by Grandson Frederick Walton, Family Historian
The story of the Packhiser's 1932 Honeymoon Drive from Coast to Coast
Ninety years ago, in 1932, my Grandparents got married and traveled across the country on their Honeymoon. They left a scrapbook of their trip which I recently discovered. I am attempting to document their odyssey, uniting old family photos and stories by exploring their treasured mementos from this epic trip. Join me on my journey of discovery....
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| Honeymoon Hotel? Postcard pasted in their scrapbook suggests that this is where they stayed |
Erwin and Lydia Packhiser awoke on the first morning of their married life, Friday, May 6, 1932, in a hotel room at the Plaza Club Hotel in Camden New Jersey. Or did they? I don’t really know because I don’t think they ever told me. My assumption is a likely scenario based on the postcard they saved in their Honeymoon scrapbook from that place.
The Historian’s Dilemma
It’s interesting to realize that much of recorded history, especially ancient history, is the result of hypothesis and guesswork, particularly when there are no eyewitness accounts. Even eyewitnesses can get it wrong. We have all seen the T. V. Detective show where multiple eye witnesses each have a different story which further confuses the investigation rather than clarifying the situation.
The relatively few mementos the Packhisers kept for their scrapbook clearly suggests a likely geographic route to their destination on the west coast based on where each item was from. I have made the assumption that these items were kept because they were places they physically visited to either eat , sleep, or sight-see.
Since only a few items are labeled with a specific date, I also assumed that these dates would help me establish timeline points in sync with the geographical route. I was wrong!
Let the Scrapbook tell the tale
The newspaper clippings describing their wedding tells us they left “immediately after” the May 5, 1932 wedding, but there are no records or remaining family memories of what time that wedding took place! [1] Presumably it was in the afternoon…unless it was in the morning, or early evening…No one really knows anymore. The geographic start point is clearly St. John’s Lutheran Church in Middletown, N. Y., but the timeline is already a little hazy!
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| St. Johns Lutheran Church, Middletown, N. Y. |
I have sorted all 45 scrapbook items into an east to west geographical order. The first two items are from New Jersey. A restaurant and a hotel. Both are undated, but it is logical to assume they began their journey by driving through New Jersey and stopped to have dinner in a nice restaurant and stayed overnight in a nice hotel. Otherwise why would they be in the scrapbook? More importantly, to my logic, those two places fit the route geographically.
The next three items, in geographical order, are in Virginia and are also undated. In fact nearly everything in the scrapbook has No date, No marking and NO comments. Nothing is starred, underlined or scribbled on.
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| 15 page Brochure (C) 1931 from the Packhiser's Honeymoon Scrapbook |
However, a few of the items do have a specific date. The first one, chronologically, following the Virginia and New Jersey items, creates a real issue with the timeline. My Grandparents saved an “official program for the Fifty-Eighth Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky” on “Derby Day- Saturday May 7, 1932.” The first Race is at 1:45 p.m… AND there are pencil markings on the first race, and others. Was this their program? Was this their handwriting? There is not enough for me to be sure. I do have a photo of Erwin, Lydia and Helen standing in front of their car with an unidentified gentlemen which family oral history recalls to be taken at the Kentucky Derby. I feel fairly confident they were there, the question is when…and with who?
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| Two Race programs. BOTH glued into the Packhiser's Honeymoon Scrapbook. Which Race did they attend? |
The timeline problem therefore is… how did they get to Churchill downs in time for the first days races, considering the distance they had to travel AND fitting in all the stops I am assuming they made in Virginia and New Jersey???. Or did they?
I have assumed this was their program, because they kept it and glued it into the scrapbook.But…there is also another race program dated May 9th. This one fits the timeline much better. Could they have picked up the May 7th program as a souvenir when they attended a later race? If so, whose writing is in it? I have spent weeks pondering this and have no answer.
Timeline Problem
Today, driving the most direct route from Camden, N. J. to Louisville, Kentucky on modern highways would take about 12.5 hours at 65 MPH to travel the nearly 787 mile distance. (According to Google Maps) That is a looooong drive, even considering modern 4 lane highways with regularly spaced rest rooms, gas stations and eateries.
