MOTEL hopping: BACK ON THE ROAD

I'd like to say I got stuck in Van Horn, Texas, which would be the reason I haven't posted here for weeks. Alas, my traveling was cut short by the inter-tubes. Bandwidth had me sitting in one place for far too long. I have explored every corner of Van Horn, Texas and I'm now back on the road...providing I don't have any more flats along the inter-tubes.




Click on images to see them larger.

You know you're old when you look at the postage date on an old post card and think, "Oh, 1972. That wasn't very long ago." Then you realize the card is older than a lot of people you know. Sigh...sneer...resignation.

Running away IN CALIFORNIA with HEULL HOWSER

California is a little less golden this week because of the death of Heull Howser. His name won’t mean anything to those outside our state, but for Californians who love this state he’s the guy who showed us why our state is so spectacular. 

Heull took us to places we’d already been and made them new again. He took us to places we’ll never go to and made us sorry that we’ll miss them. And he took us to places we then traveled to and made us feel like we were walking in his shoes, discovering the place for the first time with his voice in our ear saying, “Oh my gosh! Isn’t that amazing?” even if it was just a view of a river canyon or an old house. Just last fall I finally visited the Fern Canyon in Humboldt County because of the show he did about it.

I had been thinking of sending him a letter about the photo I purchased of the camel in the cavalry. I could imagine him doing a show from the little museum in San Pedro near where the photo was taken and then traveling to Benecia to see the camel barn where the camels were housed before being sold. I can hear his voice getting excited just by the idea of the history of the camels.

I’m saddened by his passing. He was one of those people who was genuinely excited by the little things in life. He had a smile that brightened the entire sky over the state. It really is very sad that he’s gone.

For those people outside California who choose to stick with their one dimensional view of the state I recommend you take a look at the archive Howser has left of the people and places in this state that prove how wonderfully interesting and diverse it is.

Huell Howser Productions

Time to RUN AWAY FROM HOME: Part 3

Choice number 3 in our Run Away Adventure!

So far we've tried plane and ship. If those didn't strike your fancy, how about the train; specifically the Sunset Limited on the old Southern Pacific Line?

I rode the line several times, but it was always at night so I saw very little. Only once did I have a private room which was quite nice, though amazingly small. It was sufficient for me with a convertible couch, toilet, and sink. I was sick at the time, so I really didn't get to take advantage of much of anything.

Now, sadly, there was no real dining car when I rode the train. It was a snack car with a microwave. I sat up for hours one night eating microwave popcorn and talking to a friend while others sat at a nearby table playing cards. Elegant dining with great service it was not. But then, we're going back in time so the heck with how it is today.

(SOURCE: National Geographic, November, 1954)

What I really love about this ad are the illustrations; wonderful 1950s modern.

Click on any image to see it larger.

Sadly, as in yesterday's vintage ad, people of color were always relegated to service positions, never as patrons. Jarring to the eye now, it's actually good these ads exist to remind people of our history. Though the railroads offered good jobs for African-Americans, it's heartbreaking to think that they were relegated to only certain positions. People today need to remember how far we've come and how, without vigilance, we could slip back to the old days.

And now, how about taking the train even farther back in time. I give you 1937.

Time to RUN AWAY FROM HOME: Part 2

Choice number 2 in our Run Away Adventure!

Perhaps air travel is not for you. You find airports and flying tedious and unpleasant. How about a ship? With a ship once you set food on board you are where you're going to be. You know where you'll sleep, eat, and party for the entire vacation. The excursions off the ship are just the bonus. The getting from point A to B is the trip.

Let's step back in time once again to November 1954 thanks to National Geographic. A cruise of the Pacific awaits you aboard a ship in the American President Lines. Not one of those hideous behemoths that set sail today, but a real cruise ship with style. Today's ships look like ugly cheap consumer items where more more more is the mantra. In the old days it was less less and just enough.


(SOURCE: National Geographic, November, 1954)

Now, there is one drawback to cruising in 1954 which might make this not right for you. You can't wear flip-flops to the dinner service. Obnoxious behavior is frowned upon, not celebrated. You had better pack some boring clothes that aren't particularly comfortable. And learn to love martinis.

If you're female don't expect men to be willing to carry on lengthy conversations with you about politics, finance, or anything else they deem outside your purview.

And when you see a guy wearing an eye patch on the high seas...don't ask him where his parrot is.

Click here to see two vintage American President Line post cards.

Time to RUNAWAY FROM HOME: Part 1

I don't know about you, but I think it's time to run away from home. I mean, really pack a bag and get out of Dodge!

