The Pleasantville press., 1912-11-13
REMINISC CENCES OF AN INTERESTING
AND ENJOYABLE TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

| again entered the special and pulled
out of Salt Lake City.
Next came the Salt Beds, natu-
raj formation 20 miles wide and 40
miles long of pure white table salt.
forgot to mention that early on
| Wednesday afternoon telegram was
handed the chief of staff saying that
Gen. Meyers would feel greatly hon
ored if our special would stop for a
couple of hours at Glenwood Springs.
We stopped, jumped into autos, car
riages and coaches and in ten min
utes were in the magnificent Glen
wood Springs Hotel and having after
noon tea served. There are many
medical springs here and all sorts Of
medicated baths. My husband drank
! ten glasses of the most celebrated
/ spring water. He induced me to
taste it, but horrors, what terrible
mess it was. / think all the spoiled
eggs in the United States had been
broken into that water. | taste and
smell it yet, and it has been almost
s weeks Since / sampled it.
On the train again and rushing over
barren lands where nothing but sage
brush grows-hundreds of miles of
this sort of land. After awhile more
fertile lands greet US. We were
about fifty miles from the State line
of California when special escort
and guard of honor boarded the train
loaded with boxes and baskets of
fruit. They were advance guards.
After couple of hours we made our
! first stop in California, at Oraville,
and oh, what reception we received.
We were each rendered armloads of
| flowers and handsome baskets of
fruit nuts, ripe olives, ripe figs,
| grapes, peaches, oranges, apples and
pears-and all grown here. They
were so delicious. | longed to send
some back to Pleasantville, there was
| so much of it. We again stepped on
board and that night at o'clock we
entered Oakland. Across the bay
| San Francisco doomed up. We were
escorted to the Grand Army Hall,
where supper was served and Camp
| Fire held Oh, the flowers of Cali
fornia. / feel that after seeing the
flowers of California our flowers here
in the East look very small indeed.
| Imagine whole hedges and fences of
roses, Gala lilies, geraniums, hydran-
1 yeas, anu 81 Oll III LflC 1O1 al Ming
dom. And the vegetables cheap,
so good and every variety under the
sun. They have strawberries, black
| berries, etc., etc., every month in the
year. At '11.30 o'clock p. m. we
boarded our train and early in the
morning we find ourselves running
along the beautiful shores Of the Pa
cific Ocean. The many places we
passed through-San Mateo, Santa
Barbara, ETC., etc., etc.-at two p. M,
Saturday, Sept. 7th, we enter Los
Angeles, the City of the Angels, and
bands of music and loud hurrahs for
! the flower of the G. A. r. greeted, US.
The people of the city loaned their
autos to convey the visitors to their
various hotels. There were hundreds
of them and the prices were very rea-
I sonable. The restaurants were splen-
/ did and the food of the best and the
prices SO easonable-"C teria's"
seating thousands were full all the
time We registered at Hotel Sher-
man, where the Department of Flori-
da had established headquarters. We
washed up and then went to the reg
istration bureau and got our official
badges and coupon books. Free rides,
Free lunches, Passes for every day of
our stay on all the street car lines,
{ etc., etc. Sunday we attended SER
I vices in the big Baptist Temple, and
late in the evening called on relatives
and friends. Monday was Pasadena
Day-a big day. Free rides IL miles
to Pasadena from Los Angeles), Free
lunch and souvenirs galore. Tues
day-Soldiers Home, Venice, Ocean
Park and Santa Monica, Is miles out
from the entertaining city. Every
thing free to the visitors wearing the
| official badge of the Grand Army.
Wednesday, at 1890 a. M, the big
parade. Oh, what sight. Every
! thing seemed to be closed to do honor
to the old boys. The ladies of the
city, dressed in white, walked at the
head of the procession and scattered
roses all along the route. 1t was glo-
rious to see the heroes of many bat
/ ties having their path strewn with
flowers. Not so many Of them this
year-many are feeble, and the dis
tance, ,4500 from New Jersey alone,
too great 1t took the parade 21s
hours to pass the reviewing stand,
where we were seated with the Ma
! tional officers Wednesday night,
! Mrs. Cora A. Davis, the National
President, gave her reception in honor
of the Commander-in-chief in the
Pink Ball Room Of the magnificent
Alexandria Hotel | had the honor
to receive with the National Presi-
dent. Thousands and thousands shook
hands with the receiving ladies. Our
hands were very tired when we got
through. The doors were closed at
10 p. m, or l believe they would still
be coming to that reception. The
next day in Convention and also the
next day (Friday). The usual rou-
tine business and election of officers
for, the ensuing year. Dinner was
served the delegates by the best ca
terer in Los Angeles and cost the en-
tertaining city S1.O0 per plate, and
1 there were 1000 diners here alone.
Oh, what banquet 1t included ev-
ferything in the eating line it was pos
| sible to serve, and SO much of it. The
decorations were beyond description
and the best artists in the city sang
and played for us, and a fine orches-