Reclaimed Memories

n the front of Troy's little appointment book for the year of 1963 is a prayer he wrote and used as part of the devotional for a P.T.A. meeting at Orange Ridge School, where I was teaching. I was responsible for this part of the meeting and if I could not secure a minister I had to give the devotions myself, so I pressed Troy into service at times. Troy almost never wrote out a prayer or a sermon, except for publication, and I want to preserve this one.

"Our Father, we ask thy divine blessing, not alone on this single hour, but upon the training of every mind and heart that shall cross the threshold of this school. We pray that, until its walls crumble to dust and its halls be silent forever, that it be guided by such dedicated leaders and teachers and by such earnest effort by each student to learn as will bend the minds of our youth toward the right. Turn away, oh God of this nation and the world, the false concepts which bring warped minds that have their fruit in violence and death. Visit this place, oh, God of Peace, with the guiding spirit of the Prince of Peace who said, My word is truth."

Again Troy's appointment book does not have much out of the ordinary to record until vacation time. Instead of spending that time at the Glen we decided on a western trip which began June 24 and lasted until July 26th. I will depend more on my "1963 Western Trip Book" for highlights. I wish I had used a more expensive scrapbook, for this one is getting dilapidated. But we have almost been able to relive our trips when we read one of my Trip Books from beginning to end. Each time we traveled I took extensive notes and transcribed them almost word for word when I made the books.

When we planned for the trip we intended to drive the Volkswagen. We changed our plans when Mrs. Alda Cloyd asked if we would be willing to take along a paying passenger. She was a good friend and wanted so much to go. We felt we could not refuse her. What she gave us more than paid for the car expense and she was responsible for her own meals and motel costs. She was seventy-three years old at this time. I had traveled with her from Bradenton to Akron in 1960 and knew she would be a capable driver, if needed.

Troy and I decided that on such a long trip the small 'bug' would not be comfortable for three, so Troy traded his '57 Chevy on a Chevrolet II, which I later took and Troy took my little "bug." We starred at 4:00 a.m. on the 24th, with me as the driver. I did not relinquish the wheel to Troy until I had covered all but about one hundred of the day's 698 miles. After that the driving was divided almost equally between the two of us. We felt we never needed help from Alda. We stopped for the night at the Travel Lodge in High Point, N. Carolina.

We drove to Akron the next day, picked up Elma and drove to Rockford, Illinois, where we spent the night of the 27th. The next day we drove to Airdale, Iowa, where we attended the wedding of our nephew, Adriel (Sonny) Thrash and Avis Bochmann. It was a beautiful wedding and they were a handsome couple.

On the way to Iowa we toured the U. S. Grant home in Galena, Illinois. Sonny and Avis were married at 7:30 in the evening. Ted and Blossom were staying in Hampton, Iowa, so we went to the same motel. Elma returned with them to Akron and we went on our way west the next morning.

We stopped for a one night's visit with a seminary friend Ralph Miller, and his wife, Mary. They lived on a farm near Champion, Nebraska. They cannot depend on rainfall for their crops and the irrigation systems were quite interesting to us. If I remember correctly there were very long water pipes with many perforations that traveled on high wheels back and forth across the fields. Ralph jokingly remarked that people would sometimes ask if it ever rained in Nebraska and he would answer, "Some years it does and some years it doesn't."

We spent the night of June 30th in the Lariat Motel in Fort Collins, Colorado. We had traveled about ten miles when Alda discovered that she had left some of her possessions, including her camera, in the motel. We drove back and found them in the closet.

Colorado is such a scenic state. We kept wishing our family could be with as. Every mile through Big Thompson Canyon between Loveland and Estes Park is beautiful. We stopped at a little country store near a dam in a river. On the front of the store in very large letters it read "DAM STORE" and in small letters below that it said "And Cabins." We went into the store to buy something and the owner handed us a little card. On the back of the card were these statements: "God made earth and rested--God made man and rested-Then God made woman! Since then no one has rested!"

Alda took our pictures behind the Continental Divide sign at Milner Pass, elevation 10,759 feet. The highway was Trail Ridge Road which brought us to Colorado Springs and the Pike's Peak area. There is just so much to see around this section of the state that it would be impossible to adequately describe it. We drove to the top of Pike's Peak and were stopped about halfway down be a trooper checking brakes. Along with almost everyone else we had to stop long enough for our brakes to cool off.

We spent two days in the Colorado area on this trip and wished we could have two weeks to enjoy the scenery. Some of the well known attractions are: Garden of the Gods, Seven Falls, Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison River.

We were fascinated with the small town of Ouray. It is in a beautiful little valley surrounded on all sides by high mountains. It is called the "Little Switzerland of America." There is a beautiful waterfall in a cave. (This we did not see until our '71 trip.) We ate in a restaurant in this little town and were surprised that there were no screens at either the doors or the windows. When we inquired about that we were told that the area was too high for flies and insects.

Between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado, we traveled The Million Dollar Highway. There are two explanations for the name; one that each mile of construction cost one million dollars and the other that each mile of the highway covered one million dollars worth of gold and other minerals.

