Editor’s note: Few people today can remember what it was like to spend an entire day traveling from Wayne County to St. Louis. Wisking along a gravel road at a death-defying 15m.p.h. for 12 or more hours would test even the most patient travelers.
In the following letter, Dr. Fred E. Brooks, 91, of St. Louis recounts his most memorable (and longest no doubt) trip from Brunot to Webster Groves. Brooks won the Journal Banner Bicentennial Writing Contest in 1976.
It was late August 1923. I was twenty-five years old, married, lived in Webster Groves, and had a job teaching in University City. June, July, and August were vacation months at that time and teachers received no pay during those months. My first baby had arrived in April of that year and l we named him, Marshall, after his maternal grandmother’s maiden name. I had bought a 1917 Chandler car and was driving it around St. Louis. My parents lived at Brunot, Mo. In Southeast Missouri and had never seen our new baby. At that time automobiles seldom got in to Brunot. There were wagon roads everywhere of gravel and dirt, but no blacktop or concrete as we have today. Since I had no summer job we decided to visit my parents and go by train to Des Arc and from there six miles to Brunot by wagon. Most of my brothers and sisters were married and lived in the same general area. One brother, Eli, lived in Patterson. He and his wife, Mabel, had two sons, Eugene and Winfred, and four little girls, Maymie, Wilma, Nelle, and Evelyn. I had a lovely sister, Ruth, who never married and lived at home with my parents. I was very proud of my wonderful family and proud to show off my beautiful son. The nieces and nephews were all delighted that we came. The summer was spent swimming in the old swimming holes in Crane Pond Creek and Big Creek, visiting, and enjoying good home cooked food.
When it came time for us to return to St. Louis my brother, Eli, contacted me with a plan. He had bought a 1918 Chevrolet touring car and wanted to take his family to St. Louis and on to Marine, Ill. to visit relatives. He asked if I would drive his car to the city for him. We had planned to go on the train, so’ how could it be arranged? He suggested that I send my wife, hazel, and baby on the train. One boy, Winfred, who was about 10 years old could go with her to help when she arrived at Union Station and take a street car to Webster Groves. She agreed to this and said she would get groceries and have a nice supper ready when we arrived. My father would take her to Des Arc by wagon to board the train. Eli came to Brunot for me by horse and buggy the day before we were to begin our drive to St. Louis. Everyone was up at day break. Mabel had the little girls groomed and their clothes packed by good daylight. Eli had the car all ready to go and I was anxious to get on the road. Eli, Eugene, and I got in the front seat. Mabel and the four little ‘girls’ with shiny faces – Maymie,11 Wilma, 8, Nelle 5, and Evelyn a one year old riding on her mother’s lap. We left Patterson just as the sun was coming up and drove north toward our goal about 130 miles away and hoped to make it in 12 hours. We counted on arriving in Webster Groves by 6 p.m. Our spirits were high, everyone happy to be on our way. I enjoyed driving the car and drove sometimes 20 miles per hour, fast for that car. In 1923 the roads were gravel, dirt and sometimes dusty. We went through towns, Coldwater, Fredericktown, Farmington, Bonne Terre, and Flat River over roads called Farm to Market roads, which were sometimes so rough the little girls and their mother bounced up and down in the back seat. Sometimes Mabel would exclaim, “Fred, don’t drive so FAST!” We had to make roadside and “woods stops” about every hour. There were no gas stations with restrooms then, so, no place to “rest” except by the side of the road. The day began to get hot. We put the car top up to keep out the sun; no air conditioner then, either, except the breeze from movement of the car. The little girls sang, talked, slept, and grew tired as the day went along. Everyone began saying, “When do we get there?”
About 30 miles before we got to DeSoto we began to hear a loud noise in the rear end of the car. I slowed down, but Eli said for me to keep on driving until, “Maybe we can find a repair shop.” We finally limped into DeSoto and found a place they called a Garage Auto Repair. It was then 3p.m. The mechanic said, “You need a new rear end gear. I can repair it, but it will take about three hours.” Eli told him to start working. The mechanic said it would cost $13.00.
Our wait at the garage was most difficult. There was no waiting room, no chairs, no place to entertain ourselves. We looked for a candy store and found one about two blocks away. Eugene, Maymie and Wilma went with me. We got some candy but there was no ice cream and it was a very hot day. However, just as we got back to the garage it came a heavy rain shower and cooled the air; but that kept us inside. Mabel held Evelyn on her lap most of the time. Maymie was very helpful being the oldest girl. Eli was worried about the car and stayed near the repair man while he worked. We all made the best of a bad situation.
At 6 o’clock the repair man said the car was ready. We planned to be in Webster by 6. However, we were happy to be on our way at last and it was still daylight. Leaving DeSoto we drove north to Hillsboro. The children all went to sleep and we were making good time even though darkness was coming on and the roads were rough. When we encountered the hills close to Hillsboro troubles began again. The fuel pump was weak and would not pump gas to the carburetor when we came to a steep hill. The car would just stall. Our experience with a Ford car had taught us to BACK up the hills when too steep, but there was no way I could turn around and back up on that road in the darkness and we had no lantern to carry.
EIi decided that the only way to put the gasoline to the motor was to pump air into the gas tank. He got his tire pump and loosened the gas lank cap and began to pump air in to the tank. The motor started and we drove about one hundred yards. He pumped again and we went another hundred yards or so. He then, finally ran along behind the car pumping each time we stopped until we made it up the’ hill. This happened twice more before the car made it over the rest of the hills. As we got nearer St. Louis the roads were more level and the car ran without trouble.
We crossed the Meramec River, entered St. Louis County and finally came to some buildings. One was Sunset Inn and across the street from it was a small store with a sign “Moon Shiny Out” I went inside and found a Telephone to call Hazel. It was about midnight. She answered with, “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!” I assured her that we were all okay and we would be home in about 30 minutes. But, it was 1 a.m. when we drove in to Webster Groves, tired, hungry, but happy that we had finally made it. The dinner Hazel had prepared for 6 p.m. was waiting for us but of course was not hot and as good as she would have liked. Eli and family stayed with us two days. We visited the zoo and Shaw’s Garden and they were all thrilled with the lights of the Big City.
Eli said he wanted to drive to Marine, Ill to visit cousins and other relatives. Eli thought he could drive it okay if I showed him how to get through the city, across the Mississippi River and into Illinois. This I did and they all went to Marine and had a wonderful visit. On returning to Southeast Missouri they drove south on the Illinois side and encountered no hills. They made it home alright and I was glad to help them have a wonderful trip to the Big City