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| Approximate Route Packhisers drove from Camden, N.J. through the Shenandoah Valley then on to Louisville, Ky. |
Surveying numerous 1930 era maps, the main routes on the east coast haven’t really changed much in the last century. In fact many of the roads they would have driven are still there, often alongside the modern super highways. At 40 mph it would have taken them at least 20 hours to cover the same 787 miles. In fact if you avoided the major highways and tried to follow a similar 1930s route it would take you nearly 21 hours today. Getting roughly 10 miles per gallon, they would have to stop more frequently than a modern driver adding time to their trip. Luckily their 1930s roads went THROUGH every town, unluckily this meant they would have to slow down at every little cross road village, adding even more time to an already long journey. Go ahead and add a couple of more hours to the 20.
So if they left Camden, N. J. on the morning of Friday, May 6, stopped overnight in Winchester Virginia after an approximately 6 hour drive covering 250 miles… Then set off the next day, Saturday, May 7, they still had to cover an additional 540 Miles (about 15 hours). There is no way they would get to the races by 1:45 p. m. on May 7th.
Even if they left Camden at 8 a.m. on May 6, and drove straight through they would arrive at Louisville around 4 a.m. not counting stops for gas, bathroom breaks and eating. Technically it could be done…but then why did they keep the brochures for Winchester and the Shenandoah Vally if they didn’t have time to sight-see …or sleep? [2]
Why 40 mph?
In June 1931 an article entitled “SPEED LIMITS ARE INCREASED” by Lorena Hickok was widely published in newspapers across the nation. The article Begins:
“On that Vacation motor trip this Summer, you'll be able In most parts of the United States to step right along, from 30 miles an hour up to the limit of your car's speed..."
The article explains that many states are reviewing and even eliminating the current 20-30 MPH speed limit.
“Fifteen States now have NO speed limit outside of cities and towns…45 miles an hour is considered a prudent speed….In Virginia, where the speed limit is 45, a driver may be arrested on a charge of reckless driving if he goes too slowly and blocks traffic...”
New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well as the more densely populated New England states, typically had a 35 mile per hour speed limit, Mid-Atlantic states (then called Middle East states!) typically posted 40 MPH speed limits while southern and southwestern states typically posted 45 MPH speed limits… unless the specific State had no speed limits.
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| 1930s speed limit (found online) |
The speedometer dial on the Studebaker went up to to 100 MPH. The 3,200 pound vehicle, powered by an 8 cylinder engine could have easily achieved 60 mph. I wouldn’t necessarily call my grandfather, Erwin, a speed demon, at least when I was a kid. But he didn’t drive like a little old lady either. I could easily see him driving at 40 to 50 mph or even faster when possible, although the roads weren’t always good enough to permit that speed, even today, especially going through the mountains.
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| 1932 Studebaker Speedometer |
Forget Louisville by May 7
Using 1932 maps, one logical and direct route from Camden to Winchester, if I don't have a time constraint, would have been U. S. 30 (The Lincoln Highway) from Philadelphia through Lancaster, York and Gettysburg, a distance of about 140 miles. At 40 mph it would have taken them 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
From Gettysburg they would probably have taken U. S. Highway 15 south through Frederick, Maryland then choosing one of several available main highways to take them to the head of the Shenandoah Valley at Winchester Virginia.The distance would have been another 90 to 100 miles. At 40 MPH their time would have been about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 hours, say 3 hours to include slowing down through towns and maybe stopping for gas, restrooms or meals.
If they left Philadelphia early, say 8:00 am That would put them in Winchester around 3 PM after a good 7 hour drive. Is this too early to stop for the day?
