Madison County Genealogical Society

Minutes of the Meeting - September 14, 2017

The September 2017 meeting of the Madison County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on Thursday, September 14, at 7:00 pm.

President, Robert Ridenour, called the meeting to order.

 

The following is the Treasurer's report for the month of August:

GIFT MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE

Do you have a family member that is interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.

The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $25.00
Patron Annual Membership $35.00
Life Membership $300.00

Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at [email protected], about a gift membership.

September Meeting

 

On September 14, 2017, Melora Becker, Madison County Genealogical Society member, presented My Parents’ Western Experience in 1928-1929. The Western Experience is the record of her parents’ 18 month honeymoon through the Western United Staes in 1928 and 29.

 

This project was started when my cousin Ruth Brusack and I were looking at my old photo albums. I decided to preserve them in a new album. I started looking for Mom’s old records and I found the records from this trip. For two years I worked on this book with the help of Ruth. Mother loved to talk about it and of course I was not too interested. In 1929, Mom started a diary, so it was more fun and easier to finish.

 

Melvin Cyrus Sackett, second oldest son of Violetta Trout Sackett and Cyrus James Sackett, was born September 3, 1899 in Marine, Illinois. He attended Conn School and Seibert School and also helped work on the farm. After Cyrus died, they moved to a smaller farm outside Grantfork, Illinois. He attended the Grantfork Evangelical Church and joined the choir as a tenor; he also belonged to the young people’s group.

 

Lenora Sophia Schrumpf, daughter of Mary Eva Knabel Schrumpf and William John Schrumpf, was born December 1, 1904, on a farm east of Grantfork. She attended Harned School. She took piano lessons and became an accomplished pianist. She gave piano lessons, and also played for the Grantfork Church and the choir. There she met Melvin Sackett.

 

They went together three years. During that time, they went to barn dances and often played for them. He played the accordion and she played the violin. They were married June 8, 1927, at the Grantfork Church. Violetta Sackett’s home was in Highland and they lived there in one room upstairs for six months. Then Melvin got laid off at his job at the shoe factory. AND THE ADVENTURE BEGAN

 

They left Highland, Illinois, on February 15, 1928, at 2:30 PM for St. Louis, Missouri. They purchased two tickets to Boyd, Montana, for $99.80, and left St. Louis on the C.B. & Q. at 9:00 PM and arrived in St, Joseph, Missouri, at 6:30 AM on February 16. Their train left St. Joseph at 12:40 AM and arrived in Billings, Montana, at 9:00 PM on February 17. They took The Northern Pacific from Billings the next morning at 9:15 AM and arrived in Boyd, Montana, at 10:40 AM on February 18, 1928. The total cost of this trip was $102.92.

 

There were two different Ted Schrumpf families living in Montana at the time. Lenora’s uncle Ted C. Schrumpf, her father’s brother, and Ted R. Schrumpf, her father’s brother Peter’s son. They stayed with Lenora’s uncle Ted Schrumpf in Red Lodge, Montana. Cousin Ted lived nearby. They attended different denominations of churches wherever they went. They attended the Methodist church in Roberts, Montana, with Uncle Ted’s family, and the Evangelical Lutheran in Billings, Montana. Work was not plentiful in Montana especially in the winter. Melvin made $92.00 while there.

 

On May 13, 1928, they purchased tickets to Salem, Oregon. On Sunday at 3:40 PM, they left from Woods Crossing and arrived in Billings at 5:15 PM. They left Billings at 11:31 PM on the Northern Pacific and arrived in Spokane, Washington, at 5:15 AM, May 14. Their train left Spokane at 7:55 AM and Arrived in Portland, Oregon, at 6:10 PM. They left Portland at 8:30 PM and arrived in Salem, Oregon, at 10:15 AM on May 15, 1928. The cost of this trip was $78.30.

 

Melvin’s Aunt Etta (his mother’s sister) and Uncle Cranston Higgins lived in Salem, Oregon. She had invited family members to come out. There was work picking strawberries and cherries. Melvin did farm work also. Lenora helped Aunt Etta in the house. They said Uncle Cranston was easy to get along with, but Aunt Etta could not be pleased.

 

June 8, 1928, was their first anniversary so they dressed up in their wedding clothes and had their picture taken. One of the things Mom did almost all the way through their marriage was take a picture on their anniversary every year.

 

On June 22, 1928, they purchased a Ford truck and converted the bed into a camper. They had to purchase bedding, dishes, etc. Mom’s terminology was “We Gypsied Through the West.” They finished getting the camper ready and left Aunt Etta’s on July 21, 1928. They left Salem at 4:30 PM. They stayed at an auto court south of Portland that evening. The next day, they stayed north of Portland. On July 23, they camped on the Columbia Highway. They said it was a beautiful drive

 

After they arrived at Dufur, Oregon, Melvin worked driving box and spike pitcher, and Lenora helped cook. Their income while in Oregon was $209.90.