Oh sure, the only time I ran away I got no further than outside the front door. My mother took my threat as a challenge and said, "Okay!" as she grabbed a paper bag. She told me to put seven days of underwear in the bag and I could take one doll. I was stunned. Who runs away and takes underwear? Plus, I had a lot of dolls, my favorite being Rosie who I'd had since I was around four. She told me I couldn't take Rosie so I had to choose second best. I have no idea which doll I chose, but I do know they did not have a change of underwear.

I was determined to leave with the idea of heading to Ala Moana Shopping Center, which in my mind seemed like a great place to take up residence. I grabbed my bag and stomped down the stairs to the front door. My mom and dad said, "Goodbye!" then shoved me out the door and shut it behind me. Reality quickly set in as I stood there crying before going around the house and coming in the back door. I never ran away again; not that I didn't think about it a lot.

So grab a paper or plastic bag, your choice, and stuff in seven days of underwear unless you go commando. I will now offer some time traveling travel adventures. It's up to you to choose. Just know, once you're out the front door and on one of these trips there's no back door to sneak in.


Click on image to see it larger. (SOURCE: National Geographic, November, 1954)

I should probably warn you that some people in the past dressed like dorks. There's just no other way to put it. Families wore matching outfits. My family wore matching shirts so I remember all of this very well. And if you ever visit Awkward Family Photos you know that in some sections of society this is still an uncured disease. But hey, if a dorky outfit puts a "bounce in your step" why not?

Oh, and if you do find a travel agent willing to book you a flight on TWA...better make sure they don't look like Rod Serling. If you don't know who Rod Serling is you're definitely not up for one of these adventures, underwear or no underwear.

Getting stuck at a STUCKEY'S

A few days ago I received a comment about an old post I did about Travel Lodge motels. The commenter made mention of Stuckey's. When I saw this ad I knew I needed to post it for her. 

Stuckey's, for me, will always mean pralines. Not the best pralines, but worth the stop.

Let's hear it for the old days of driving across the country: odd motels, privately owned gas stations, and coffee shops that were always a crap shoot, so to speak.

(SOURCE: Sunset, July 1969)

LET'S GO FIRST CLASS across America: Part 8 - Plus a BONUS!

Here's the second oldest card I collected as a child. The Northern Motel in Indiana. Alas, it seems to be gone having been replaced by a Days Inn. No sense getting an image from today; we all know what it's going to look like.

Click on either image to see it larger.

This little motel looks like so many I remember. There was a sameness to a lot of these places, but they were more personal since a family ran it and not a corporation. You didn't expect to find cookie cutter sameness across the country. Now you can go to Days Inn in every state and eat at a Denny's and feel like you never left home. For some that makes travel seem secure. The food and lodging each night is the same and they don't even need to watch local tv channels because we're all hooked into the same networks.

You really have to spend some extra time looking for what once was America. The question is are people willing to spend the time doing that? I think a handful of us still are.
__________

UPDATE: It's time to head out to find AMERICA

Last year I did a post about the card below. Today I heard from a relative who is the grandchild of the man who built this station.

The emails reads:

The (this) Log Cabin Service Station was built in 1925 by my grandfather, Charles G. Lindquist.



This article gives some history about it. The 'Jim Knapp' in the article is my father.

And here is the article they referenced from the April 21, 2007 Fergus Falls Journal:

Fergus Falls retiree Jim Knapp’s grandfather, C.G. (Charles) Lindquist, came to Fergus Falls in 1925 from Fairmont, N.D., and built the Log Cabin gasoline station on the southwest corner of Lincoln and Vine, where Century 21 now stands.

Even though the Log Cabin has been gone since the mid-1960s, its memory lives on — through ceramic replicas. One is owned by Knapp and his wife, Janet.

“It’s a prized possession,” Janet said, “especially in light of the historical ties of the Log Cabin to Jim’s family.”

Jim’s cousin, Joe Forbes of Bemidji, also has a ceramic Log Cabin. Another Log Cabin ceramic replica, part of the House in Snow Village collection produced by Department 56 of Minneapolis — just like the one owned by the Knapps — is treasured by Obert and Mary Houg of Fergus Falls.

“Our daughter Sally saw the replica in Fargo and bought one for Obert as a Christmas gift in 1999,” Mary said. “Sally and our other daughter, Jill, remember eating at the Log Cabin lunchroom with Obert and me back in the 1960s, after some of Obert’s softball games.”

