about 60 degrees to 65 degrees, sunshiny except when the fog would roll in from the Lake. We pretty much followed around the edge of Lake Ontario and the ride was delightful. By evening we had pass through Kingston and were in the Thousand Island area. Stopped for night at Gananoque. This tourist home is a real ancient one -- the home is over 100 years old. Each room is as big as a barn, and I don’t have an idea how many rooms there are.
Wednesday, October 16, 1957
Decided to cut over to Ottawa before going to Montreal. The drive was beautiful, but foggy or smoky, or both (we couldn’t decide). Just as we got to the edge of Ottawa we met crowds of people and children, and bus loads of school children. We stopped to inquire and found that the Queen had just passed on her way to the airport to fly to Williamsburg. We drove on to the Parliament Buildings and took a tour through. Went to the Senate room, the House of Commons, the Library, the Peace Tower and War Memorial. The Library was the most beautiful room I have ever seen. It was all oak paneled, hand carved, and no two carvings were the same. The Dome was beautiful stained glass and carvings covered with gold leaf. The floor was hardwood inlaid cherry, oak and mahogany woods, laid in a beautiful pattern. This was the only part of the original building that was not destroyed by fire during World War I. The rest of the building had been completely rebuilt. The War Memorial, up near the clock in the Peace Tower, was another beautiful room, hand carved stone and stained glass windows on three sides. On an altar in the center of the room was a huge book (under glass). This was hand written and contained the names of all the Canadian war casualties from World War I. Each day a page is turned in the book of names. Around the sides of walls, carved in stone, is a history of Canada’s part in the war. It is also carved in French so the French people can read it too. We had an opportunity to talk to a retired civil servant and his wife while waiting for a tour, and he told us many interestig things about their government. The Senate and House each have one elected representative from each electoral vicinity (278). The Prime Minister is the head of the Government. He chooses his cabinet, but has to choose them from the Senate or House (who are elected by the people). The speaker of the House is chosen every four years and every other term it must be an English speaker, and the next term a French speaker. And when the speaker of the Senate is an English speaker, the speaker of the House is French, and visa versa. This is to keep good relations between the French and English Provinces. The Governor General is appointed by the Queen under recommendation of the Canadian people. He is the Queen’s representative, but does not have anything to say about the government. If the Prime Minister dies or there is other trouble the governor represents the Queen until the trouble is over. These and many other things we learned. Had lunch in the Chateau, the most elegant hotel in Ottawa and the place where the Queen dined. Of course, we ate in the cafeteria instead of the dining room.
The drive was the most beautiful in the world from Ottawa to Montreal. The colors keep getting more beautifu as we go along. Montreal is the largest city in the Dominion, one and a half million people. To me it was just another large city. Passed through it and spent the night in Repentigny Village, 15 miles East of Montreal on Route No. 2.
P.S. I wanted to mention the houses in Quebec Province. Particularly around Montreal they used so much color on their houses. It was not unusual to see three or four colors and sometimes even five colors on one house. For exaple the house might be white lumber or red brick and then would have the roof painted bright blue, the doors bright red, the window frames a chartreuse green and the window sills, eaves, or gables and the foundation bright yellow. In some of the new building projects coming into Montreal there were blocks of these houses in all different colors. It looked like a crazy patchwork quilt.
Thursday, October 17, 1957
Tried to get an early start for Quebec but did not get away until 7:30. Stopped at some of the roadside stands to look at blankets, sheepskins, and maple syrup. The syrup was very good but $4 per gallon. Some of the blankets were hand loomed and some were machine made. We bought one of each and some syrup.
When we reached Quebec we made our way with difficulty to the tourist information bureau. We did not even get the door opened before a guide was there begging to take us on tour -- $5 for the 2 of us and we drove our car. He was a typical guide -- a little Frenchman -- talked constantly, and really showed us the city. He had been a guide for 24 year and before that worked for the government. He loaded us down with literature. It will take us a month to read it.
After we left him we visited a real china shop and looked around, then hunted up Simons’, the most exclusive and oldest linen shop in Quebec. Here we bought some linens and had them mailed home. Some of the points of interest we saw were the Citadel, famous old French Fort, seen when General Wolfe landed, and where the battles between French and British were fought on what is called the Plains of Abraham (named for a Captain Abraham, who first landed there) -- Place where Wolfe was mortally wounded and where he was carried to a well to be cared for (he died there), Government houses, Armory, Statue of Joan of Arc and Father Champlain the first Governor, the first church built at Quebec, a replica of the sailing vessel which brought the first missionary to Quebec. Hotel Frontenac, the largest and most elaborate of the Canadian Union Pacific, a Catholic Cathedral with a Reubens painting valued at a million dollars, the wall around the city, the lower city and upper city, etc.