 

They left Dufur, Oregon, August 9. Their next stop was Government Springs, Washington. They probably did a lot of sightseeing along the way. August 14 found them at Castlerock and August 15 in Puyallup, Washington. Melvin worked at the P & S Cannery for about two weeks, August 17 to September 2, almost seven days a week. They had to make some repairs on the truck and they were off again. September 6 they spent the night at North Bend. September 7 they arrived at Wenatchee B.S. camp, then on to Black Coon Camp September 8. Melvin worked for Mrs. Westover Sept. 10-11. He worked 15 hours and was paid $6.00.

 

On September 12, they started color picking at Birchmont Orchard, Wenatchee, Washington. They worked through October 25. Lenora was impressed at the size of the Delicious and Winter Banana apples and loved to talk about it. They worked hard, but had a good time with the other workers.

 

I believe this story happened while In Wenatchee, Washington. There was a Judge Sackett living nearby. Someone told him about a Sackett from Illinois working there. He wanted to meet Dad. He was into genealogy. Dad did not want to go, but, after some encouragement, he got dressed up and went to see him. He asked Dad a lot of questions about his ancestors, and, of course, Dad did not know and really did not care. He said the judge had a very nice house and a lot of books in his library, including a large book about the Sackett’s genealogy.

 

They left Wenatchee and headed back over the mountains. On October 27, 1928, they stayed at Midway Camp near Easton, Washington, and arrived in Puyallup October 28. They stayed there visiting with friends probably made at the cannery.

They passed through Oregon on their way to California. Seeing the ocean for the first time was quite a thrill. They drove to Newport and followed the coastal highway. A picture of the ocean was taken November 11, 1928, so they probably camped and did some sightseeing along the ocean.

 

Most of November was spent traveling and sightseeing. After viewing the ocean in Oregon, they headed into California. They stayed at Pollack Auto Park, 26 miles north of Redding, California. On the way, they stopped at Shasta City and took a picture of Mt. Shasta. The next night, November 17, they stayed at the Triangle Auto Camp at Maryville. November 18 found them five miles from Sacramento, where I am sure they toured the state capital building.

 

They went on to Oakland to spend a few days with Aunt Mary and Uncle Emil Ruedy, also their son and his wife, Will and Buhela Ruedy. Danial and Maria Ruedy were the great grandparents of Lenora. Emil was their son. He owned a store and real estate business in Oakland. They left the Ruedy’s and headed to the coast to enjoy the ocean view. They stayed at the Turn Auto Camp at Santa Clara. Two nights were spent around Salina. November 24 they toured San Juan Bautista Mission. This is the oldest mission in California. It took 15 years to build, founded June 24, 1797. November 26 found them at the Junction Auto Camp in DelMonte. November 27 they camped 20 miles north of Medera. They were in Yosemite or Sequoia National Park. I remember Mom talking about the large trees. They spent two nights in the Fresno area. They arrived at the Hawkins Service Station November 30 in Visalia. They picked oranges December 1-2 at Woodlake and stayed at the Woodlake Free Camp. Then back to Rippley’s Camp at Visalia where they spent one night. December 3 they started working for Jesse Burns and probably stayed at his camp. They spent December working in Visalia, California, picking oranges and in Ivanhoe picking olives. In January, Melvin worked at the Visalia Airport but was laid off on January 12.

 

Lenora evidently brought a crazy quilt top along with her and worked on it whenever she had time. She started it in 1923 and finished it in January 1929. It was made from velvet and a few corduroy scraps. The material was taken from scraps of dresses they made over the years. The family tradition was that each woman had a new velvet dress each winter to wear for good.

 

The following items in italics are entries in Mother’s diary:

 

Jan. 12 Had bad cold. Wrote letters. Had Bessie and Sam for supper.

Mon. 14   Melvin went to airport for check.

Thur. 17   Went with Sam and Bessie to hear Sparks Bros. Play. Saw a badger.

Sat. 19 Had “Old Timers” in our room. Danced to music by Sparks brothers of Missouri.

Sun. 20 Went to church

Mon. 21   Went to three rivers to look for work. No luck. Was within 16 miles of Sequoia Park.

Sat. 26 Came to Los Angeles and found the folks at 1:00 PM. [Robert Ruedy was the youngest son of Danial and Maria Ruedy. Alice was his second wife. She had a daughter Lillian Myres, as noted in the 1920 census. He worked in transportation as a truck driver.]

