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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| Muddy roads circa 1930s |
Taking a cross country trip is pretty mundane today, but in 1932 it was quite the adventure. Federal “interstate” highways actually did exist, but were generally two lane, blacktop affairs…unless they were one lane or simply hard packed dirt roads, which was more likely in the sparsely populated areas of the south and southwest. As automobiles became more affordable and commonplace in the teens and twenties, the demand for better roads rose spurring the Federal government to undertake road projects. But that slowed down in the 1930s during the depression leaving many places with unfinished roads and dirt pathways.
Roadside motels were few and often no more than a cabin with a bed and maybe a cold-water sink. Fast food restaurants were decades in the future. Menu's the Packhisers kept for their scrapbook suggested that restaurants they visited were located within some of the larger cities they passed through.
This was still a time when roads took you TO cities, not around them. Natural obstacles like rivers and mountains had yet to be bridged and pierced by massive ribbons of concrete forming the four lane interstate highways we now take for granted.
Travelers relied on gas station road maps (which I’m finding in on-line archives) and seemed readily available at the time. There was no such thing as navigators on your cell phones (or even cell phones!) to guide you on your way. A cross country trip was no lark.
My grandmother told me that they ran into problems along the way. Two that come to mind were getting stuck in deep muddy ruts and being pulled free by farmers with mules, and getting bogged down in the western dessert sand and being rescued by Indians!
Years after my grandmother passed I realized what a life-changing adventure this trip must have been and wished I had asked her more about it. I wondered where they traveled and who they visited, but didn’t think I’d ever find out…until now and the discovery of a scrapbook my Grandparents made of their journey.
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| Recently Discovered Scrapbook of the Packhiser's 1932 Cross CountryHoneymooon Trip |
According to the various items pasted in the scrapbook, some of which include dates, I have been able to make some guesses as to the route may have taken. I assume this is why they kept and pasted these particular items in to their keepsake album. The items include: matchbook covers, menus, hotel letterheads, event programs, guidebooks and postcards.
Obviously this was assembled after the trip, but the various items are pasted in or loose and aren’t in any chronological order, which makes the challenge of retracing their route even harder.
Although the scrapbook itself probably contains 50 pages or more, only the first 19 pages were used. Most of them had three or four items squeezed in to fill the page. It seems items were chosen because they fit the space rather than fitting the chronological time line.
I inventoried every single item (there were only 46) and recorded the physical location. (i.e. A cafe in New Jersey, A hotel in St. Louis, A guidebook from the Grand Canyon, etc.) Then using a map, I numbered each item from east to west, allowing me to sort them geographically. This resulted in roughly the route they took. Some of the Items had identifiable dates, which helped me establish a rough Chronology.
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| Possible route taken by the Packhiser's on their 1932 Cross Country Trip based on Scrapbook mementos |
In this and following blogs, I intend to establish a rudimentary outline of their travels and stops across the country in 1932 America. Whenever there is a memento of lodging, I will make the assumption that this was probably an overnight stop. I know for a fact that their journey was somewhat relaxed because, for example, evidence shows they stayed in one place (St. Louis) for an extended time. Other dated evidence suggests at certain points in their trip, they moved rapidly being in distant places only days apart.
How long they stayed at any one roadside attraction is anybody's guess. I can only assume that they kept a brochure or business card as a reminder because they actually made a stop. Their first stop seems to be on their wedding day as they began their cross country journey.
The Wedding- May 5, 1932- Middletown, N. Y.
The Thursday May 5, 1932 Middletown Times Herald Newspaper reported Erwin and Lydia Packhiser’s wedding in a front page story headlined “Best Man And Couple Leave for Moviedom”. Of course the headliner was the best man, Enrico Caruso, Jr. but thats another story!
According to the article, The timeline begins that very day, after their wedding:
“…in St. Johns Lutheran church today” the couple were married and “left immediately after the wedding…for Hollywood…”.
Clearly there was some preliminary planning involved since they were able to share their ultimate destination, but how many reservations they made and how much was left to chance is not documented.
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| Erwin and his bride Lydia (back seat) with sister Helen (front Seat) and pal Ric Caruso (taking photo) on their way to California in 1932. Look at his shiny new 1932 Studebaker! |
Geographically, the first souvenir item is a matchbook cover from Lambs Seafood Restaurant in Mount Holly, New Jersey. I’m guessing this is where the honeymoon couple and their guests, Ric Caruso and Helen Packhiser, ate their wedding dinner. Its unknown whether this was a favorite place or something that looked nice as they were passing by. An internet search failed to find this restaurant currently operating, but I did find a 1932 postcard showing a large building, probably popular in its day.
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| 1932 post card and Matchbook from the scrapbook |
After dinner, based on a Plaza Club Hotel envelope addressed to Mr & Mrs. Erwin Packhiser, containing a postcard of the Hotels offerings, the couple most likely stayed overnight in nearby Camden, New Jersey. There is no record to confirm this was a pre-planned stop or one of convenience.
The Hotel Plaza was built at Fifth and Cooper Street in 1927 and closed in 1985. The old hotel was finally demolished in February of 2014. An ad in the June 1, 1932 issue of the Camden Courier-post boasted the Hotel's membership in the Automobile Association of America- "The World's Largest Motor Federation". Classified Ads list the hotels rate of $6.00 per person per week. While it may be a coincidence, AAA is often a common denominator for places they ate or stayed. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that Erwin was a member and used this organization to find clean, safe, reliable lodging and food wherever possible.
Looking at the spiderweb of roadways connecting the densely populated cities and towns along the New York-New Jersey corridor, even in 1932, it is difficult to spot an obvious route. A lot would depend on roads Erwin was familiar with and drove often. As a regular visitor to New York City, Philadelphia may well have been within his sphere of travel as a singer and performer. Whatever route they chose, the three or four hour trip from Middletown to Camden would all have been reasonable as an afternoon’s drive on that first journey as a wedded couple.
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| 1932 Map of New York shows several routes the Bridal couple may have chosen |
Next Stop: Day 1-Carry Me Back to Old Virginny