We left Quebec just at the rush hour and had some trouble getting out of the city and headed in the right direction. We thought we would find a motel but could not, so kept on to the custom house on the border. It was almost 9 o’clock when we got our things declared. About two miles beyond the customs house we found a little clearing in the woods, so we pulled off and tried our bed in the car. Spent a very comfortable night, even though it rained all night.
Friday, October 18, 1957
A very beautiful drive through the state of Maine today. It is mostly wooded and rolling hills. The road followed a river or the coast line most of the way. The bright leaves of the maples, birches, beeches, and elms were beautiful set off by the evergreens growing amongst them. The whole state seems to be nothing but tourist accomodations. I think everyone in the East must vacation in Maine. Their license plates have the word Vacationland printed on them.
The farm houses are joined right onto the barns and out buildings. This is so they do not have to shovel paths through the deep snow. We stopped at such a place to talk to the people and they very graciously showed us through their house and barn. The original house was an old Inn and the lady’s mother and father took care of all the pioneer wagon trains that came that way. She was also a very famous cheese maker. The old cheese room with its sinks and cupboards was still there. The furniture in all the rooms wa antique and very valuable. She used the bedrooms in the summer as guest rooms for tourists. They also had nine cabins in the back yard. She showed us through the wood shed into the barn and through the old wool shed where her father hung the sacks of wool (he bought wool from the farmers to sell to the woolen mills). They were most interesting people.
As we were driving along through Bettiford we saw a Pepperrell Sheet Factory so we stopped and went through it. We followed the process from the time the cotton bales came in from the South through the process of cleaning, grading, carding, spinning into threads, and weaving of the fabric. Also the dyeing and making of patterns, cutting, binding, and packaging. We saw them make both sheets and blankets of all sizes and all grades, including crib and receiving blankets for babies. Very interesting and educational. Stopped in Portland long enough to call Preston Albertson. They were leaving for Boston so we did not go to their home. Traveled to the suburbs of Boston where we got a motel for the night. Still raining.
Saturday, October 19, 1957
Still raining. Made our way through heavy traffic into downtown Boston. Found a greyline and took a tour of Boston’s historical points. Visited Paul Revere’s old home and went through it and saw many interesting things used in that period of time. Went to the Old North Church where the lantern flashed the signal to Paul Revere, to Bunker Hill - Beacon Hill, The Commons, etc. We went onboard “Old Ironsides.”
I forgot and got ahead of myself. When we found it raining so hard in the morning we decided to spend a couple of hours in the Public Library in Salem and read about the history of the area, which we did. We then visited the Witches House,” the “House of Seven Gables,” which was the scene of Hawthorne’s famous story by that name. We also went on to Pioneer Village, a restoration of the first settlement of Salem, but it was closed for the season. After taking our tour of Boston we drove as far as Wretham that night.
Sunday, October 20, 1957
Located Jack Lowman at North Attelboro and picked up a letter from home. Found out how to get to the LDS branch at Foxborro and went there to church. It is a very small branch and they were having branch conference that morning. They just called on people out of the audience to talk and most of them gave very fine talks. After meeting we found out that five families had built the chapel which was dedicated a year ago. Since then a few more people had joined. There were two lady missionaries there from around the Salt Lake area, and two men missionaries. One of the boys turned out to be Richard Haycock from Kanab. After church we spent the afternoon visiting with Jack and his wife, Barbara, and their daughters, Sharon and Jackie. We spent the night with them.
Monday, October 21, 1957
Left North Attelborro early. It was a frosty but beautiful sunny morning. Headed for Plymouth. It was a very beautiful drive. We saw Plymouth Rock which really surprised me. I had expected a large cliff or promontory. Instead it was just a small boulder with the inscription 1620 on it. We visited the reproduction of the old fort and the first Pioneer Village, then went up to the Plymouth museum. It was one of the most interesting ones I have been to. They had all the old Pilgrim documents -- relics of Myles Standish and John Alden -- such as their swords, razor, iron cooking pot, Bible, ax and tools, matchlock guns, etc. There was also old furniture and clothes, some of which came over on the Mayflower. There were copies from the original journal of Winthrop telling of the landing and finding a place to settle, building their first homes, some of the hardships of the first winter, etc.