The lunchroom was added to the Log Cabin several years after the original construction in 1925. A long counter for customers faced Lincoln Avenue, to the north, and a second counter faced eastward, toward what’s now Service Food.

C.G. (Charles) Lindquist operated an oil business in Fairmont prior to moving to Fergus Falls and running the Log Cabin starting in the mid-1920s. Before that he was in the shipping business at Big Stone Lake and Lake Traverse. He began his business career as an elevator operator at Diamond, S.D., a town that no longer exists.

The Log Cabin survived a serious fire in 1930, only five years after it was built. The pumps and tanks were not damaged, so gasoline and oil service went on uninterrupted. But much of the wood was damaged and had to be replaced.

The father of Charles Lindquist — Jim Knapp’s great-grandfather John Lindquist — fought in the Civil War with the Minnesota One fighting unit. His final resting place is at Ortonville where veterans pay homage at his gravesite each Memorial Day.

Charles Lindquist sold the Log Cabin station in 1946, after 21 years of ownership.

John Schrom ran the Log Cabin gas station and lunchroom in the 1950s and early 1960s. Eventually the station made way for the Western Station, one of the early convenience stores in Fergus Falls, established in the late 1960s.

The Log Cabin lunchroom later was moved to Wendell and is now part of the Wendell Cafe owned by Diane and Rick Branson.

Today the renovated Holiday Station on South Union Avenue in Fergus Falls reminds many old-timers of the Log Cabin that once stood at the southwest corner of Lincoln and Vine.

“It’s fun to remember the former eating establishments and other businesses from bygone years in downtown Fergus Falls,” Houg said. “And It’s nice to know that we have family and historical ties to the Log Cabin through the Knapp family.” (SOURCE: Fergus Falls Journal)

Once again a little piece of paper ends up telling a story.

Thank you to the family of Mr. Lindquist for providing this information. I really appreciate it.

LET'S GO FIRST CLASS across America: Part 7

I think it's pretty obvious we've now moved away from first class travel. This is not The Broadmoor.

Click on image to see it larger.

Welcome to the Town House Motor Lodge, circa late 1950s. This is a place I stayed as a child. I don't know which year, but this is the very first post card I ever saved. Strangely, of all the times I took post cards from motel desks I actually now have very few. I don't know what happened to them. It's possible that anything from the 1950s got thrown away when my family moved to Hawaii or simply, along with a lot of other stuff, never came out of storage.

Click on image to see it larger.

Doing a quick search of the Town House Motor Lodge, I find that it still exists at the same address. Alas, it no longer has the charm it once had. It is drab looking with a hideous sign. The old sign was wonderful with the flashing arrow pointing to what awaited you. Times have been hard for the Town House.

Google Street View

You can see from the post card that at the time a selling point was a telephone and tv in every room. That was a big selling point back then because you still ran into a lot of places without tv. Telephones were getting pretty common. Nice old black heavy dial phones with a rumpled yellow pages on a shelf or in a drawer.

These days, according to the online Yellow Pages, the Town House offers:

Free Internet

Cable Television

Refrigerators

Weekly Rates

Aging takes a toll on all of us and if you don't change you don't survive.

Tomorrow: another oldie

Travel isn't what it used to be, AND MAYBE THAT'S GOOD

I like to travel light. I no longer check any baggage. If it won't fit under my seat I don't take it. I went down the road decades ago with a huge suitcase, dragging it all over Britain. A big blue Samsonite. Of course at each hotel I'd ask for the cheapest room, which was always in the nosebleed section, so I'd have to pry this huge heavy thing out of my tiny little car trunk and bash the heck out of the walls as I wound my way up the stairs to the tower. Each morning I'd think of just putting the case flat at the top of the stairs and going for a ride through the place. I mean, I'm an American. They were all expecting the worst from me. Alas, I never did it. Thought about it a lot.

By the time I made it back to London I had acquired so much stuff that I couldn't get it in my suitcase. Now mind you what I'd bought were books, books, and more books. Oh, and dolls at Hamley's in London. I had to spend time shopping for a suitcase to fit everything in. So I headed on over to Marks and Sparks on the Kensington High Street and bought a sort of blue zipper duffle bag. I went for the blue because I wanted the people at the airport to think it was a matched set. I'm kidding. I packed all of my clothes in the duffle bag and put the books and dolls in the heavy duty Samsonite. Oh, and I think I paid about 50p for a lock for the duffle. This lock was so small that the key was bigger than the lock. I knew it wasn't going to deter anyone, but I hoped the baggage people would laugh so hard that they'd just leave my stuff alone out of sympathy. It worked.

