8 - Southern Pacific - Visa Question - 2 May 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile has begun planning her trip to visit her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. She has put down her deposit on the ship travel. 

*****

That was a few days ago, April 29. The calendar had turned now to May, and Grandma must have been doing her homework. She must have questioned the man at the train station about the costs of visas for travel.

Not to be confused with the VISA credit card of today - there were no VISA credit cards back then not until 1958 - Grandma Cecile is asking about the permit to travel in another country for a limited amount of time. Perhaps she asked when she paid her deposit, perhaps she wrote a letter, or maybe called on the telephone. However she asked, by May 2, Albert Noth was dutifully sending her an answer.

A couple of observations. This letter had only three cents  postage on it, but for the visas, Mr. Noth

The envelope - note the simple address

indicated twenty-five cents postage would be due. I'm not sure why the extra would be unless it would come in a larger envelope, or would be a rush mailing or even air mail. Air Mail began in the United States in 1918, so it was an option in 1936. history of air mail

 My other observation is the simple address. No matter how maligned the US Postal Service may be these days, I don't believe they deserve it. They manage to do amazing things for ordinary people every day. This is one example from history. How they can get a letter from one place to the next in a matter of probably one day or maybe two in this case is quite a feat. And for 3 cents....

Here is what Albert Noth wrote:

"Salem, Ore. May 2nd.1936....

Mrs. Cecile Beitel,
Stayton, Ore.

Dear Madam :-

The German Visa will be 50 cts plus 25 cts postage, No visa is required for Czechoslavakia on U.S. passports

A Visa for Poland would cost 4.00 plus postage too and from Chgo 50 cts .

You dont need to send any money for Visa you can pay for this all when you get your ticket, but if you desire a Poland Visa pls write me and I will take care of it for you at once.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Yours truly,

[signature of Albert F. Noth]"

The letter - on a half sheet of paper

One other interesting note. Mr. Noth makes a point of telling Grandma that if she wants that visa for Poland to let him know and he will get it for her. The cost is $4.25 postage included. Later, when Grandma is in the Old Country and heading for her brother's house in Poland she regrets not purchasing her visa at home. Over there she reported that it "almost cost six dollars". Every penny counts! 

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Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "9 - What's In  Name?" click here  

7 - Southern Pacific Receipt - 29 April 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile has begun planning her trip to visit her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. She received a note from the Railroad Company telling her that the ship line required a deposit to hold her berth on the voyage.

*****

Grandma was not taking any chances. The letter asking her for a deposit was dated and mailed April 28th, 1936. Now we see a receipt from Southern Pacific that is stamped April 29th.

That tells us two things. For one, mail only took one day to get from Salem to Stayton even back in 1936. The other is that Grandma must have headed from the mailbox to Salem immediately. Well, she had to grab the check book and her purse first! But she got there to put down her $25 deposit the day after the letter was written. She wasn't going to let that berth get away! 

It must have taken a while to get from Stayton to Salem in 1936 as Highway 22 was not there in its present form. Even when I was a child, we used to have to go through Aumsville and around past the prison to get from Stayton to Salem, a longer more winding route. In those days (20+ years later) it was still a big deal for us to make a trip to Salem to go shopping. The traffic was not nearly as bad as it is today, however!

Even though this receipt is from the Railroad, the deposit is for her berth on the ship. The receipt identifies the fare is "for ONE ticket from New York, NY to Prague". The signing agent was A.F. Noth, the same man who had written Grandma from Salem, requesting the deposit. So far Grandma has not purchased her rail tickets.

I included the back of the receipt so that you can see what was there. Nothing was ever filled out on it.

Receipt for Grandma's deposit for travel from New York to Prague

Back of the receipt - nothing filled in

To see any of these images up closer, simply click on one of them and you will be able to view them all.

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Story to be continued......

To read Post "8 - Southern Pacific  Visa Question - 2 May 1936" click here

6 - Southern Pacific Company - 28 April 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile has begun planning her trip to visit her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. She has made her reservation with the tour company and gotten her passport. Word is spreading about her plans among her family. Now she hears from the Railroad company.

*****

The Travel Agency must have arranged the reservations on both the train and the ship for Grandma Cecile. Now it is time to put down a deposit to hold her space. Why the request comes from the Railroad Company and not the steamship line, I am not sure.

The envelope - (smoke damage 1985)

The following letter came from the Southern Pacific Office in Salem, Oregon. It is apparent that Mr. Noth was a man of few words and not a great typist.

Here is the letter:

Salem, Ore.April 28th.1936...

Mrs. Cecilia Beitel

Stayton, Ore.

Dear Madam :-

Hamburger Steamship Co line holding berth A Room 604 Europa June 6th. they request that we send them a deposit of $15.00 .

They claim New York want[sic] hold space unless they et[sic] a deposit can you favor me with a deposit of 15.00.

Yours very truly,

(signature)

ALBERT F. NOTH.T.A.

SP CO.,

the letter - it is a full sheet of paper, I cropped the image to save space

This "Suggested Itinerary" probably came along with the above note. I'm not sure when Grandma acquired it, but it seems to fit in here. The Itinerary shows that Grandma would travel by train from Salem, Oregon, to Chicago, Illinois and on to New York.

The cost of First Class would have been $135.15 plus $24.75 for a Pullman car or Tourist Class was $117.95, plus $8.25 for a sleeper car. The cost of the sleeping compartment for one night these days is more than the cost of the first class trip across the country back then!

There was another option listed under Fare Information, but I can't decipher the handwriting. It did not appear later on her bill, so it must not have been something she chose.

Here is the document:

front

back - smoke damage is from 1985 house fire that these materials survived

To see any of these images up closer, simply click on one of them and you will be able to view them all.