 

We stopped to read a recently placed marker. It read:

"This marker in memory of Rev. Melvin Hudson* - His daughters, Amelia and Pauline, were swept to their deaths 1000 feet north of this marker in the East Riverside Slide, Sunday, March 3, 1963, while answering the call of Christian duty of his pastorate in Silverton, Colorado.

In Honor

Of the many friends and neighbors who risked their
lives to save them and to rescue their bodies.

A Symbol

of the Christian faith that unites men in
Christian love in times like these."

This shocking accident was caused by a huge snow slide. One little girl's body was not found until warm weather had melted the snow. I copied the marker exactly, and in the arrangement, as it was given, but the marker is not real clear that Rev. Hudson perished also, but he did.

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* Correction - Rev. "Marvin" Hudson. (Source: The Legend - News Vol. 5, No. 5 - Monday, March 4, 2002. http://www.techren.net/mccall/legend-news/2002/20020304.shtml ) The article states that he had stopped to put on his tire chains. There is even a song titled "Riverside Slide")

There are so many things to see on an extended western trip. I would never finish with this account if I tried to tell about all the sights that thrilled and helped to educate us, but I do want to mention some of them. I have been very fortunate in being able to have several trips out west, so have seen many outstanding attractions more than once.

Mesa Verde National Park is very interesting. The Cliff Dwellers lived here 1500 years ago and their dwellings, carved out of the cliffs, are fascinating. The thing that I remember best about the museum of their relics was the mummified form of a woman, whom they had named "Ester, the Maiden of Mesa Verde." The next time I was there she was missing. We were told that the Indians demanded that she be removed from public view, because it was a desecration of their religion. I heard later that she had been put back on display.

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She is no longer on display and any very little can be found on the web. RmB

From Mesa Verde we traveled through Monument Valley. I had hoped that we could do this in 1948, but it was inaccessible except by horseback at that time. We bought the petrified oyster and walnut shells at a trading post in the valley.

Other attractions that we enjoyed so much were: Goosenecks of the San Juan River and Bryce Canyon in Utah; Grand Canyon and Sunset Crater in Arizona and many other attractions in these two states.

We stopped for a visit with Troy's Aunt Loula and Uncle Phil in Youngtown, near Phoenix, also with Bob and Yvonne Weese who were members of our church in Elkins, W. Va. during our pastorate there. As we approached Riverside, California, we saw a very unusual sunset. The mountains against the skyline were a beautiful, egg-shell blue. We thought at the time that the lovely coloring was probably caused by pollution and now we know that it almost certainly was.

It was fun to visit the "Old Mission, San Juan Capistrano," because we had read and heard so often about the swallows that return there on the same date each year.

 

We stayed two nights with Jessie Griffith in her retirement home in Carlsbad, California. Ed, her husband, who was a classmate of ours in the Seminary, had been dead a number of years. She had two of her best lady friends in for a dinner and to meet us. When Troy and I visited her in 1945 the two youngest children were still home. The Griffiths were two of our closest friends during those Seminary days, although several years our seniors in age.

The day we were with Jessie she went with us to Tijuana, Mexico. I enjoyed this little side trip so much. We were told that the Mexicans would not respect us if we bought anything without first bargaining for it. By this method I picked up several items. Troy and Jessie just "did not have what it takes to bargain!" When we were leaving one shop the clerk followed me to the door and said, "You come back! We like you!"

We had a wonderful visit of two days with Troy's uncle, Bill Knaggs, and his wife, Katie, in Barstow, California. They took us touring to Bear Lake and Santa Claus Land. We also toured a pottery factory where every piece is thrown on a potter's wheel and no two pieces are ever exactly alike. All pieces are made from the surrounding desert sands. Aunt Katie bought me a lovely colored vase which I probably will mark to go to one of the grandsons. It is a collector's item.

We went from Barstow directly to South San Francisco for a visit with Ruth. Harry was still working so Ruth directed us on a sightseeing trip. Mrs. Cloyd always went to a motel when we were visiting friends or relatives, so we never stayed long at any place. We just had the one tight with Ruth on this trip.

We had a hurried trip through Yosemite National Park, then took the Tioga Pass Road out of the park. Here the snow was still three feet deep except for the cleared road. This was on July 13, 1963.

Alda was ill when we got to Carson City, Nevada. She went to bed before dark and Troy and I took a fifty mile sight-seeing trip to Lake Tahoe. There were a lot of gambling establishments here, especially on the Nevada side of the California-Nevada line.

We stood on the shore of Great Salt Lake in Utah and watched people in the water. It was impossible for them to sink. It is estimated that it contains enough salt to fill five freight trains long enough to reach to the moon. I loved the trip out into the White Sands State Park. Those beautiful hundreds of acres of almost snow white sand was dotted with colorful picnic covered tables and benches, constructed to give the appearance of sailboats.

In Afton, Wyoming, we drove under an archway high across the wide roadway, constructed entirely of elk horns. We enjoyed the majesty of the Grand Teton National Park and stopped for a short time at the little log "Chapel of Transfiguration," near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was constructed for the use of tourists.

On to spectacular Yellowstone National Park, with its paint pots, boiling springs and geysers. There is nothing like it in the entire world. There were bears roaming around everywhere and very excited tourists holding up traffic in order to take pictures.

