1918 Road Trip
From Ethel Rowe’s Journal
1918 Road
Trip by Walter E. Rowe, his wife Ethel and son, Ivan and friend Oz A. Pierce, his wife Minnie and child, from near Hinton, Oklahoma. On a pair of 1918 Harley Davidson J models
with side cars. Changes From a journal kept by Ethel Rowe while on
the trip. I have tried to transcribe it as best as possible but have made some
minor changes to spelling but have tried to retain as much of the language and
flow as possible from the original.
Looks like the distance was approximately 700 miles traveled by bike.
On Monday August 5th 1918 we left Niles, Oklahoma
and went through Hinton. We stopped in
El Reno and saw Nannie’s baby and then left there around 4:30 pm. The wind and dirt was blowing a perfect gale.
We camped by the bank of the North Canadian River. Slept very
well for the first night. Started the
next day about 8:30, August 6th.
Came through Oklahoma City and Spencer. Ate a very good dinner at a restaurant in Jones City about 21
miles from Oklahoma City. After dinner
we came through Luther, Wellston and then Chandler. About a mile out of Chandler, Walter had tire
trouble. We stopped and he worked on it
until evening. Oz went back to Chandler
to get something for supper. We had
potato soup and watermelon and camped by a school house. It was a lovely camping place. Traveled about 60 miles that day.
On Wednesday, Aug 7th woke to a lovely
morning. We had fried potatoes, gravy,
bread and coffee for breakfast. They worked
on Walter’s motorcycle for about 3 hours before starting. Passed through Stroud, Depew and
Bristow. Roads were in very good
shape. Saw an oil well and in Bristow
nearly all the women we saw were barefooted.
Bought our dinner in Kellyville.
Ate our dinner about 5 miles east.
We had bread, ham, pickles, gravy and cheese. Drove through Sapulpa toward Tulsa. On the outskirts of Tulsa had to stop and
work on Walter’s motorcycle again.
Between Sapulpa and Tulsa were mainly oil fields. Spent the night at a hotel in Tulsa. Walter had to work on his motorcycle all day
Thursday. He had to get a new magneto
and get a valve fixed. Went outside town
about five miles and spent the night in a vacant house. Went back to Tulsa the next morning with the
intent of shipping the motorcycle home and going home. Oz and Minnie went ahead and after fixing the
motorcycle we followed after them.
Caught up with them after about 2 hours.
Arrive at Miami, OK and spent the night at a campground west of Miami on
Friday the 9th.
Saturday Aug 10th morning we had breakfast and started out
again. Oz had to work on his motorcycle
most of forenoon (late morning). We
camped at Spring River in Kansas for dinner.
The boys washed the motorcycles in the river. I did some washing. The children played in the river. Headed on to Joplin, Mo.
Sunday Aug 11th, we came on some awful rocky
roads. Ate our dinner in a shady place
among the hills. The boys shaved each
other. We had potatoes for
breakfast. We ate bacon, lemonade, bread
and coffee for dinner. Camped 8 miles
east of Springfield, Mo. in a Beverage stand.
Slept well and dreamed of home.
Monday Aug 12th we started on our trip before
breakfast. Stopped at a little town to
get gas. I got out to get Ivan and fell
on the sidewalk. Continued on our
way. Some of the awfulest rocky roads
that ever was. We got off the road on a
side road and traveled about 5 miles but had to come back. The roads are all rock and hills. Had a nice camping place. Ivan is sick.
Tuesday the 13th was a lovely morning. Getting ready to start again. Saw crops of red clover, tomatoes, corn and
apples. We traveled about 10 miles when
Oz had wheel trouble. He had to work on
it, so Walter changed his tires. They
worked on the motorcycles about 3 hours.
We went on over more rocks and hills.
In places, the rocks were as large as buckets. It kept the boys busy dodging rocks, hogs and
cattle. We stayed the night at a hotel
in Van Buren, Mo.
Wednesday the 14th we ate breakfast in the
hotel. I washed my bonnet. We started out at about 9:00 AM. We are still traveling over some awful
roads. Ate dinner by a creek. It looks like it is going to rain. The roads are now better, mostly gravel. Camped by a school house and slept on the
porch.
Thursday 15th we started early. Crossed the St Francis river. Came through Greenville. The roads are better. We reached Poplar Bluff, Mo. at about
12:00. Got our dinner and ate it just
this side of the river. Crossed the St
Francis river again after dinner. Sitting
by the roadside fixing tires. We have
traveled among the rocks and hills from Springfield to Poplar Bluff, Mo. It has taken us 4 ½ days, winding around the
hills and over the rocks. We are now in
eastern Missouri. We passed a 64A rice
farm about one mile before Dudley. The
crops are fine. A lovely country. We came on through Dexter and Bloomfield, Mo.
It had rained and the ground was wet so we slept on the porch of a country
home. The people are so sociable. We enjoyed the eve so well.
Friday the 16th we came through Advance, Mo. Ate our breakfast about 3 miles outside of
town. A lovely morning. We are stopped by the roadside. Walter is pumping up his tire. A one mule log wagon passed by us. We have seen several one horse wagons. We are now in Cape Girardeau. It is a large place. We had our dinner and went out of the city to
eat it. We had beef steak, potatoes,
beans and coffee. We are now sitting by
the Mississippi River watching a steamboat pass.
Saturday 17th we left Cape Girardeau and passed across
the Mississippi River. The roads are
good and the crops are very good. We
passed by the National Cemetery, it is a lovely place. Came to Mound City. We went across the Ohio River on the steam
ferry, The Leo. Landed in Kentucky at
about 5:00 PM. Had such a lovely ride over the graveled roads. We see so many tobacco fields. Passed through Paducah , Ky. It is a large place but we went about 3 miles
beyond to camp. Have a nice camping
place. It is our first night in Ky. Some
men came by and gave us tomatoes.
Sunday 18th, another lovely morning. Oz is working on his motorcycle. We had fried potatoes, tomatoes, bacon and
coffee for breakfast. We did not get
started until late. We crossed the
Tennessee River at the Altonis ferry. We
didn’t get to travel more than 30 miles on account of the motorcycle
trouble. It looks like rain. We couldn’t find a house to stay at so we
spent the night in an old barn. Minnie
the children and myself slept in a wagon.
Oz and Walter slept on the ground.
It poured down rain about half the night.
Monday 19th we started at daylight before
breakfast and traveled about 3 miles. We
crossed the Cumberland River. Ate our
breakfast on the banks of the Cumberland.
We didn’t get to travel very far until it was time for dinner. We bought our dinner at a little town called
Salem, Ky and came outside of town about
4 miles to have dinner by a little creek.
Oz’s motorcycle wasn’t working very good so we only came about 3 miles
before it began to rain. We sheltered at
a house until eve and it quit raining so hard, so we came back a little ways to
another house and stayed there the night.
Tuesday 20th it still looks rainy. The boys are working on the motorcycles. We came to a small town called Mexico, Ky. The boys have decided to crate their
motorcycles to ship home and finish the trip by train. Going to start about 10:00 AM next morning.
Wednesday 21st we had slept in a vacant house
about a mile from town. We walked
through a corn field and weeks carrying our bedding and clothes to town where
the boys crated the bikes for shipment home.
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