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We started the celebration of Archives Week a little early this year – hosting a program for the town’s ReadDavidson series. Since this year’s ReadDavidson book was Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, we looked at the history of travel narratives using books and diaries from the Rare Book Room and Archives.
One of the diaries came from Frank Barnes, class of 1895. After graduation, he moved to California where he taught school. In 1899, he made a train trip back to Davidson and wrote a daily account of his travels.
The first day of the journey was a busy one – including a short layover in Los Angeles filled with errands.
July 5, ’99 – Up at 4:30 a.m. fed Mr. Bridges’ horse – got breakfast – roped last trunk, got horse and wagon sent by Charlie Clapp to see if Willie Bouldin is going with us. After he understood that Mrs. Bridges who is away at beach leaving Mr. Heimbold to attend to the business with Willie Bouldin intended him to go- he came and took the trunks down driving rapidly getting to Covina just about as quickly as we went in carriage. 7:35 a.m. We left a number of things we meant to bring – Charlie Clapp went back for the books, we sold in Los Angeles at Jones Book Store for $2.25. – Signed for our tickets – had our trunks checked.
Mrs. Rice going to L.A. with us. Left a little late for the 7:55 train. Train crowded- Met Mr. Beck and wife who go to Chicago on same train with us. They have about six children. All of us went uptown – I to YMCA where I made out a Geometry exam for Bernice Hawkins, to Jones Bk Store- to Citizen’s Bank, saw Mr. Sam Parsons- out to Miss Emmie’s– saw her and Mr. Parsons – Got to Arcade by 12 o’clock- got berth tickets to St. Louis $6. Mr. Drury introduced Mr. Clark – personal conductor out our party. Train left on time – 12:30 p.m. – a climb from San Fernando – soon began to go through tunnels – a number our first experience with tunnels. Some very wild mountain scenery after we crossed the ridge of the Sierra Madre mountains – night before we got to Bakersfield. Didn’t sleep well my first night in a sleeper.
By July 8th, the train had arrived in Grand Junction, Colorado. Barnes describes the scenery from the train:
The canon walls rising grandly – often perpendicularly within a few feet of the track whose way was often blasted into side – on the opposite side of the track and just below dashed and boiled with foam the Grand River – narrow, clear as crystal – rocky bedded running often among and over great boulders – on the other side again the high canon walls often seamed and cracked across the strata- a chimney like pile towering separated half way down from the wall. Pines and other trees growing in crevices, on terraces and in coves – mines and shanties about on the sides often hundreds of feet up- apparently inaccessible.
On July 11th, the train entered the French Broad valley and travel conditions had gotten rougher:
No place to wash since leaving Cincinnati –
Arrived Knoxville about 7:45 a.m. dingy, dirty depot – white waiting room & ticket offices upstairs- col. waiting room separated from bag transfer co’s office by a broad passage where we deposited our baggage and looked around for wash room -finally found place without towel or soap adj. Negro waiting room — we started to eat something but our train was called . . . Badly crowded from room – only 2 seats for a large part of the day – valises, baskets, etc. made it hard to sit 2 in a seat. Scenery beautiful but streams muddy, houses, cabins; slopes not so very steep. French Broad valley narrow not broad and level as I supposed seldom wide enough for anything like a farm in it – ledges of slanting strata sticking up in lines extending across the river.
Barnes’ journey ended on the 11th – after a train change to Mooresville:
At Newton (or Hickory) our already crowded train received a large company of baseball boys and their friends – for Statesville – they stood on platform and shouted and went back and forth in car – We were a little behind time getting into Statesv. but Claude Morrison and his train were waiting for us and in a few minutes we reached Mooresville about on time so black and dirty that Mr. Cyrus Johnston who met the train didn’t know us.
This account is in one of 4 diaries kept by Barnes and now in the college archives ready for use by researchers.
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