About 2:00 we headed back toward New York. As we had driven in toward Playmouth we had noticed these interesting fields of a dark red color. They were all in sunken areas and had deep ditches around them and cutting through them. Coming back we could see they were harvesting something so we stopped and went down. We found it was cranberries they were harvesting. They had a machine that sort of scooped the berries from the vines and a conveyer belt carried them back to bags hanging on the back. The machines were sort of like oversized lawn mowers. The bags were then taken and dumped into another machine which cleaned out any vines, twigs, or leaves and boxed the berries in large wooden boxes. I suppose they were then taken to a plant to be graded and packaged. They were beautiful berries. The man told us they flooded these areas as soon as the harvest was taken off and they remained covered over winter to keep the plants from freezing. In the spring the water was drained off for the growing seaon. I had always imaged that cranberries grew on bushes about like gooseberries. But these plants were only a few inches high and matted together like thick clumps of grass. The foliage itself was a deep red. Stayed just out of New Haven, Connecticut.
Tuesday, October 22, 1957
Had a lovely ride into New York City. Got on a Meridith Parkway and it was beautiful. It landed us on Riverside Drive at about 150th. We parked the car in a residential parking area, asked a man how to catch a subway and proceeded to do so. It took us right down to Broadway. We got a show calendar and began to try for tickets. We could not get tickets for “My Fair Lady” until March. Our next choice was for Helen Hayes in “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and Thelma Ritter in “New Girl in Town.” We did get tickets for these. We decided then to go over to Radio City. We got there just as the show at Music Hall started so we went in. Les Girls was the movie. It was a rather clever movie and the stage show was good. The Rocketts did a Calipso number with beautiful costumes and scenery. They had a special dance team with them, a colored boy and girl who did some real fancy dancing. The Ballet number was beautiful. It was done against a background of autumn trees. The girls were dressed in shades of red, brown, green, and orange ballerina-length dresses with lots of net petticoats in shades of yellow. There was a symphony orchestra number, a male chorus, and a comedian who was a scream.
After the show we headed back to get our car. We asked instructions four different times and thought we were on the right subway, but found ourselves stranded in the Bronx with only 55 cents in our pocket. We tried in six places to cash a traveler’s check. Finally we asked a taxi driver for help. He took us back across to Harlem to a railway station where they cashed a check for us. He waited for us and then took us back to our car. We crossed the George Washington Bridge and went over to Jersey City. We found a nice motel -- The York. We did not even have time to go in. We had to rush to find a bus back to catch our show at 7:30. “The Long Day’s Journey into Darkness” was good, but such a morbid foul play that it left you with a bad taste in your mouth. Frederick March was good, as were the supporting cast. Florence Eldredge had an understudy that night and I think perhaps she was the weakest character.
Wednesday, October 23, 1957
Caught a bus into New York and went directly to NBC Studios. Visited the “Bandstand” broadcast for an hour and a half It was very entertaining and relaxing. Perry Como was Master of Ceremonies. Sketch Henderson and Orchestra, Richard Hayes singer, Russ Emery singer, the Four Ladds, Dorothy Olson the singing school teacher, and their guest for the day was Henry Renee, RCA recorder from Hollywood.
When we got out of the broadcast we grabbed a bowl of soup and took the regular tour through Radio City. By now it was time to rush to the matinee of “A New Girl in Town,” with Thelma Ritter. It was very good -- refreshing and tuneful. We had seats in the first Box right next to the stage. I was interested to see that the leading actors used very little makeup--just a little grease paint, no lipstick, rouge, or eye pencil. They were their own natural selves. The chorus did use quite strong makeup.
After this round we decided to call it a day and go home. Then we decided this might be our last chance to get tickets for “Visit to a Small Planet” with Cyril Ritchard. It was a real funny comedy and very well done. Called it a day.
