24 - Diary Entry - 8 June 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile was on her way to visit her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. She had crossed the country by train, from Oregon on the Pacific coast to New York on the Atlantic coast. The Europa, a ship with the North German Lloyd ship line, was carrying her across the Atlantic.

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The first day or two had been quite pleasant, with calm seas. By her third day out, apparently the ocean had changed.

Here is her next diary entry:

Monday, JUNE 8 This morning the sea is pretty high, there will be many that wish they would be home and one of them is I. Not so much fun if the floor gives way and you think you are flying. Many of the passengers use the elevators. I prefer it too instead of walking. There are 3 elevators on this floor; one for baggage; 2 for people.

I went to Mass this morning and received Holy Communion. The Lord is with me, let come what may.

I have 7 dresses with me, but I feel out of place because I ought to have 20 if I would want to dress like many of them do. A different one for every meal and an evening dress besides.

I wish we would meet a steamer, but so far we have not seen any.

O my! Everybody gets pale and complains of not feeling just right. The roses and fragrant flowers fill the air full with the finest perfume. [1] Stewarts [sic] and stewardesses are walking with medicines and eats to the rooms.

I thought I seen[sic] the captain of the ship but it was the first officer. The captain must have 4 stripes around his coatsleeves. The boy on the floor wants to help me so I can see Captain “Ahren”. Our priest has light trousers on this morning.

This morning I was called to the guide. He [2] even wanted to know how much money I was carrying with me. He goes along to Prague.

[1] - Photos in the ship brochures show a bouquet of flowers or potted plant on almost every table, whether in the dining room, lounge or other room. Many stateroom pictures show a small arrangement of flowers on a shelf or desk. From Grandma Cecile's comments, they must have indeed had flowers all around the ship.

[2] - "He" must refer to the Val Peter tour guide, since "he" is going along as far as Prague.

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There is one more bit of entry in Grandma Cecile's diary for June 8. Sr. Agnes did not mention it in her writing up of the dairy. Grandma appears to have been trying to calculate how many miles it was from New York to Bremen. Here is a scan of her notes (to see it up close, simply click on the picture):

calculations on diary page

If you've ever been out on the ocean, you'll understand what Grandma was experiencing when she mentions the "floor gives way". The motion of the waves causes the vessel to rock back and forth, so walking becomes difficult until you get your "sea legs". Sometimes the floor just is not where you expect it to be!

Of course, this also can cause sea sickness. It does not appear to have bothered Grandma, at least not enough for her to mention. Some of her sons had no problems with sea sickness. Tony and Florence, "Squeak", often took a small boat out in the Pacific to fish. John, on the other hand, stayed away from boats. He did his fishing from shore at the ocean, lakes and rivers. Gus fished, too, but I don't remember if he ever got sea sick.
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Story to be continued......

To read Post "25 - Dinner Menu - 8 June 1936" Click here