Sun. 27 Uncle Robert and Aunt Alice took us to Upland. Aunt Maud had ankle hurt. Was nice drive but no sun. Had dinner at restaurant at Pomona.

Tue. 29 The folks took us to Long Beach. Had dinner at restaurant. Called at Lillian’s. Was beautiful day.

Wed. 30   Nice day. Free ride in Catalina Flyer to see Long Beach Harbor. Lunch at Rosewood Park, Compton United Land Co.

Thur. 31   Cloudy all day. Free drive through city, also lunch at Fox Hills Manor. Frank Brick Organization.

Fri. Feb. 1      Rained all day.

Sat. 2.. Beautiful day. Aunt took us uptown. Got elephant for me. [To my knowledge it always been used as a decoration, on the refrigerator. That is where you will find it at my house.]

Sun. 3. Nice day. The folks took us to two Methodist Churches. Had dinner and supper at restaurants. Malted milk after church PM. Visited West Lake Park and aunt’s cousins.

Mon. 4 Beautiful day. Left Los Angeles at noon. Went east into orange country to look for work. Slept in wagon at Pomona.

Tue. 5. Cloudy all day. Got as far as San Bernardino. Frogs croaked and it rained during night.

Wed. 6 Rained all day. Got to Lakeland ranch afternoon.

Thur. 7 Rained until noon. Picked up olives. After dinner, went to town.

Mon. 11   Another beautiful day. Melvin picked all day. I made jelly and sent valentines.

Wed. 13   Melvin picked olives and I made orange jelly.

Sun. 17 Picked olives all day. Had Mr. Stewart and his crew to supper.

Wed. 29   Climbed the hill and went to Muretta in afternoon with Mr. Stewart.

Fri. Mar. 1      Warmest day. We picked olives at El Nido in morning and went to San Bernardino with Mr. Stewart to orange show in PM.

Sun. 3. Melvin picked olives in the morning. Mr. Stewart paid us in the afternoon. Went to church in evening and restaurant too.

Mon. 4 Melvin started another olive job. I washed blanket. Very warm

Mon. 11   Olive truck came at noon. Picking ended. Had our picture taken. Played rummy in evening.

Wed. 13   Cool. Washed in morning. Melvin got $50. in travelers checks at Elsinore. Had rummy game with boys.

Thur. 14   Beautiful day. Left Lakeland Ranch at 10 AM. Came to Wilmington early afternoon.

Fri. 15 Another beautiful day. Trip to Catalina. Left Wilmington at 10 AM and returned at 5:30 PM.

Sat. 16 Went to Los Angeles. Found Sars and Western Auto Supply. Got to Uncle Robert’s in late afternoon and had good time at Mr. Mozart’ s birthday party in evening.

Sun. 17 Cloudy. Went with uncle and aunt to take Lillian and Barney home then for drive along coast and to restaurant for supper

Mon. 18   Cloudy left Los Angeles about noon. Stopped at all the beaches to gather shells. Got as far south as Newport Beach had halibut for supper.

Tue. 19 Got to San Diego. Gathered more shells. Had Carbine fish given to us.

Wed. 20   Saw Ramona’s Marriage place, went wading in the ocean and saw sunset cliffs.

 

In the photo album were many pictures of Ramona’s Marriage Place. Whether Mother was inspired by Ramona’s story or she had extra pages to fill in the album or both, I do not know.

 

In December 2007, Dianne and Michael Stricker and family took us on a mini vacation to San Diego. I was excited and hoped we could see Ramona’s Marriage Place. It has changed over the years but was still there. We toured it and took pictures of it. It was Great!!! It was after 4 PM when we arrived at the museum and it was getting chilly. I did not know what to expect. It was a nice museum. We did a fast walk through and took pictures. After getting home and reading the literature maybe we should have taken a few more pictures, but at least we got to tour it. We were in Balboa Park a short time and did not see the tower, but saw the fountain and several interesting buildings.

 

More diary entries:

 

Thur. 21   Spent morning in Balboa Park; climbed to top of the tower. Drove to Jacumba.

Fri. 22 Got into old Mexico at noon. Had dinner at restaurant. Mailed cards, spent night at El Centro.

Sat. 23 Very Windy. Drove to Yuma, Arizona. Changed time.

Sun. 24 Beautiful day went to Methodist church at Yuma and drove East to Aztec in the afternoon.

Mon. 25   Drove from Aztec to Phoenix. [They must have driven over the Gillespie Dam. The Gillespie Dam on the Gila River, southwest of Phoenix, diverts waters of the Gila River to several thousand acres below. Up to a very short time ago, automobile travel on the Phoenix-Yuma Highway crossed the Gila River on the concrete apron of this dam, a unique experience for the tourist. Completion of a modern steel bridge spanning the river below the dam has improved the highway and eliminated this thrill.] Spent Tuesday and Wednesday touring the city and the capital.