Thursday, October 24, 1957
Raining when we woke. If anyone had told me we could sleep till 9:00 in the morning I would not have believed them. Yet that is exactly what we have been doing the last few days. We finally shook ourselves awake and made our way to the CBS Studios. We had tried to call John W. Christiansen the day before, but he was tied up in meetings. He is the Vice President of CBS and a very busy man. When we arrived they took our names and almost our fingerprints before they would even call his secretary. After talking to the secretary twice we finally got to see John. He gave us some tickets to TV shows and invited us to have lunch with him. We lunched at a very snooty hotel. There was $10 dollars worth of atmosphere and 50 cents worth of food. We saw two TV shows, “Beat the Clock” and “Strike it Rich.” They were interesting to watch. Dad put in an application to contest, but was not chosen. I decided if you want to be chosen you have to wear something real flashy and eye catching.
By the time the show was over it was really pouring, so to get out of the rain we went to Cinerama “Search for Paradise.” I was not too taken up with it.
We had tickets to “The Egghead” for night with Karl Maulden. It was very good and especially well cast. It was a show concerning race prejudice and communism and carried a message, yet was a comedy in spot. Exhausted, we dropped into bed.
Friday, October 25, 1957
Awoke to bright sunshine. Started on our way to Washington, D.C. Had good luck -- got right on a Skyway (an elevated highway) which took us right through Jersey City and Newark and on to a new Turnpike which took us to Philadelphia. Here we got fouled up and lost a couple of times. We finally found the Liberty Bell and the historic buildings. Outside of these, Philadelphia doesn’t have much. It is a little older, a little dirtier, and a little uglier than all other old cities.
Got as far as Gettysburg tonight, but it was too late to do much. We did get to the museum and saw the electric map, and had an interesting talk with the owner of the museum. Tomorrow we will tour the battlefields.
Saturday, October 26, 1957
Started tour of Battlefied by car. The old guns were still entrenched on the hillsides with piles of cannon balls, etc. If you have seen the electric map it is easier to visualize their positions as the battles took place. Came back to Cemetery Ridge, the place where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg address. There is a monument erected to Lincoln at this spot and the graves are arranged in a semi circle around the monument.
Theron spent an hour or so at the Gettysburg College of Science, after which we started for Washington. Arrived about 4 pm. At Rhea and Rex Daly’s. Pat, their little girl had the flu, but they insisted we stay anyway. I did out my washing while Theron watched TV. By this time Rex had come from work. Rhea fixed a nice chicken supper and we spent the evening visiting.
Sunday, October 27, 1957
We spent a restless night worrying because someone had called Daly’s at 12 o’clock Thursday night and asked for us. We thought of everything from deer hunting accident to flu. So as soon as it was past 6 a.m. at home we went to town to call home. No one answered, so then we figured out everyone had gone to Kanab. We drove on into the large LDS church on 16th Street. Got there just in time for priesthood meeting. The first person we met as we stepped in the door said, “Well hello Theron. How are you?” It was Louis Palmer, brother of Leo Palmer. He introduced Theron in priesthood and the leader, Brother Brossard, said, “Well, how are things in Hyde Park?” He was an old AC professor. As we sat in the chapel waiting for Sunday School to start, in walked Bob Frame, then a little later Joyce Benson and finally Christine Corry. After Sunday School we had a real old home week. Bob introduced us to his “future fiance,” (how could you have a future fiance?) and there was another BAC alumni there, played football for BAC. Made us feel right to home. In the afternoon I ironed and repacked all our clothes. Rhea cooked a wonderful sirloin tip roast and at 6 p.m. we ate our first TV supper on TV trays while we watched a TV program. To bed early.
P.S. Called home first. Everything okay. Got Don’s address and found out that maybe Hal was to be released and they would be home in November.
Monday, October 28, 1957
Took in the Mall at the Capitol. Went first to the Washington Memorial and got an airview of the Capitol. Then visited the Smithsonian Institute, the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House (it was closed so could not go in). We had left our clothes at a cleaners in the morning and were to pick them up at 4:30. We got so leg weary we finally found a movie and went in to rest. It was “Three Faces of Eve” and was sort of screwy. We had some difficulty trying to find the cleaners but finally made it and started for Richmond. Got as far a Fredricksburg and stopped. This town was the birthplace of George Washington and everything in it was named after him. Bed at 7 p.m.
Tuesday, October 29, 1957
Got to Richmond a little before 10 a.m. Took a Grey Line tour of historical points. It was the most interesting one we have taken. Besides touring the residential area and the skid row area we visited many special places. The residential area was beautiful -- huge houses, side by side, with only a foot or two between them, still used for homes. It would take a small fortune to maintain one, to say nothing of building it. The streets were lined with a dividing parkway down the center, also planted with beautiful trees (linden on one street, but mostly oaks and elms). This was the avenue of statues -- about every block there would be a famous general or statesman. There was one empty space and that was reserved for Admiral Byrd, who is also a famous son.
