Trailer Tales Chapter 3

Trailer Tales Journal

Journal January 9, 1953 (Roland)
Had about a foot of snow last night and today. It seems to have turned to rain now. Poor Les will feel bad if it is all gone.
Jane’s mom is not going to the hospital until next Tuesday. Heard on the radio winds of 100 mph in Florida. Perhaps we’re lucky to be here.
The stove is still giving us trouble. The roof of the trailer looks like the city dump with our varied assortment of tin cans on the chimney.

Note: The stove was our heater, which stood in the corner by the door. It was run by kerosene. You had to turn it on to let the kerosene run in before lighting it, but not too much because it would flare up to burn up the extra kerosene. It smoked a bit because we were parked in the driveway, sheltered by the house and didn’t draw well.
We had a TV, a little Admiral 7”.

The picture on the TV set is getting worse. By laying on the floor and using several mirrors one can sometimes catch a glimpse of the picture as it goes by – too bad mother’s clothes pole is not higher.

Journal January 10, 1953  
Rained all day – good old New England sunshine. We can hardly wait to get going.
Lesley has been wonderful since her operation. It sure is good to see her back in top condition. Sandy has a runny nose – it may be her new teeth.
Spent lazy day yesterday. Must get started packing our stuff away.
Our parents were having dinner with us when Mom Pinel had a pain in her side and went off to Deaconess Hospital. Hope it was nothing serious.

Journal  January 19, 1953
Jane’s mom did not have an operation after all, neither did my mom. We’ll leave soon. Now we need to get organized. We have to move our furniture to Kincaides this Saturday morning if we can get everyone coordinated. We are talking about leaving for Florida the weekend from next Sunday????? The trailer has been very comfortable up to now. I think I’ll get new brakes on the car. I’m going to varnish it this weekend.

Journal  January 23, 1953
Stove plugged – was not getting oil.

Journal  January 24, 1953
Moved furniture all morning with help.

Journal  January 25, 1953
Varnish still sticky on the car.
Journal  January 26, 1953
Gave notice at work. Varnish still sticky.

Journal  January 29, 1953
Gave car another coat of varnish.

Journal  January 30, 1953
We hope to leave Monday on our trip. Jane, who is asleep on my shoulder, got our banking done today.

Journal  February 1, 1953
Jane’s birthday. Too many candles, twenty seven years old.

Journal  February 2, 1953
W’re off!!!! California here we come!

Trailer Tales Chapter 2

Trailer Tales Journal

No sooner did Roland give up his job than our plans started to fall apart. Lesley was sick too often with colds.  The doctor said she needed her tonsils taken out. At the same time both our mothers became sick, one in the hospital possibly needing back surgery. Our trip needed to be delayed.

We took Lesley back up to our doctor in Massachusetts for surgery. She and her grandmother were in the same hospital.

Journal  (Roland)
Because  Lesley and her mom were in Massachusetts,  I was living alone in, what the boys at work called, “Pinel’s sardine can,” as I finished the last week of work.
On December 20th my friend, Russ, helped me hook up the trailer to the new trailer hitch on our Ford Station Wagon. The trip to Boston was uneventful except for the trailer riding a little low on the front end.

We had a nice Christmas. Lesley’s tonsils out just a week before.

Since we won’t be leaving for awhile I have been out looking for a job ever since Christmas. I hope I don’t have this much trouble in Florida finding a job (Will sure be glad when we get started). Money is a little bit of a problem right now. Too bad I don’t own a printing press.

“What?” exclaimed both girls as they read this. “You’re getting ready to drive across the country with us and money is a problem?”

Les & Sandy

Christmas picture of Lesley and Sandra

Journal January 1, 1953  (Roland)
We spent New Years Eve in Boston at a movie. We are now living in the trailer parked in my parent’s driveway in Quincy, Massachusetts.

in driveway

I am still looking for work. I hope now that the New Year has come that I will have better luck.
There was a nice little snow fall last night, so we all went coasting this morning. The kids seem to be coming down with colds again (I hope not).
No news yet as to when Jane’s mom will go in for back surgery.

Journal January 2, 1953 (Jane)
Roland went job hunting again – no job. Bought himself a new hat for luck. Mother is feeling fine but doesn’t know her hospital date yet. Lesley shook her cold but the baby still has hers.
We went to see the Ice Capades tonight. They were beautiful even though we had to sit with our heads against the roof, but we didn’t mind.

January 5, 1953 (Roland)
Got up this morning after a good nights sleep and kept my appointment with Monitor Electric. Got the job as design draftsman , at $1.70 per hour. I hope I make out OK. I feel guilty as I don’t know how long I’ll be able to work for them before we leave. Spent the afternoon shopping with Jane. Her mom is to go into the hospital Friday, operation on Wednesday.

Journal January 6, 1953 (Roland)
Jane took me to work today at the new job. (I think the word she used was “fascinating”) – and how.
Les is getting very restless and irritable, slightly competitive with Sandy for attention. She is very anxious to start for “Talifornia.”

Trailer Tales Chapter l

Children, Trailer Tales Journal

It was the day after Christmas. My grown daughters were home for a visit. We decided to check out the attic for old movies of their childhood. As we climbed the stairs to the attic I tried to remember where I had put the projector and the film. We pulled out a box that looked promising but held only old letters and photos. The next box held awards, school papers and yearbooks. The girls were searching through the box and giggling over the yearbooks when suddenly Lesley held up a blue book.

“Look mom, here’s the journal that you and dad kept when we went west in the trailer.”
They both knew about the trip but had never read the journal.

“Let’s read it,” said Sandy, as she sat down on an old mattress with the open journal.

Journal 1953
Purchased our Spartan 25’ house trailer in September. (1952) On November 20th we sold our house. Just previous to this we had one trailer hitch fall off the car.

“What does he mean – the trailer hitch fell off the car?” said Sandy.

Better back up a little:

Their dad and I married in June of 1948, right after World War ll. He was still in college at Northeastern on the GI Bill. I had graduated from Cornell the year before and was working as a teacher in a private school. Things were moving fast. By the following June we had a baby girl, named Lesley, and Roland was graduating from college. In the next three years we moved to Connecticut for Roland’s new job as a time study engineer for Stanley Tool Company. We built a house with the help of our parents, and we had another little girl, named Sandra. It seemed like all was going very well – nice job, new house, two little girls and a black cocker spaniel, named Inky.

You would think. But no – adventure called. Roland was unhappy in his job. We decided to go west to California to check out new opportunities. We bought a Spartan trailer, sold our house, had the trailer delivered to our  driveway, and made plans to leave for California right after Christmas. Meanwhile Roland built a single bed in the back of the trailer for Lesley, and built a crib across the foot of Lesley’s bed for Sandy.

Just before the house was sold we took our station wagon to Ziggie, the Blacksmith, to have a trailer hitch welded onto the back of the car. When it was finished we drove the car to the trailer and lowered the trailer onto the hitch. As we watched in disbelief, the trailer, hitch and all, sank slowly to the ground. Not a good omen. We had to jack up the trailer and hire a tow truck to tow our trailer to Two Gardens Trailer Park in Southington, CT.

Towed to park

Towing the Spartan from our old neighborhood

We planned to spend Christmas with our families and then leave for California. We would  head south to Florida, then west across the south to avoid the winter weather.

Roland gave his notice at work.

The best of plans ………..you known the saying.