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In an earlier column I reported that Judy Oelschlager Dames had loaned the Bridgeville Area Historical Society a family heirloom — the ticket book her mother, Pauline Engel, used when she accompanied Mr. and Mrs. C.P. Mayer on an excursion to Los Angeles in 1924, as Mrs. Mayers' “companion.”
The occasion was the sixth annual convention of the Common Brick Manufacturers' Association of America. C.P. Mayer owned a brick company in Bridgeville.
The “Special Train Trip” began in Chicago at 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 2, 1924. From Chicago they took the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad to Denver. After a day of sightseeing in Denver, their cars switched to a Denver and Rio Grande train for a trip through the Rocky Mountains to Salt Lake City. That night they transferred to the Southern Pacific at Ogden, Utah, to travel through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and on to San Francisco. Following a day of sightseeing there, they proceeded on to Los Angeles, arriving there in the late afternoon on Sunday.
The convention opened promptly at 9:30 a.m. on Monday. Daily programs lasted till 12:30 p.m., with afternoons and evenings reserved for sightseeing and entertainment. The first morning was dedicated to welcoming addresses and association business. Tuesday through Thursday featured a series of 15 minute talks on a variety of subjects — “Tariff Protection for the Brick Manufacturer,” for example. Friday was back to business — President's Address, election of new officers, and committee reports.
The afternoon events were interesting — sightseeing in Santa Monica, Hollywood, Pasadena, and Long Beach; a special showing of the movie “The Ten Commandments” at the Egyptian Theatre; and a dinner-dance at the Hotel Biltmore.
The trip home began with an overnight ride on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe to San Diego where their cars transferred to a San Diego and Arizona train to Phoenix. There they detrained and travelled 120 miles by automobile to Globe, through the picturesque Arizona landscape.
At Globe they joined a Southern Pacific train and Thursday morning found them in San Antonio; Friday morning in Dallas. There their cars joined a Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific train for the journey back to Chicago. They arrived early Saturday afternoon, Feb. 23, three weeks after their departure.
I suspect this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Mayers; it is very difficult to imagine what a thrill it must have been for the young Miss Engel to see so much of this wonderful country of ours.
John Oyler is a Tribune-Review contributing writer. He can be reached at 412-343-1652 or joylerpa@icloud.com. Read more from him at mywutb.blogspot.com.
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