The slum area was in the old part of Richmond and was almost entirely negro. There are 32% negros in the city, but 47.9% negro school population. They have negro schools with negro teachers. Here we noticed the marked segregation. There were special restaurants and rest rooms for blacks and whites.
We went through the beautiful capitol building that was designed by Jefferson, patterned after a Greek Temple. We were amazed at the number of famous men born and raised in Virginia. Eight presidents of the U.S. came from there. In the rotunda of the capitol is a famous statue of George Washington and around the walls are 7 busts of the other presidents. There is also one of LaFayette, the young French General who helped save America at Yorktown.
We then traveled to St. John’s Church where Patrick Henry made his famous speech of “Give me liberty or give me death.” After the Governor forbade the leaders to meet in Williamsburg, which was the capitol of Virginia, they traveled up to Richmond and met in St. John’s Church, that being the largest building in Richmond. It has been used continuously since that day. In the churchyard are burried some 1300 people. Only about 300 are marked, but they have record of the others.
From here we visited the Liggetts and Myers tobacco plant and they showed us how tobacco was made into cigarettes, packaged, stamped, wrapped, etc. Each government stamp costs 8 cents and they use over one million dollars worth each day.
We then visited the Valentine house, home of a wealthy Richmond family. Everything was left just as it was in the 1700’s. It was very beautiful and very interesting.
After our visit in Richmond we traveled to Williamsburg. Arrived in time to get to the information center, get our tickets for the next day and see a special movie, “A Patriot is Born,” a story of Williamsburg. We found lodging was rather high so decided to sleep in the car. We drove into one of the parking areas at the reconstructed area, pulled up close behind one of the screening hedges and fixed our bed for the night. We then caught a free bus out to the information center, saw the free movie over again and heard a very excellent illustrated lecture on Jamestown and Yorktown. It made the history of the area much clearer to us.
Wednesday, October 30, 1957
Arose early, before people began coming to the area. As nothing was open we drove out to Yorktown and made a tour of the Battlefields. Then back to Williamsburg to tour the reconstructed area. The points of historic interest were the jailhouse and locks, the government building where congress met (or rather the house of Burgesses) where the Governor and his counselors met and where the jury convened, the powder magazine, where the colonists kept their guns and powder, the Wythe House, and the Governor’ Palace. Left Williamsburg and traveled into North Carolina as far as Rocky Mountain.
Thursday, October 31, 1957
Started raining during the night and by morning was raining good and steady. When we reached Raleigh we visited the capitol building and grounds. The receptionist told us the Governor would be coming through the Rotunda in five minutes if we wanted to wait she would introduce him to us. He was going to Winston-Salem to make a speech. We waited for almost a half an hour but got to shake hands and speak to him for a few minutes. They think he is the best governor in the world. Drove on toward Columbia, South Carolina. At Cheraw we stopped at a cotton mill and got to see the whole process. We had seen cotton growing in the fields as we came along. At the Gin it was cleaned and seeded, and baled. After delivery at the mill it went through four different cleaning mills before it was carded and rolled into yarn. The loops of yarn were run through four processes to stretch and twist them into yarns. These were wound onto large cones or spindles and shipped to the knitting factories to make such things as stockings, underclothes, and children’s pajamas.
I forgot to mention a very interesting thing we saw yesterday. All along the road were fields with tall poles piled high with what looked like hay, dry and black. We finally stopped to look and found it was peanuts drying. Later we came to a field where they were threshing them, so we went in to watch. The soil is almost pure sand. The digger runs under the row and sort of scoops them out, vine and all, and leaves them in winrows. The poles are nailed onto a wooden platform. These are placed in rows on the field and the vines are hung on them to dry. When they are ready to thresh a little donkey cart picks up the stick vines and all and hauls it to the thresher. Here they pull the poles out and throw the vines in the thresher. The peanuts are bagged in large 100 pound bags and the vines are stacked and later used for feed. They said this year they were getting about 30 bags per acre and about 10 cents a pound, which was a lot better than usual. Stayed in Columbia, South Carolina.
