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....
Why did the Packhisers visit Louisville on their cross country honeymoon trip? Their daughters, Jeanne and Dee, both agreed, when I asked, that their parents never really expressed any special interest in horse racing. They never went to any horse races as a family, in their recollection, nor were they gamblers.
When you look at a 1932 roadmap and plot a course between the Natural Bridge, in Virginia, which was their last stop, and St. Louis, Missouri, their next stop, Louisville Kentucky is a convenient midpoint, Not to mention the home of Churchill Downs.
Churchill Downs
Practically everyone has heard of the Kentucky Derby... with the famous patrons, mint juleps and fancy hats. Some may know that it takes place at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, Kentucky. Some may even use the two interchangeably. That would be incorrect. Churchill Downs is the racetrack, the Kentucky Derby is a single annual race held there. The Kentucky Derby is often called "the fastest two minutes in sports".
This venerable old race track wasn't even officially known as Churchill Downs until it was incorporated in 1937, although the official 1932 race program boldly states CHURCHILL DOWNS in a prominent spot on the cover. Before that, it was properly called the Louisville Jockey Club. As successor to the older Oakland Race Course from 1833 until the 1850s, the "Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association" opened in May, 1875, founded by Meriwether Lewis Clark, grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expeditions fame. Clark's grandfather, Churchill, was one of the founders of the Oakland course, and the Churchill family owned a large tract of land south of the city where the new race course was established.[2]
Souvenir programs kept by my Grandparents. The name CHURCHILL DOWNS is prominent on the cover |
The twin spires, built in 1895, atop the grandstands are the most recognizable architectural feature of Churchill Downs and are used as a symbol of the track and the Derby. Today, Churchill Downs covers 147 acres. Crowds can reach over 150,000 on Derby day. The dirt oval main track, on which the Derby is run, is one mile in circumference and is 79–80 feet wide, with a 120-foot-wide section for the starting gate. A turf track, inside the main track, is 7⁄8 mile in circumference and 80-foot wide. [3]
In depression era America, horse racing, along with baseball, dominated the sports world. [4] The power, beauty and excitement of Horse racing undoubtedly attracted many to the grandstands. Another draw, however, was the possibility of a big pay day in one of the few venues that allowed legal gambling during the depression. A stub inside the the Packhiser's souvenir program suggests that they took at least one chance that day.
I have personally never been to a horse race and do not know the first thing about racing or betting. I am taking some guesses here, but this ticket stub, number 3119, is to "show", that is...to either come in 1st , 2nd or 3rd. Furthermore there are two horses, Lori and Sunny World, listed in the program for the 7th race under Number 3119 as "field". My understanding is that this means that you win if either horse in the "field" shows. Of course having this wide a range lowers the odds, but it gives you a fairly wide chance that you may get something.
The race program mentions $6, $10 and $15 bets. I think the "222" means that this is a $6 betting ticket. ($2+ $2+ $2).
Lori and Sunny World, the "field" for this race, came in dead last, so the Packhiser's lost this bet. Maybe that's why there was only one ticket. They probably resisted betting, as novices to this sport, but maybe by the excitement leading up to the 7th and final race they decided to take a chance. And then quickly lost it when their picks didn't pan out.
The results were listed in the Louisville Courier the next day, Tuesday, May 10, 1932:
A $6 bet was fairly expensive in 1932. Admission tickets to the Race were $2 each, the program cost 10 cents and dinner at the Blue Boar cafeteria, in Louisville, as advertised in the May 10th paper, right next to the racing results, would have been a lot less than the bet. For example: Choice of soup (5 Cents); Salad (6 Cents); Filet of beef loin (22 Cents); Baked potato (6 cents); String beans (7 Cents); Apple pie (4 cents) and Coffee (5 cents) would have set you back a whopping 55 cents each. They could have eaten for a week on the cost of that one bet! (but they could have paid for a month or more if they won!)
Louisville Slumber
An ad for Churchill downs in the local paper advertised admission tickets were $2 and sold at the Brown hotel, Kentucky Hotel, and Seelbach hotel [6]. Each seems to be a large and prominent hotel in Louisville.
Could it be they stopped here overnight at one of these hotels, and seeing the race tickets for sale decided to extend their stay to see the races? Or did they plan to come here specifically to see the races. If so they missed the most famous race, The Kentucky Derby, by only a couple of days. Was this intentional or a coincidence? We will never know the answer to these questions, we only know that they were there.
Newly married Lydia Packhiser (l) with unidentified celebrity and her sister-in-Law Helen (r) |
Erwin and Lydia Packhiser, Helen Packhiser and Unidentified Celebrity at 1932 "Kentucky Derby" |
"Erwin, Lydia & Helen P. [Packhiser] at Race track inSt. Louis- 1932- Kentucky Derby.
Could they have stayed here at the Brown Hotel? |
Next Stop: St. Louis
Notes:
1 The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 9 May 1932, Tue, Page 1
2 from the website: "Vintage Post Card Greetings from Louisville", Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, http://oldlouisville.com/postcards/Louisville/ChurchillDowns.htm, accessed 1/8/2023
3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churchill_Downs
4 PBC American Experience, "Racing in the Depression" viewed on internet 1/6/2023: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/seabiscuit-racing-depression/
5.To see a discussion of why I do not believe they attended the race on May 7, See the blog entry http://packhisers.blogspot.com/2022/07/day-1-carry-me-back-to-old-virginny.html
6. The Courier-Journal, Louisville, Kentucky, 10 May 1932, Tue, Page 13
7. Daily Racing form results from May 9, 1932- https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1932050901/drf1932050901_21 accessed 1/9/2023
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