One little fellow was so cute! He had tried to climb over a log and his front feet were hanging in the air on one side and his back feet on the other. He was crying for his mother's help, but managed to get across before she reached him. Old Faithful put on a wonderful demonstration for our enjoyment. We were told that she was not always that spectacular, although always faithful to her public.

We loved Glacier National Park with its high mountains and the “Going To THe Sun Highway" which we traveled to the end. Montana is very rugged, but majestic. We drove into British Columbia and visited Canada's national parks; Jasper, Banff, Kootenay and Waterton. I read somewhere that Lake Louise was the most beautiful lake in the world. Of course such a statement does not make it so, but it is indeed lovely, with the vivid blue of the water and the reflection, in the lake of the surrounding mountains. Troy thought Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, in Glacier Park was even prettier.

Calgary, in Alberta, Canada is a beautiful city. We stayed on the third floor of a nice motel here. We were above most of the surrounding buildings and the roof tops were so colorful. There were lots of flower beds everywhere. The Canadians seem to love flowers. They added much to the beauty of the city. We stayed here the night of July 19th.

We were interested in Medicine Hat, Alberta, because we had read of the small college our denomination supports here. We spent the night of July 20th in Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was the first settlement in this province and it looked it. With its unpaved streets and unattractive buildings it reminded us of small villages in the United States of the early 1920. I went to a laundromat in the evening after we secured our motel.

The next day was Sunday, July 21st. We wanted to find a church where we could worship and stopped at Wapella. It was a small town surrounded by a farming community. The church was a little white, one room chapel, with a basement in which the children and young people met for Sunday School instruction. It was a United Brethren Church, founded by German-speaking settlers. Many of the congregation still spoke that language. The pastor and the people who arrived early insisted that Troy bring the message. He protested saying that he spoke no German. The pastor told him that he preached one sermon on Sunday in German and the other in English. It was a unique experience for us. Troy used as his subject, "The Certainty of Fellowship.' The text: I John 3:24.

After the service, the pastor insisted that we go home with him for lunch. I felt guilty after we had eaten because the food was rather meager. I was afraid we may have deprived the family.

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(I just did a search on the Internet for Wapella. Total population is only 427/town - 700/area. RmB)

We visited the "International Peace Garden" on the border between Manitoba and North Dakota. We saw our first flax fields in Alberta but they were more numerous in North Dakota. Troy and I stood before the field stone monument in Rugby, North Dakota. that claimed it to be the "Geographical Center of North America," and Alda snapped our picture.

We spent the night of the 22nd in Cherokee, Iowa, and the next night in Vienna, Missouri. I was not inspired enough by the scenery in these middle states to take many notes.

Crossing over into Arkansas we stopped at Mammoth Springs, which is said to be the largest spring in the world. At a small restaurant here the cook had just taken coconut cream pies from the oven, and for fifteen cents each we got a fourth of a large and delicious pie! We spent that night in Reform, Alabama, and wondered why it had that name.

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(I researched this and found a little short note on this: “When Sam Jones came into town and preached - they have a town up in Alabama called "Reform," Alabama.  And they named that place after a meeting Sam Jones had there.  And when Sam Jones came into a town and preached for eight weeks, and left that town, there'd be nobody in the jail, the theaters would be closed, nobody would be playing cards, the liquor stores would run out of business.  There wasn't anything left.  And when guys would curse in the streets, they'd lower their voices, so nobody could hear them.”  RmB) Source: http://www.touchet1611.org/RevivalsToday.html

July 25th was the last night of our vacation and we spent it at Marion's in Tallahassee. We were sorry we could not extend it another few days and attend the wedding of our niece, Sharon Thrash and Jerry Schaible, in Park Church, Kenmore, Ohio. But duty called for us to be in Bradenton so Troy could fill his own pulpit on Sunday, July 28th. But we did get to see her beautiful wedding dress when we attended the wedding of her daughter, Julie, in 1988.

Our vacation had lasted from June 24th to July 26th. We had traveled 11,963 miles in 27 states, 4 Canadian provinces and a short trip into Mexico. The closer we got to Bradenton the happier Troy and Alda became. I was sorry to have it end!

I missed my first day of teaching this year in over five years. Creede Hinkle, Zylpha's husband, died in October and I missed a week because we returned to W. Va. for his funeral. The one thing about the trip that was enjoyable was the beauty of the fall leaves on the trees that covered some areas.

I missed another five days when Dottie had her first heart attack. We drove to Tallahassee to visit her in the hospital and brought Jonathon back to Melbourne for Chena to keep until Dottie was able to take care of him. He learned to walk there and spent his first birthday with them. Howard left him in the church nursery one Sunday and when he went to pick him up he stretched out his arms to him and said, "Mama." He was not Mama but he was a familiar figure and Jonathon was happy to see him.

Dottie was able to make the trip to Bradenton for Thanksgiving in 1963 and the picture (next page) was taken at the parsonage.

The Brady Family - Thanksgiving, 1963 At the parsonage in Bradenton, Florida

NEXT - 1964 - BRADENTON - SNOW