Friday, November 1, 1957
Visited the State Capitol, but there was no guide to show us around and no literature available. It was a beautiful building, but they needed someone to do a little boosting for it. We tried to get into a knitting mill but would have had to wait till afternoon and we wanted to be on our way. We telegraphed home for more money to be sent to Atlanta. Reached Atlanta about 5:00, had supper and tried to make our way to the Western Union. After a couple of attempts we got close enough to park and walk to it. We found our money there, but decided not to take it out as all banks were closed. After buying a large map we tried to find our way to the Mission Home, but no one had heard of East Lake Road. After going around in circles we found ourselves back on the road we had come in on and in front of the Home. Although we were not even cleaned up we decided to inquire about an appointment for the next day. We drove in to the back of the house and were greeted by three missionaries. They told us that President Bunker was leaving early the next morning with Harold B. Lee to tour the mission field for two weeks. They took us in and we spoke to President and Sister Bunker. They were getting ready for a meeting and insisted that we stay. As we walked into the living room we were met by Sister Ward, a girl from Parowan. In a few minutes Honey Nickels came in and later her husband, Bill, who is the new Stake President out there. He had been in conference with Brother Lee. After a very inspirational meeting we were invited home with Bill and Honey. We visited for an hour about Cedar and all the people they knew in Cedar.
Saturday, November 2, 1957
After a very hearty breakfast, Nickels took us for a drive through the beautiful residential area and through an equally beautiful industrial area. The homes were fabulous and each one set out in five to ten acres of beautifully landscaped areas. They just clear a place in the pines and native trees and it makes a lovely individual setting for each home. Homes ranged from $16,000 upward -- the sky is the limit!
Picked up our money and bought travelers checks -- then on toward Savanah. Hope to make it there for Church tomorrow. Stayed at Lyon’s Georgia.
P.S. President Bunker gave us permission to pick up Don and his companion and take them on a day’s outing.
Sunday, November 3, 1957
Rode into Savanah and tried to locate the Branch of the church, but could not find a contact. Decided to take the White Line tour of the city. One interesting thing was that when Ogelthorpe laid out the city he left 24 squares vacant to be used for forts for the protection of women and children in case of Indian raids. Fortunately, they were never used as such and today have been made into miniature parks. On the one street (Bull Street) there are five of them about four or five blocks apart, making a very attractive street as well as a place for their monuments of famous persons.
Another interesting place was the Bueniviente Cemetery. It is 500 acres bordering the coast. It is a very old cemetery with huge oak trees said to be 500 years old and every other type of tree and shrubs you could think of. All of them are densely covered with the grey Spanish moss. It was very quiet and peaceful there and gave you a feeling of rest.
We called Zelma Deets and then went to her home and visited for a couple of hours. Her mother, Aunt Arrilla, was there with her. She looked better than she did when I saw her six or seven years ago. However, she had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed in her right arm.
Found out that Brother and Sister Otto Reeves were in Hazelhurst. It meant that we would have to backtrack about 100 miles to see them, but we decided to go. We got onto every road in Georgia before we finally made it. We were an hour late to meeting, but went in anyway. Brother Reeves was on the stand and a most peculiar expression came over his face like he couldn’t believe his eyes. But when he had blinked a few times and we had smiled at him he finally accepted the fact that it was us. So after the program was over he got up and introduced us and asked Theron to speak. After the meeting we took them out to supper and enjoyed an hour’s visit with them. Stayed in Hazelhurst this night.
Monday, November 4, 1957
Drove down into Florida. As soon as we neared the border things began to pick up. Their information center at the border was really on the ball. They could answer your questions before you could ask them, and really gave you good help. The orange, grapefruit, and tangerine groves were beautiful. They were all heavy laden as it is just time for the first harvest. It was 81 degrees and just like a warm summer day at home.
We found Sanford and the place where Don lives, but they were out tracting. Decided to go down to Orlando and see the Mormon Farm. No one down there could tell us much about it except that it was 75 miles from there. So we came back to Sanford. Found the boys just getting supper. Had them put the food away and come out to supper with us. They are two very busy boys, with no time to waste. They carry their literature with them all the time and study at every opportunity. They had two appointments for that night so we rushed them home. I gathered up their dirty clothes and went to a member’s home and washed for them. We then found a tourist home and went to bed.
Tuesday, November 5, 1957
Picked the boys up at 7 o’clock and drove 75 miles to Cypress Gardens. Arrived just in time to see the ski show (water skiing). It was amazing the things they could do -- they were world champions. We then walked through the beautiful Cypress Gardens and I mean beautiful. They had every kind of tropical tree, shrub, flower and vine that you could imagine, all placed in such an artistic way as to set them off to the best advantage. Beautiful girls in colorful hoop skirt cosumes were seated around the gardens to make your pictures more colorful.
