Carscallen Cousins' Road Trip

On the 26^th of May 1939, Kathleen “Kay” Carscallen and her sister, Alice Carscallen (great-granddaughters of John Culbert & Mary Ward) set out on a road trip with their cousins: sisters, Beth Carscallen and Eula (Carscallen) Lapp.

Their point of departure? Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Their destination? The province of Alberta via the USA. Total distance covered? 6,000 miles (9,656 km.)

Left to right: Cousins Eula Lapp (born 29 July 1905) and Kay Carscallen (born 21 July 1908). Photo courtesy of Kay’s daughter, Wendy (Gowland) Boole.

Alice Carscallen (Kay’s sister, born 15 April 1913.) No photo available of Beth Carscallen from this era.

I don't have any photos from their big adventure but I have a copy of Eula's "Trip Log." I've tried in this post to give you a general idea of their journey, based on Eula's travel journal.

The cousins set out from Toronto, Ontario on a 6,000 mile journey.

Eula’s sister, Beth Carscallen was the owner of a 1934 Ford, christened “Jane.” Jane lacked a trunk but they loaded her down with their luggage, a picnic hamper, a pile of road maps, and a First Aid kit. Oh, and a pile of library books (more about those, later.)

They pinned two paper hat bags to the back of the front seats, and a suction coat hanger on the window, which Eula said, “refused to suck after the first day.”

I don’t have a photo of “Jane,” their 1934 Ford so this image from Pinterest will have to do. The 1934 Ford was the getaway car of choice for American bank robbers such as Bonnie & Clyde.

Kay and Beth did all the driving, switching every hundred miles.

The customs officer at the border was taken by surprise when the women declared their occupations: a social worker (Kay), a librarian (Alice), and a psychologist (Beth.) He looked relieved when Eula responded, “Oh, I’m just married.” Unaccustomed to seeing a car full of professional women, Eula’s answer brought a sense of normalcy to the befuddled clerk. Eula said, “I was a bit sorry I had missed the opportunity to say something like “religious educationist” or “minister’s assistant”. But obviously the poor man had had all he could stand of capable women for one carload!”

As they drove through Michigan, the Carscallen cousins saw several CCC camps. These work camps were organized by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC); a work relief programme that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression.

Members of the CCC planting trees in Lolo National Forest, Montana, 1938. Source: U.S. Forest Service.

The women were interested in learning more about the CCC project so when they saw some of the men hitchhiking, they decided to pick one up. They didn’t learn much about the camps as they were lucky to get replies of one syllable from the young man. Eula exclaimed, “Perhaps we frightened him!” When the women told their family about this little adventure, they received a stiff lecture. They were told it was “never safe to pick up an American.” Later, they read about a man who was killed by a hitch-hiker he picked up in Michigan.

They were amused by the many humorous Burma Shave signs along the highway from Michigan all the way to Montana. Burma Shave (an American shaving cream company) started this roadside advertising campaign in 1927 and it ran until 1963.
 

Typically, several consecutive small signs would be posted along the edge of highways, spaced for sequential reading by passing motorists. The last sign was almost always the name of the product. Because they were spaced apart, the signs would hold the driver’s attention much longer than a conventional billboard.

An example of Burma Shave signs seen along their route, as noted by Eula in her travel journal. These signs would have been spaced out along the highway, not vertically displayed as in this image. No lady likes to snuggle or dine accompanied by a porcupine.

Another Burma Shave sign they noted said: “Careless bridegroom, dainty bride, scratchy whiskers, homicide!”

In Minnesota, they saw a sign pointing to “Clark Gable’s Resort.” This was just months before the release of the blockbuster hit, “Gone with the Wind” in which Clark Gable starred as Rhett Butler. Clark Gable was considered a big movie star even before that film. Naturally, this sign aroused the women’s interest.

Clark Gable

Disappointingly, Eula says that “Clark Gable’s Resort” “was nothing more exciting than people by the name of Clark with a house with gables.”

To give you an idea of how things have changed since 1939, Eula remarks that Fargo, North Dakota had a population of 28,000. Today, it boasts over 122,000 people.

On the other hand, they mention spending a night in Shelby, Montana which Eula described as “a booming town, about 2000 population, destined no doubt to be a sizable city some day.” However, today Shelby’s population is estimated at just over 3,000.

Eula complained that the men of Shelby looked like smooth, well-fed oil magnates from California or like actor Victor McLaglen...

Victor McLaglen

It was in Shelby that the man who rented them a cabin said, “You never have to worry about Canadians stealing anything nor leaving the place untidy. Canadians are usually dependable.”

Back across the border in Canada, they ate lunch by the river on the outskirts of Lethbridge, Alberta in a pretty spot among willows. However, it turned out to be a cow pasture, and three times during lunch they chased away cows from their “dining room.”

