Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1905-02-03
BOX CARS FOR HOUSES.
J. T. Carr Writes Interestingly OF
Sights Out West.
ROSES. ORANGES, SUNSHINE
Both are Enjoying Good. Health and
are Prosperous and Happy.

EDITOR RECORD;
When / wrote before, l said | would
write again when l had sized up this
country. The trip from Kansas here
was fine, the weather being the finest
possible. We saw many things along
the way that were new and interesting
TO us, especially tie houses i'll New
Mexico and Arizona, where it seems
that any old thing will do to live in. In
one village of thirty houses, every
house except one was an old box car
and box cars and adobe huts are com
mon in all of the towns. Lots Of
houses are built Of old railroad ties set
up ON end close together and rooted the
same way. the cracks filled with mud.
The first we saw of tropical life was
on Tuesday morning, November -,
when we struck San Bernandino at S:l5,
where the train stopped twenty min
utes for breakfast. The sight was al
most beyond descriptions; changing so
suddenly from the desert 10 fruit and
flowers was like going from night to
nOondav in a moment. We arrived here
at II o'clock and found the finest of
summer weather, which continued until
Christmas. We don't like turkey very
well al 30 cents per pound so we got "a
few fresh strawberries and had a short
cake for Thanksgiving dinner. Nearly
all kinds OF fruit are on the market and
at prices high enough 10 suit anyone.
For instance. Northern Spy apples from
New York sell fast al four pounds for
- cents. We had no frost here until
December rs and have had none since.
January ! was the annual Rose Car
niyal or Tournament of Roses. and 1t
was the finest street affair that | ever
saw or expect 10 see. | can't describe
il but aS / looked at the procession
which was an hour and half IN pass
ing. / thought OF "show day IN Nina.
| thought tlat if the people who went
for miles 20 see the circus parade were
paid for their time and trouble, then
the Tournament of Roses Is worth a
trip across the continent
After the street parade We're the races
at the park track-thc old and the new,
or the Roman chariot and the motor
cycle In the chariot race mile was
made i'm little less than two minutes
and IN the motor cycle race five miles
was made i'm little over six minutes.
/ was up 10 Rcdlands "a while ago.
right IN the busy part of the orange
season. They were shipping from fiji
teen TO fifty cars per day, which were
drawn from the orchard to the packing
house in boxes on racks exactly like the
sugar beet racks of Alma.
We saw snow capped mountains for
the first on the morning Of January !,
but they are over thirty miles away, so
they don't worry Us much.
Perhaps some of my old friends won
der what am doing Well, at present
lam building a house for j. T. Carr and
wife. lust begun II. | have n nice lot
6Ox229 feet clear of street. | paid $3.50
for the lot and got it cheap guess.
have cabbage, peas, onions, radisheS,
beets etc growing in the garden and will
plant other stuff soon. The ranchers
have their oats and barley sowed and
coming up. The oats and barley are
raised for hay. which AZ present l. worth
$40 per ton. There Is some land that
will raise Alfalfa but | haven't seen any
of IL yet.
one good thing here is the county
road system. The roads are good every
where and are mostly oiled with crude
oil at the rate Of 400 TO 500 barrels per
mile, which makes "A good road of sand
that otherwise l. no road at all, but they
are beginning TO use stone cruShers
where they don't have TO draw the stone
too far The crushed stone makes a
road bed that Will stay To tine end Of
time We are having our rainy season
now. with nice rain about once week
which gives all nature the smile that
won t rub OF ~
think my hcalthis going TO be better
here. | am feeling a lot better than for
years and have gained five pounds in
weight.
Well. il Is Sunday evening. l started
this letter last night and today | have
been To the summit of Mt Wilson We
struck the trail six miles from here at
daybreak and il took Us till 10 o'clock TO
reach the summit one and One-fourth
miles high and about nine miles from
the foot of the trail. At the summit
the largest observatory in the world Is
being built. the material for IL being
packed on burros the entire distance.
II is grand and beautiful sight looking
ont over the scattering clouds, the val
! ley. dotted with villages and cities. all
fresh and green with snow capped
mountains in the back ground a hundred
miles away. but looking not over ten
miles The Pacific ocean, sixty miles
away and the Catalena islands, ninety
miles in the distance, are plainly visible,
but in the middle of the day il is too
hay To see the ships. We started down
at 3 o'clock. reaching home at q, in
about half the time il takes 20 go up.
But as this is getting rather lengthy, !
will close.
j. w. CARR.