After leaving Winter Haven we passed by the place where the circus spends the winter. We traveled through the fruit belt (central Florida). It was the most beautiful sight you could ever imagine. The fruit is all ready to harvest and the trees were loaded down. I wanted Dad to stay and pick fruit, but he said no. About in the center of the belt there is a large 570 foot tower. It has a large plushy restaurant and lounge. You go up on an elevator to the top where you can see these fruit orchards in every direction, dotted with lakes of various sizes. The carillon plays music all the time and it is a wonderful sight. We had our dinner at the tower. They said there were over 17,000,000 trees in that area, and there were many, many more large tracts just being set out.
From here we drove to Silver Springs where we took an hour ride in the glass bottomed boats. It was fun. You could see and feed the schools of fish and tortise and see the interesting growth on the floor of the river. There were many more interesting things we could have seen here, but we had to hurry to get the boys home for a 7:30 appointment. It was a good day, but we were all really tired. Stayed in Sanford again this night.
Wednesday, November 6, 1957
Since the car had been acting up for the past few days we took it to the garage for a check up. It needed new spark plugs and points, and the clutch and brakes needed adjusting. While it was being fixed we sat in the park and wrote letters and cards and visited a Zoo nearby. Picked the car up at 11:00 a.m. and rode out to Deer Park, the large church farm. We stopped at their new chapel which they are rushing to finish for Pres. McKay to dedicate on December 1. It is really a beauty and there are only 23 families to do it. We drove on up to the farm headquarters and spent an interesting half hour talking to one of the foremen. They have 300,000 acres of land. They are breaking up 50 acres a day (it is in dense jungle now). They seed 2000 acres in three days with an airplane. This is the pastureland they have just broken up. They have 260 acres in orange groves with 600 acres more ready to plant, 160 acres in tomatoes. They also have a huge tract ready to plant more row crops. They have tried cucumbers, melons, and sweet potatoes. There are over 35,000 head of cattle on the farm. Most of the land thy bought for $10 an acre. They have improved it till it is now worth $200 an acre. All this has been done in seven years time. The missionaries say that Brother Moyle told them it would take care of 40,000 families from Europe if a crisis arose.
On the way back from the farm we stopped at a fruit stand to get a drink of orange juice. They wanted to sell us some satsuma, but we didn’t know what they were. They gave us a sample and we bought two bags. They look just like a tangerine, but they are much sweeter and milder tasting.
Traveled over to Tampa on the west coast. Stopped at the church (they are just building it) and called on Kennad Larsen and his companion, Elder Peale from Mesa. Kennad is to be home on December 18, so does not have much longer to stay. Crossed over to St. Petersburg for the night.
Thursday, November 7, 1957
It was foggy in St. Petersburg this morning, but we drove out to the Pier and looked around. Watched the fishermen for a while. We stopped at the Sunken Gardens, which are so highly advertized along the way. They are very similar to Cypress Gardens.
We crossed over a causeway or bridge onto a long narrow island that stretches all up the coast of the peninsula on which St. Petersburg is located. They call it the Islands of Paradise, and there are three or four towns in a continuous row. Some places the island is just wide enough for the street and houses on each side. Each house has a private beach of its own. It is very beautiful. The homes range from small cottages to large mansions, and there are literally hundreds of motels and eating places.
We crossed back to the mainland on another bridge and had a very relaxing ride northwads to Tallahassee. The road was almost straight and through quite dense wooded areas -- evergreens, cypress, palms, and palomettos. We met hundreds of trailer houses going South for the winter. We started to count them and they averaged one every 2 minutes or 30 every hour. Then for awhile they were 1 every minute. At lease there were a lot of them from a lot of different states. It would be a very nice place to spend the winter, I think.
On our way we stopped at Weeki Wachie, a beautiful clear spring that formed a large river. Here we saw a wonderful underwater show or water ballet. We also took the Jungle Cruise, which took us up this river for a few miles. We saw what a real jungle looks like and saw some of the animals native to this part of the country.
