Hello all,
It’s been about 2 1/2 months since the launch of Three Months By Car. In that time, the blog’s 31 posts (tonight’s makes 32) have been viewed over 3,800 times, the Facebook page has received over 300 ‘Likes’, and the project’s Twitter account has about 120 followers.
Since starting this project, I have been contacted by some of you with questions about the trip taken in 1929, about the girls, and most recently about the box that held the postcards and letters that inspired my trip. As time went on, I saw some of these questions repeat, and then it dawned on me that a question asked in the comments section of a post here or on Facebook is likely not seen by all, and sometimes I give new information in my replies that I don’t want you to miss! So with that in mind, here are some questions that I have received, and so, without further ado, here they are with their answers as well.
When did the girls leave, when did they come back?
The three left on September 1, 1929 and returned on November 29, 1929.
Where did they go?
For a list of where the three went, please see the Destinations page on this blog. I am tweaking a map online so that you will be able to see it visually. They went to three countries, drove through numerous states, and in total drove 12,353 miles round trip starting in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
What type of a car did they drive?
They drove a 1929 Ford Model A Roadster.
Do you have citations for where they stayed?
Yes and no. Most nights, I only know if they camped, stayed in a hotel, or stayed with relatives. There are a few places that I know they stayed at, thanks to their being mentioned in Dotty‘s postcards and because their brochures and rack cards were saved in the box. More on those brochures and rack cards in an upcoming post.
How did the three know each other?
The three grew up close to one another, their father’s worked in compatible industries (meaning they may have interacted) and it’s possible their mothers were in women’s groups together (I do NOT know this for sure, but Ev belonged to them in her 20s, which is why I suggest it). It is likely that they knew each other in the same ways we get to know others today, through friends, family, and other social connections.
So they were childhood friends?
I do NOT know if they went to school together (and if they did, I also don’t know when), but they were friends prior to their 20s as Edie went to college at Columbia after high school.
Did they work together as stenographers too?
Although all three were stenographers, they did not work together according to City Directories in the 1920s. After their trip they lived together for a time, and they did not work together then either.
Did you come across the box unexpectedly? Was it something your [great] grandmother showed you? Or was it something you always knew existed?
I was shown the box in 2010 while wracking my brain trying to come up with a MA thesis topic during my Easter break. My mother had had it since my Nana died, and it was the first time I had seen the box, although I may have been told about the trip when I was younger, but at the time it was just a quick mention of the trip’s existence. So even if on some periphery I knew about the trip (I didn’t remember hearing about it when I was first shown the box, but sort of remember it now) I didn’t know about the box’s existence until April 2010. It set me on the path of my thesis and now I’m on the road (metaphorically for now) of this public history project.
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I hope this provided you with some useful information. I look forward to hearing from all of you so if you ever have questions, please get in contact with me, either here, on Facebook, Twitter or via email at threemonthsbycar@hotmail.com.
Thank you all for following me and supporting me on this awesome and fun project. 🙂
Three Months By Car 