Thur. 28   Had new battery put into the car $6.00. Left Phoenix at noon. Got as far as Roosevelt Dam. Bands burned out. Very warm. Superstition Mountains. [As history goes, the early white settlers, composed largely of Mormons, were continually being attacked by the wildest and most treacherous of the Southwestern Indians, the Apaches. After numerous raids, leaving death and destruction behind, the government sent a detachment of cavalry to subdue these renegades. The Apaches were surprised and surrounded, and sought refuge in the above mentioned mountains. It was impossible to rout them from their stronghold, so they were held at bay. Facing starvation, and rather than give themselves up, the Apaches, one by one hurled themselves from the towering cliffs.]

Fri. 29 Melvin put new bands in car. Got started at 11:30 AM. Highest point in Superstition Mountains — the Apache Trail is 3980 ft. This trail is the greatest scenic highway in America. 120 miles long between Phoenix and Globe. The highway which follows the ancient trail of the Apache warriors is broad, safe, and smooth and winds its way through scenes of unusual beauty. Got to Geronimo. Camped by railroad. Passed Coolidge Dam.

Sat. 30 Came into New Mexico about 2:00 pm. Camped at Lordsburg. Mailed cactus candy.

Sun. 31 Could not find church so drove all day. Nice day. Had to be pulled up hill near Hillsboro. Crossed Continental Divide about 11 AM.

April 1 Cloudy morning and a little cool. Saw one oil station and one farm home in 60 miles. Played hide and seek with Ohio man in new Ford.

April 2 Got to Santa Fe about 2:30 PM, saw the capital building and got souvenir. Nice camping out. Stayed at filling station. Snow capped mountains in distance.

 

From Santa Fe they drove for two days, to Pueblo, Colorado, and hunted Uncle Sam and Aunt Kate Schrumpf, her father’s brother. They had a little work for Melvin. They visited with the family for about a week and on April 17 they started driving. They drove into Kansas and camped out.

 

More diary entries:

 

            The next day was cloudy all day. Took a cabin in Wilson. Drove 200 miles.

Fri. 19 Cloudy Bridge out west of St. Mary’s. About 40 mile detour, through mud. Drove 5-8 slept in a garage.

Sat. 20 Left about 10. Put wheel on first. Drove through water five times until we got to Topeka. Cloudy all day Climbed 295 steps to top of capital dome.

Sun. 21 Rained all day. Had trouble getting car started. Drove from 10:30 till 4.

Mon. 22   Beautiful day. Got into edge of St. Louis at 3 PM.

Tue. 23 Another beautiful day. Went shopping in St. Louis. Got to Highland, at 4:30

Sun. 28 Went to church with Mother and Dad. Had company in the afternoon.

Mon. 29   Came to Highland started looking for a place.

Tue. 30 Spoke to Mr. Harris in the morning. Went to Marine for money in the afternoon. Then to stay all night with the folks.

May 1. Got money at Pocahontas. Mama came with us. Bought place and moved two loads. Bought piano from Mrs. Kalb.

May 2. Snow storm, Moved three loads. Took Aunt Lizzy home.

 

They arrived back in Illinois April 23, 1929. This ends their Western Experience. They worked, did a lot of sight seeing, and visited relatives in the west.

 

When they arrived home, they had enough money to put a down payment on a house. It was located at 1005 Cedar Street in the western part of Highland called White City. The cost was $2250. They put $250 down and the balance at 6% interest.

 

Following are the trip totals I have available.

 

SPENT

Gas....................................... $154.51

Camps................................... $33.10

Camera.................................. $14.99

Camping Outfit.................... $74.22

Truck..................................... $89.40

Total.................................... $366.22

 

MADE

Montana................................ $94.00

Oregon................................ $209.90

Washington........................ $281.75

California............................ $162.80

Colorado............................... $26.00

Total.................................... $774.45

 

While traveling, they had an extra goal of touring the state capitals of whatever state they were in. It started with this trip and carried on the rest of their married life.

 

Another story I remember them telling was while they were on the Pacific they went wading with friends or family. Lenora got out in the water. A wave knocked her down and the undertow started taking her out. She could not swim and was not familiar with the ocean. They grabbed her in time, but after that she was deathly afraid of the water.

 

Later in life when I wanted to go swimming, she had to force herself to even get in the pool and would never go farther than waist deep. She went in only because she did not want me to be afraid of the water. It worked pretty well.

 

This presentation was very well received and provoked many questions and comments.

 

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