Friday, November 8, 1957
Awoke to overcast skies and a light drizzle of rain. Before we had gone far it began to rain good. In about an hour we crossed the central time zone and had to set our watches back an hour. Reached Pensacola about 11:30 a.m.. Took a guided tour of the Naval Air Base -- head of all Naval Air Bases in our country. Saw the four old forts that guarded the bay during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The first fort was built by the Spanish and still stands. The others were built by the Americans.
Pensacola was the first settlement on this continent. The Spaniards brought 1500 people and settled in 1561. In 2 years they were forced to abandon the settlement and return to Spain. One of them remarked as he left, “If you have the sands of Florida in your shoes you will return.” Later (6 years) one of the men did return and made a permanent settlment. The city has been under five flags -- Spanish, British, French, Confederate, and Amerian, and is known as the “City of Five Flags.” We went into one of the large buildings on the base and saw the laboratory where they teach the boys survival tactics or how to survive if crash landed in the desert, swamp, jungle, water, or Arctic conditions. It was all very interesting.
Traveled on to Mobile, Alabama. This is a large industrial city. The thing I especially liked was the long tree-lined streets. These huge old oaks stretched completely across the wide streets forming a complete arch. Each side of the streets was lined with huge old homes -- most of them well kept, and still very beautiful. Mobile is the home of the Bellingrath Gardens, which are beautiful the year around.
Traveled toward New Orleans, but darkness overtook us about half way between Biloxi and Gulfport -- we never could find the name of the place. It is just one continuous city anyway -- follows the edge of the Gulf in a Bay Shore Drive more swanky than the one in Chicago. The hotels and motels of this area are some of the swankiest we have seen yet.
Saturday, November 9, 1957
Drove into New Orleans and found a motel for the night. Left our car at a garage for a change of oil and grease job and took a bus into town. It had turned quite chilly so I bought a car coat. Dad bought a pair of trousers. Had lunch and then walked down canal street to the docks for the River Tour. This tour is on the Steamer President, a 3,000 passenger boat. The tour is 2 ½ hours and 30 miles long. Makes a double loop of the crescent around New Orleans. I can’t begin to mention all the interesting things we saw along the harbor front, but we brought home a book that has most of the information in it. The ship itself was five decks high. The bottom deck had the machinery and men’s smoking room. The 2nd bottom deck was a wonderful dance floor. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights they took a moonlight cruise and you coud dance as you toured (a good orchestra). The 3rd and 4th decks were observation and refreshment decks, and the top was observation. This tour ended at 5 p.m. and we made our way back to our motel to get cleaned up for a tour of the night life of the city.
Night Life Tour was disgusting. Out of the four night clubs visited there were only 2 acts or entertainers that showed the least bit of talent or artistic ability. We finally had to break down and buy a drink (lemonade) in one place and it was a dollar a glass. The only bright spot in the whole affair was after the tour they took us to this famous old coffe shop for coffee and Bangy (milk for us). Bangy is French for pig’s ears, and the doughnuts were shaped like pigs ears. They are served fresh and hot right out of the kettle. They serve their coffee half milk and half coffee, and you are supposed to dunk your bangy and eat. This is an old custom handed down from the first French settlers. Every one ends their night life at this place, no matter what the hour.
Sunday, November 10, 1957
Attended church in New Orleans. Some of the people there knew Ralph Thompson and Glen Heaton when they were there on their missions. They also knew Melvin Corry, who is in Alexandria now. They have a nice church on Canal Blvd.
Left after church and drove up through Louisiana. The country is a good share swamp lands. The part that is used is planted in sugar cane and cotton. They were picking cotton by hand. One man said he could pick between one and two hundred pounds a day and he was paid $3 per hundred pounds. His 11 and 13 year old boys could pick 1 to 1 ½ pounds per day. In the summer they hoed the cotton by the acre.
The cane they cut by hand with large knives. They trim the stalks and lay them in piles which are gathered in huge trucks and taken to the sugar factories or the cane syrup or molasses factories. Stayed in Shreveport, LA.
Monday, November 11, 1957
Really started for home today. Came up through Louisiana to Texarcana on the border of Arkansa and Texas, then up to Oklahoma City, capitol of Oklahoma (big oil center) and over to Clinton to stay the night. The only new thing we learned was that Louisiana was the only state in the Union that has Parrishes instead of counties.
Tueday, November 12, 1957
Drove to Gallup (605 miles) today. Foggy or rainy most of the way. Home tomorrow, November 13th.
The odometer read 31,564 when they left Cedar. When they arrived home it read 41, 285.