Letters dated: July 22, 1919 / July 27, 1919 / August 5, 1919
Newark, N.J., July 19, 1919
Hello Mr. Messenger:
My wife and I fitted up our Maxwell with a portable garage side (an unreadable line) camping outfit.
We left home June the 27th, started north, crossed the river at Metropolis and drove through Vienna, Marion, Benton and stayed over night with a friend, Those Scopes at Salem. We found fine wheat in the first county, but corn was in a bad way, and then we found a flat wet country, most all hay and pasture with no stock on it, but from Salem to St. Louis we found pretty fair country and good road over the Lincoln highway. From St. Louis we went to Collinsville and from there to Springfield, took in the capitol, museum, art galleries and parks; from there to Bloomington; fine dirt highways and the fine farming country and the best corn and wheat we ever saw. This is what they call the "corn belt" and every business (unreadable line)down to the cafe are named "corn belt." This is also a dairy country and you will find milk stations every mile or two for 200 miles. There is no land in these counties that can be bought for less than $400 to $500 per acre. From Bloomington we proceeded to Joliet and from there to Chicago where we visited our niece, Mrs McKinney, and with her and two other lady friends we drove 150 miles over the boulevards in seeing the parks, gardens, art galleries, museums, zoos and other important sights. From Chicago we followed the Sheridan railroad along the west bank of Lake Michigan to the Great Lakes Training Camp and met our neighbor boy, Delbert Webb of Pottsville. From there we continued north to Racine, Wis., a great manufacturing town and on to Milwaukee, a great beer town gone dry. We took the St. Pere Marquette 100 miles to Ludington, Mich. This part of Michigan is a fruit country mostly cherries and berries; from there we followed Lake Michigan on to Muskegon through a sandy desert of bad roads, had to pull on second and low gear for many miles, but from here east to Grand Rapids ?? bustling town, but is so hilly that it takes good brakes to hold your car.
From there we went to Lansing the state capitol and was received with great hospitality and was entertained for several hours by special guide through state buildings, museums and art galleries. From Lansing we proceeded to Detroit, the great auto town, We took in the Ford plant, saw them make two cars per minute and they told us they were still 150,000 behind. We also visited Bell Isle park and many other sights of note and made a trip over the water to Winsor in Canada. We took supper with a kinsman, Mrs. Monaghan; from Detroit we drove on over as fine a road as we ever saw, 65 miles to Toledo. They said it had been driven in one hour and fifteen minutes, but we were longer than that. Toledo is a great big old town, full of business, but showed no improvement in the way of new buildings. We stayed over night with our cousin J. E. Nance a secret service man and were treated royally. We spent Sunday on the Lake Drives, parks and fine Beaches. From Toledo we drove down to Cleveland, took in the most important sights and took the steamer Seeand bee 200 miles over Lake Erie to Buffalo, N. Y. this was the finest ship on the Great Lakes, made 22 miles per hour and was a fine trip. Buffalo is an interesting old city but did show much progress. From Buffalo we drove 25 miles to Niagara Falls and saw it from many view points. This was the most magnificent scene of nature that we had ever witnessed. From the Falls we drove down the Niagara river to Lewiston, N. Y. and up to old revolutionary Fort Niagara. We drove through a hole just big enough for a car to get through. From there we drove 375 miles east to Albany via Rochester, Syracuse and many other towns of interest over what they called the "million dollar boulevard." This was different from any drive we had made and was very interesting; on the north was a great valley of fine farm lands that grew everything in great abundance, but was mostly set with fruits, the variety of crops as far as the eye could see made it look like a great quilt of crazy patchwork, only most of the patches were square. On the south was a great table land, but we could not tell what was on it. All the houses seemed to be on the road and were fairly good but were old timey. Square 11/2 stories and many with no front porches. Not a single new house on this stretch of 375 ? miles.
We reached Albany all right, but did not like it. It was so steep and rocky and crooked that it was dangerous to drive. We also took in the capitol and museum, but we did not find much hospitality and they charged us 50c for a guide. Here we turned on down the Hudson river 100 ? miles to New York city over the old Albany post road, said to be the best, most scenic and historical highway in America. The way it winds and twists and turns around and (unreadable line) -fect wonder. It also leads by the millionaire homes of the Vanderbilts, Rogers, Astors and Rockefellers - William on one side and John D, on the other. Also leads through Tarrytown, the home of John D. ?? homes were enclosed by great stone walls, steel fences and great steel gates, 12 to 15 feet high, locked and the words, Positively No Admittance.
These homes lay between the highway and the river front, which are about half a mile apart and parallel. The whole thing consists of parks, lower gardens and everything beautiful. We entered New York from the north on Broadway; drove round about for thirty miles until the traffic became so congested that it was dangerous, so we crossed the Hudson river into Newark, N.J. Went out Central avenue fifteen miles and ???lot??ing we took the surface line to the tube, went under the Hudson river and came to the surface twenty miles out in the city of New York. Walked two blocks to the Woolworth building. This is 792 feet and 1 inch high - tallest building in the world. We took the elevator to the fifty-sixth floor and then another to the observatory on the top and there viewed the city at a cost of 60 cents each. All kinds of souvenirs, refreshments and soda fountain. We came down and took "rapid transit" motor bus of which there are 500. Drove over all upper New York along the avenue. Saw all the fine parks and millionaire homes and a thousand other things of interest. Then caught the sight-seeing tourist car and saw lower New York - Wall Street, Chinatown, the slums, and a great list of other things we cannot mention. This completed our tour so far and tonight we start for home through Trenton, Philadelphia and other important cities. Our speedometer reads 2,176, we made 300 by water and 125 by surface, subways and elevated making 2,601 miles. We have bought an even 100 gallons of gas, making 21.76 miles per gallon. Have had no car trouble except a few punctures, have made no adjustments, not even a spark plug. Good roads is the order of the day. We have been on most all of the national highways and the gaps are being closed up at rapid rate. If you want good roads, go north or east. I am for good roads with a big G. All well and feeling fine. Will see you in about ten days if nothing breaks.
Yours truly,
Information taken from the Mayfield Messenger Newspaper, Mayfield, Kentucky and kindly provided by Wayne Youngblood. Transcribed by Nancy Greer: e-mail: ngreer@wk.net