They finally arrived in Sylvan Lake, west of Red Deer, Alberta. Here, they visited Eula and Beth’s parents, Mary and Stanley Carscallen (former Mayor of Red Deer.)

Sylvan Lake as it looked in 1937.

Not content to sit still, they also travelled extensively around Alberta.

Eula wrote, “The Waterton Lake District is in the extreme southwest corner of Alberta, but none of us had seen it before. It proved a highlight of the whole trip. I think I should like to spend my old age in this corner of Alberta – provided I got there before I was too old to ride a horse!”

CLIMAX OF THE STORY

Eula said, “Every story has its climax; and the climax of this one came as we left Glasgow, Montana.” 

 This incident occurred on 20 June 1939. Kay was at the wheel of the car.

Eula reports: We had a collision with a county truck, and spent a day and a half in Glasgow waiting for repairs to Jane [the car], and trying to arrange to get damages. Like a miracle none of us was hurt. It all happened like lightning. And after it was over, we recalled that the only remark made by anyone was a quiet, "He's going to turn, Kay" by me. (Kay and I were in front.) Involuntarily we ducked our heads. Then, crash! bang! -- and Jane looked like nothing so much as a folded accordion.

The truck-driver [Dave Cuniff] remarked as we were getting out to view the wreck, "You can't get anything on me -- I work for the county!"

He must have had a guilty conscience. He also told the patrolman when he and Beth had returned with him to the “scene of the accident” that we were "just a bunch of women who lost their heads." But the patrolman was completely on our side (in private). The only thing he couldn't do was help us! The truck-driver took us back to the garage. He was obviously very upset and contradicted himself several times telling his story. We didn't want him to think we had any desire that he should lose his job; so when we saw him again at the garage at six that evening, Kay spoke to him quite pleasantly. He looked about to murder her. She said it was the same look she had seen in the eyes of mental patients; and she didn't stay long!"

Eula said, “I have no recollection of seeing any women in Glasgow, except the wife of the owner of the cabin.”

The passage about the incident goes on much longer in Eula’s “Trip’s Log.” The women had to consult with everyone in town who could possibly be of assistance such as the highway patrolman, the A.A.A. (American Automobile Association) secretary, the county attorney, the sheriff, and a lawyer. Everyone they saw “passed the buck.” Of course, they also had to get the car repaired.

Their so-called lawyer was one “Mr. R.,” who asked the women for a detailed statement of the accident. Mr. R. said that their statement wasn’t legal enough in its phraseology “so he rewrote it rather laboriously on his typewriter, adding many whereases and heretofores and translating all the respectable English into comfortable, ungrammatical Montanian.” Beth whispered to Eula, “I don’t know whether I want to put my name to all this bad grammar.” Nonetheless, she signed it. (The county attorney who was to receive the statement was the only man Beth had seen who appeared to have gone past public school.)

Mr. R. was impressed by the word “psychologist” after Beth’s name. He remarked that people in Canada “sure were well-educated.” He asked Beth how many years it had taken to get to be a “psychologist or whatever you call it?” He asked, “Is it true that all lawyers in Canada have to go to college?” Obviously, Mr. R. had received his education through the school of experience.

On the evening they left Glasgow, they got a flat tire. The jack wouldn’t work because the handle was too short. Being the resourceful women that they were, they came up with a solution. They’d brought along many books from the Toronto Public Library, thinking they would have time to read. (Alice was a librarian at TPL.) So they propped up the jack on a stack of library books. However, the jack still wouldn’t work. Fortunately, a couple of people stopped and lent them a jack. One of them offered the ladies his bottle of whiskey to drown their troubles!

Back in Canada, they stopped in Lucan, Ontario to visit Kay and Alice’s grandmother, Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert, the widow of Richard Culbert.

Jane Eleanor (Fairhall) Culbert (1858-1949). Photo courtesy of Paul Hodgson.

Eula Lapp recounts her final impressions of the trip:

The final impressions I have of the trip are: the length of Bloor Street [Toronto] in Sunday afternoon traffic: and people staring and laughing at us. Jane [the car] had not been washed since we left Toronto four weeks before! She was covered with Montana dust and Alberta gumbo and an accumulation of dust from other states. She looked more like a mud-turtle than a respectable, if tired, five-year-old Ford just home from a 6000-mile jaunt.

Kathleen Ethel “Kay” Carscallen and Alice Patricia Carscallen’s Family Tree:

Ancestors:

John Culbert & Mary Ward (great-grandparents)

Richard Culbert & Jane Eleanor Fairhall (grandparents)

Hulda May Culbert & Charles Rupert Carscallen (parents)

To read more about Kay Carscallen, click here.