What if they slept late and had a leisurely breakfast and drove around Philadelphia to see the sights? That would put them in Winchester in the early evening. In either case, they kept and glued into their scrap book a business card from the Sale Inn:
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| Business Card glued into the Packhiser Honeymoon Scrapbook suggesting that this is where they stayed, probably on May 6, 1932. |
Winchester, Va. (1930 Population 10,855) was a small town compared to Middletown, N. Y. (1930 Population 21,276), but as a Tourist destination, it would have had a number of hotels and restaurants catering to travelers. The Sale Inn bills itself as a place to Lodge, not a place to stop for a bite to eat. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the Packhiser party stayed overnight here on day 2, Friday, May 6, 1932. [4]
The brochure for the Shenandoah Caverns, about 50 miles from Winchester, boasts accommodations and “Excellent Home Cooked Virginia Meals”, in addition to the Caverns themselves. They could have driven past Winchester on the “Valley Pike”, Rt. 11, and gotten a little closer to their goal by lodging here for the night of May 6, instead, but then why paste the Sale Inn business card in their scrapbook? The extra hour gained doesn’t do much to sync the proposed time line.
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| “Excellent Home Cooked Virginia Meals” are promised if you stay at the Shenandoah Caverns Modern Hotel. From the brochure pasted in the Packhiser's Honeymoon Scrapbook |
I’m guessing Winchester was more likely their first stop on May 7. How long did they sight-see here? I’m guessing they had breakfast at the Inn in Winchester, then hit the road by 9:00 a.m. The 50 mile drive to Shenandoah caverns, perhaps making a gas stop could have consumed another 2 hours. Touring the caverns might take another hour or two, bringing us to lunch time. Perhaps they enjoyed an “Excellent Home Cooked Virginia Meal” at the Shenandoah caverns before heading on to the Natural Bridge just down the pike on route 11.
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| Did the Packhisers visit the Rainbow Lake in the Shenandoah Caverns? From the brochure pasted in the Packhiser's Honeymoon Scrapbook |
The one hundred mile drive to the Natural Bridge, down the Valley Pike, passed through many places of scenic and natural beauty as well as places of historic significance. New Market, site of a famous Civil War Battle; Staunton, home of Woodrow Wilson; and Lexington, home of VMI, are some of the major towns they passed through. Perhaps they lingered at one or more of them, although there are no brochures to suggest this.
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| 9 page Brochure (C) 1931 from the Packhiser's Honeymoon Scrapbook |
When they arrived at the Natural bridge they would be awestruck viewing “Nature’s Masterpiece, Higher than Niagara and old as the Dawn” at least according to the Brochure. But that is about all there is to see, except the nearby Natural Bridge Hotel. It would now be late afternoon or early evening on May 7.
They probably stayed overnight here since the next location, geographically, as documented by scrapbook souvenirs, is either Nashville, Tennessee, where Lydia’s sister lives, OR 200 miles directly north, to Louisville, Kentucky where the Churchill Downs racetrack is located. Both destinations are nearly 500 miles distant from Natural bridge. Which place did they go first? Your guess is as good as mine since they didn't really leave any details.
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| Hotel pictures from the Natural Bridge Brochure pasted into the Packhiser's Honeymoon scrapbook. |
How much time did they spend in the old Dominion? One day? Rushing through to get to the races in Louisville, Kentucky.Two days? Traveling at a more leisurely, site-seeing pace. The two day trip works better geographically but the one day, fast paced trip would explain the May 7 Race program better. Which one is correct? We will probably never know.
If you found this leg of the trip confusing…so did I!, but I think their route will become easier to trace as they travel further west. Since my head hurts from looking at old maps and trying to make sense of the timeline, lets switch gears and talk about Erwin’s Studebaker.
Next: Discovering Erwin's Automobile
Notes:
1- Middletown Times Herald; Middletown, New York;05 May 1932, Thur; Page 1; "Best Man and Couple Leave for Moviedom; Son of noted Tenor attends Packhiser Nuptials and accompanies pair west"
2- I consulted numerous 1930's era maps to look a possible routes and found, to my surprise, that there was a very extensive road network connecting towns and villages throughout the Northeast. Many of those routes have been widen, resurfaced and renamed, but they are essentially very similar to the routes in my Grandfathers time.
3- Map from Philadelphia to Shenandoah: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 17 Jan 1932, Sun • Page 18
4- 1930 Population of Virginia: HISTORICAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DATA: THE UNITED STATES, 1790-1970 [Computer file]. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [producer and distributor], 197?.;http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1930numbers.html
1930 Population of Middletown, N. Y.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown,_Orange_County,_New_York
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