When the cab driver arrived at my hotel off Church Street in Kensington he leapt out of the car and headed right for the Samsonite. I just stood there watching, not giving him any warning.

"Crickey! What have you got in here? Books?"

"Uhhhh, yeah."

I imagine within a week he was wearing a truss after lifting my stuff.

When I got to Heathrow I carried the Samsonite, shifting from hand-to-hand. I kicked the Marks and Sparks across the terminal in front of me. I was thrilled to hand all of it over to Pan Am. And when I got to San Francisco I was back to hauling and kicking. Very last time I went anywhere without going carry-on only.

Now, I'm trying to imagine myself being dignified traveling. Packing something like what's shown below. Oh my, I could get a lot of stuff in that! Drawers for books!!


Ad from 1949 Holiday magazine.

Okay, actually whenever I see these sort of trunks I think of the I Love Lucy episode where she thinks she can hide in a trunk for a trip to Europe with Ricky because she's having trouble getting a passport. Don't remember the episode? Here's a recap found online. Sorry, no video available online.

Lucy tells Ethel all about the schedule for the European tour. She also mentions that her mother in going to stay with Little Ricky while they are gone. Currently Mrs. Mcgillicuddy is taking an auto trip through New England but is going to be in New York the day before they leave. Fred brings up his old vaudeville truck so that Ricky can pack the band uniforms in it. Ricky comes home with the boat tickets and reminds everyone to get their passports. Lucy gets a phone call from the Jamestown Hall of Records saying that they can't find her birth certificate. Ricky suggests calling her mother but Lucy starts crying because she knows that her mother can't be reached.

To get her passport Lucy needs to find two older friends who knew when she was born. She calls the Jamestown Hall of Records in hopes of finding someone that she knew. She also calls the doctor of delivered her and tries to locate an old babysitter.

When Lucy does meet with Helen Kaiser, her old babysitter she runs into a snag. Helen's husband Sydney, a lawyer insists on looking over the paperwork Helen needs to fill out. It ends up that Helen has been lying to her husband about her age and even goes as far as to say that Lucy was her babysitter when she was little. Lucy leaves in a huff still needing another signature.

Desperate for any way to go to Europe Lucy decides to try and stowaway in Fred's trunk. She fits perfectly with the door open. She then suggests that Ethel close the trunk. But when Lucy starts to panic Ethel can't open the trunk because Lucy has the keys in her pocket and she can't move her arm to get it out. Ethel goes looking for Fred to try and get her out. Ricky comes home unexpectedly with Marco, the piano player. Ricky uses the trunk as a drum not knowing that Lucy is inside. Ethel comes running back after they leave mentioning that she can't find Fred.

Dr. Peterson, the man who delivered Lucy comes over to sign the paper. He thinks that Ethel is Lucy. Lucy does everything that she can think of to prove to Dr. Peterson that she really is Lucille McGillicuddy. Together they sing "Skip to my Lou" because Dr. Peterson taught it to her. Ricky comes home to see Dr. Peterson, a man he doesn't know dancing in his family room and a hears a voice coming out of the trunk. Fred brings a crowbar and with Ricky's help open the trunk. Dr. Peterson mentions that Lucy wasn't born in Jamestown, she was born in West Jamestown. A telelgram arrives from Lucy's mother and enclosed is her birth certificate. (SOURCE: tv.com  ) 

And the copy too small to read in my lousy scan follows:

The Turntable Wardrobe Trunk, exclusive with Hartmann, pivots on its own ball-bearing turntable for double convenience...one side a host of drawers, the other a spacious "closet." 16 hanger size $582. Shown also, the Harmann Skymate Mayfair women's wardrobe case (with hangers ) $150, and the Train Case (for cosmetics) $117. All beautifully matched in rawhide. Other models from $30. Prices include Federal tax.

Yeah, with a set like this I would have looked classy. And actually I wouldn't have needed to ask for the cheapest room. I could have just pulled over to the side of the road each night and slept in the upright trunk with a "Do Not Disturb" sign stuck on the lock. Would have cost me around 20 bucks a night. Yeah, I'm startin' to want to do a little travelin' again.


An aside about Blogger: I hate the changes Blogger has made. It's all reminding me a bit too much of some of the nonsense Microsoft does where they make assumptions that you've made mistakes and choose to do things as they want, not as you want. If I hit paragraph return, that's what I want. Do not think for me Blogger. You're just ticking me off.


And I'm still in internet access limbo, thus the reason there are few posts. It's taking a lot longer to get things taken care of than I'd thought.