The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1900-10-05
How Fred Donaldson Made His
Trip in the East.
BY PAINTING SIGNS.
He Started for Paris, but Dcc;ti ed to
Postpone that Trip for
Il While.

He is Fred Donaldson, briyht-faccI
south SIDE high school boy, and he tells
4 very interesting story Of his travels
: and or how he paid his way through the
country by painting signs.
X wanted TO sec something OF the
world" he said. when seen 1T his home.
II! american avenue, land | did sec
quite lot OF it. 700. | made my tri],
aWheel. YOU know, and earned money
enough as went along TO pay all my
expenses. | never had painted Il sign in
m! life, but l knew / could do it ali
been doing all sorts Of fancy lettering.
and l1lst to know how to handle !" brush
VAS all | had to learn.
Started from Appleton
Il started out from Appleton, wlcr,
had been stopping for Il while and
dlunt tell my folks where ! was going
only that was going to take Il little
trip to Manitowoc. 1t was the oath OF
March when | started out. l carried on
my wheel change OF underwear and Il
little box with half Il dozen tubes OF
l'alnt and a bottle Of aluminium powder.
had about $50. but | left that in the
bank at Appleton, and only took Il dollar
with me.
The first day I rode to Manitovoc.
The weather. was awfuDy cold and rainy
ana l got the grippe. 1t only lasted a
Jay, though. and after Il short stay in
-AanltoWoc took a boat and went over
to Huntington. l didn't mean to STAY
there but day or two, but it happened
that | found lots Of work, and SO I
stayed there three weeks. There hadn't
been sign painter along in a long time,
Most people want to frcshcn up their
stores bit III the spring, you know, and
l went through the streets, and when
ever I saw Il store or shop that had
no sign, or whore the sign looked old, I
went in and offered to make new one.
can work pretty quick. and it didn't
much matter to me what they paid me,
because 1t was all clear gain anyway.
make the letters mostly with one stroke
OF the brush. and can do lot in IN
ho'lr;. Then painter where l went for
supplies offered to give me work letter
Ing oIhveI! wagons and painting signs,
and l worked there for a couple of
weeks, and he paid me So a day. Then
| grew tired Of it there and went on to
Reed City, "
Fixed a Chiraman's Sign.
1.-The first place l struck there was a
Chinanan's shop. He had an old yer-
m!llon 81 IN, and fixed that up for him.
men met some men who were getting
contracts for barn and fence SIGNS. and
went in with them. I had a horse anu
wagon and went out through the coun-
Try. putting 81 gns on barns and fences
That was great fun. The work was easy
anu could DO lot Of it in a day On,.
day | made 50.
This work lasted about three weeks,
and then got Oh my wheel. and pushed
along, stopping at little country towns
along the way, and painting signs for al!
sorts OF people. Most everywhere went
tney were glad to have me- do something
1or them. / found that l was not the
only sign painter on the road. While I
was in Reed City a dapper young chan
cal'le INTO the shop, and said that he was
L travelling 81 On painter.
he wore stylish clothes and an eye
glass, and carried 4 cane, and talked
Mltn an English accent, don't you
know, lie made 4 regular business Of it.
and they say he armed lots of money.
But when he found that I had been
ahead OF him, he skipped out. They saw
mat one travelling sign painter never
steps IN 4 town when he finds that an
n , mas got there ahead Of him. just
before l left Reed City I met a young
f'lloN' who was going out West on his
Whcil, and intended to paint signs along
me way. But he carried a big load of eli
Nlh''S Oh pants, ana a great bottle Of am
1holla, aud heaps Of brushes and don't
hlloW Tnnt all. His outfit must have
weighed % pounds. and I guess he cor
''i'u u Il before ne went very far.
Into Canada.
went up t" Detroit, and crossed over
into Canada, Wheeling alon, eastward
from one little English-naned town to-
another. 1t WASH any use to try to Get
any work, but it is 1 mighty pretty conn
'ry' ana the people are the finest in the
world. Generous and kind-heartod and
hoSl'ltahle, and the little towns and cities
are 50 pretty and olu-fashiCned and quiet
Everything is way behind the times. |
spent four days at Niagara Falls. sfvinr
the sights. and tried to see cverythjDy
along the way that was If interest. j
went into the Adirondack region and Wis.,
lted Lake George and Lake Champlain
ana stayed couple Of days ut Saratoga.
Just as was but little ways from
Sarato$a l got stalled On the top of Il
high hill. 1t was getting dark and was
hard riding, and | stopped at a farm
house and asked them to let me sleep in
; ; Darn: Ihey wouldn't hear of it, bu,
invited ME into the house, and kept me to
supper, and when it was bed time gave
me the spare room to sleep in. Tho novt
morning they insisted on keeping me to
breakfast, and then took me out to see
the view, which IS one Of the finest in
the country. l could see the lake, and
the town Of Saratoga, and off in the dis
lance We're the Green mountains and the
city of Albany.
New York state is the greatest n]occ
in the world to take bicycle trips. Eyrry
where there are cinder paths for the cy-
GERS, :lllu all you nave TO 90 is to take
out 4 license at al expense of 81 cents
or 81. and you can ride on any cinder
path in the state. The paths ramify ali
over the state, Il perfect network.
Il rode from one town to another along
the Hudson, stopping here. and there
Just as fancied, and doing little work.
When I got to New York city / didn't
try to work, but just loafed. There was
so much to see. 1t was fun just to go
along through the downtown streets, and
sec the great high buildings, twenty -sev-
en- stories, some of them. and the crowds.
and the hurry and hustle of everything.
| used to stand on the Brooklyn bridge
for an hour or two at time, and watch
the great boats, and the people.
Il stopped at the Mills hotel while
was there. That's great place. Every
thing is just rs clean asa whistle, and they
give you fine meals. You can stop there
and have bed and three meals, all for
C5 cents day, and the food is good,
too.
Gave Up European Trip.
'Iou can walk down Broadway any
day and see 81 gns out, calling for men to
ship on steamers bound for Europe and
work their passage, and I thought about
it pretty favorably for WHILE If I had
had $40 more l would have gone. l had
just 500 then, and it would have cost