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Discover Mid-America — April 2004
Driving to California — in 1935
My mother saved everything. A music teacher and Chautauqua performer, her old letters, newspaper clippings, concert programs and hundreds of other ephemera were collected and preserved in boxes when she died in 1983. Recently I came upon an item that caught my eye: a “Conoco Passport,” a pocket-size expense book offered to motorists in the 1930s. On the cover was written in longhand: “1935 California Trip.”
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| The 1935 Chevy, in Big Bear Lake, Montana. Charles Forrester, my grandfather, is seated at the wheel in this photo, taken by my mother. |
My parents lived on a farm in northeast Missouri. For a time, my mother’s parents lived with them in the large farmhouse. Like many farmers, when the crops were either “laid by” in the summer or harvested in the fall, they would take a car trip. My dad raised beef cattle, which required little or no attention while he was away.
They had recently traded their Ford Model A coupe for a 1935 Chevy. My parents considered it their first “large car.” There was ample room for my parents, my mother’s parents and enough luggage for a three-week trip. When they left for California on Oct. 1, 1935, the Chevy’s odometer read 961 miles.
| The Conoco “Passport,” an expense book my mother used to itemize every penny spent on the trip. Below: Speed laws and gas taxes have changed considerably since 1935. |
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Their destination was the California Pacific Exposition in San Diego, which had opened in May. The Exposition was well-publicized and by the end of the year would attract more than four and three-quarter million visitors.
My parents chose the “northern route” across southern Iowa. Mother noted they got gas in Centerville — 9 gallons for $1.60. They drove west on Hwy. 2 and crossed the Missouri River into Nebraska at Nebraska City, paying a 65-cent bridge toll. Their first night was spent at a “Log Cabin Camp” in Grand Island — at a cost of $2. Their supper that evening cost 75 cents each.
They left the next morning at 6:30 a.m. and continued across Nebraska, spending the second night at Douglas, Wyoming, just outside of Casper. Overnight accommodations at “Lilly Camp” cost $2. Then it was on to Billings, Montana, where my dad visited a sister before driving into Yellowstone Park on Oct. 6. From there they drove through Idaho over a route that is now Interstate 80, and into Oregon, noting overnight stays at camps in Boise and Hood River.
From Portland they traveled south on Route 101 along the Pacific coast, stopping in the Redwood National Park to see the General Custer Tree. Mother noted the cost was 25 cents.
After a stop in Oakland on Oct. 11 to visit another of my dad’s sisters, they continued south, through Fresno and Bakersfield, noting grocery purchases and lunches (all under $1) and a visit to the Griffith Plantation in Hollywood on Oct. 15 (cost: 50 cents).
They arrived in San Diego on Oct. 16 and splurged on an overnight stay at the Tea Garden Auto Court for $6. Four tickets to the Exposition cost $2. Mother noted an extra expense of 25 cents to see “logrolling” and another 55 cents for lunch.
There was a side trip to Tijuana, Mexico, then back to San Diego for a movie (!) at $1 (probably for two tickets) and another upscale overnight at the Park Hotel for $3.
The second half of the trip wasn’t itemized, as Mother apparently ran out of room in the expense book. But upon their return Oct. 24, she summarized their trip. They had driven 6603 miles and burned 343 gallons of gas and 27 quarts of oil. Gas cost $61.23 and oil cost $7.55. Amazingly, there was no tire expense. They had spent $4.15 on grease to lubricate the Chevy and another $1.95 on “bridge and ferry.” Lodging had cost $36.04 and food amounted to $24.30. Mother noted “trips and amusements” set them back $8; souvenirs were $7.18. Another $14 was spent on a Navajo rug. A final expense item, “shaves and haircuts,” totaled $1.
The 24-day trip cost a total of $165.
Discover Mid-America founder and Senior Contributing Editor Ken Weyand files regular reports on notable Midwest destinations. He can be reached at kweyand@gbronline.com.
> Traveling with Ken Archive — past columns
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