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Story to be continued...... 

 To read Post "7 - Southern Pacific  Receipt - 29 April 1936" click here

5 - Sr Agnes's Letter to Betty - 19 April 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile has begun planning her trip to see her relatives back in her home village of Nieder-Mohrau, Czechoslavkia. After she started making reservations, one of the first things she had to do was get her passport. That has been done.

*****

Word has gotten to Grandma Cecile's oldest daughter, Sr. Agnes Beitel, that her mother is planning the big trip.  Apparently Sister must have received a letter in an Easter card from her little sister, Betty, that contained the news of Grandma's intention. Betty, one of my aunts, was going on 12 years old at the time.

Sr. M. Liliosa/Agnes in her early years

It is interesting to note that Sr Agnes was still using the name Sr. Mary Liliosa. At that time, when someone joined the convent, they chose a new name to reflect their new life. Sr Agnes was one of the Sisters of St Mary of Oregon (SSMO). Most of them had "Mary" as a first name which was just represented by "M.", and then a second name which they would be called, as "Sister M. Liliosa" as she signed the letter here.  Years later, the organization decided that the nuns did not have to do this, and they could return to their original names. Sr. Agnes was one of the ones who chose to return to her family name. Funny, I always wondered why she did, as I thought Liliosa was a much prettier name than Agnes.

The letter in this post is the first letter contained in Grandma's collection. It is a reply from Sr Agnes to Betty. It also contained  a small Easter card that appears to be hand made.

Easter card, approx.3.5"x2.5"

It was addressed to: 

Miss Betty Beitel 

Stayton

Route 1 Oregon

The postmark: 

Beaverton Oregon April 21 1936 8:30 AM

The return address:  

St Mary's of the Valley 

Beaverton, Oregon

(The SSMO were originally called St Mary's of the Valley.)

We learn several things in this letter:

 Sr Agnes was surprised by the news, so Grandma must not have said much about it before this.

Grandma must have just had all of her teeth pulled and was about to get false teeth. Maybe that's why she isn't smiling in her picture? 

Uncle Tony Beitel - one of Sr Agnes' brothers - must have been sick, but she doesn't say what had been wrong. 

Aunt Betty was involved in 4-H, as many of her descendants still are today. 

The Sisters were just building the chapel in their Motherhouse in Beaverton. 

Sr Agnes was expecting news of plans to build a new church in Sublimity. That still hasn't happened to this very day!

Here is the letter:

beginning of the letter

J.M.J.

St Mary's of the Valley

Beaverton, Oregon

April 19, 1936

"My dear Betty,

I received your very interesting little letter and didn't think it would be fair if I didn't answer with a letter addressed just to you.

You surely did tell me some surprising news. - especially about mamma. I'm anxiously waiting for mamma to tell me more about it and of course I'm strongly expecting to see her before she leaves. If she had to have her picture taken [1], won't I get one? I hope she is feeling well without her teeth and will feel still better when she gets her new ones.

Betty Beitel Silbernagel

How is Tony [2]? That was another big surprise. I thought his birthday was April 9th instead of May 9th, and prayed real hard for him that day. I can't keep the birthdays straight anymore so I guess some day you'll have to write them out for me. Nevertheless I guess my prayers didn't hurt Tony and I do hope he is feeling strong again.

I was surely glad to hear that you won 1st prize in your 4-H Club Work and I'm  quite proud of you. And yesterday was the day of the fair wasn't it? It reminds me of the time I went with Helen Froemel [3] to present her 4-H Work at the county Fair.

By the way, what did you get for Easter? - and I want to thank you all very much for the little box you fixed for me. Did you all go to Bernt's [4]?

One more thing I have been wondering about is this? - What are you going to do or rather where are you going to stay when mamma is gone?

Today is visiting Sunday and I was in the parlor with Sister Annette (Hilda) [5] to see Helen Huettner, who works at St. Vincent's. I think mamma knows her, at least she said she was at (y)our home the other year.

The men have been putting up the steel frame for the new chapel the last week. It is surely noisy business but we are all over anxious to see it going up. Have they started the Sublimity church yet?

Today is certainly a big day for little "Margaret" [6] and one I hope she  shall never forget. When she comes I shall have "a little something" for her. Tell Stella [7] and Ruth [8] I appreciated their letters very much and give Marie [9] and all  my love. I would like to send a word to them, too, but it is hardly possible today so you shall have to tell them all I said. Thank them also for the goodies they sent to me for Easter.

Now don't forget to write again and also don't forget to pray for your loving sister,

Sister M. Liliosa"

[1] - Sr Agnes is expecting a photograph, but you don't get extras from Passport photographs

[2] - Tony Beitel, one of Sr Agnes' brothers

[3] - Helen Froemel Meissner, a cousin from Mt Angel, Oregon, she would be a member of the wedding party of Anna Krantz & Gus Beitel later in the summer

[4] - Bernt's, probably was the Joe Bernt family in Mt Angel, Joe Bernt was a first cousin of Grandpa Alois Beitel and they did a lot of socializing

[5] - Sr Annette Huettner, I believe the Huettner's were cousins of the Froemels. In 1996 when I traveled to Humphrey, Nebraska, with Sr Agnes, my Dad - John Beitel, and Uncle Florence & Aunt Virginia Beitel, we met another of Sr Annette's relatives, Lorraine Huettner. I think Lorraine was one of her sisters, but don't remember quite for sure. I do remember that she made terrific rhubarb jam and was a fantastic and prolific quilter!

[6] - Margaret Lulay Berning, not sure what the occasion was, possibly her First Holy Communion?; she was one of Sister's nieces, Margaret was going on 7 years old

[7] - Stella Lulay Neal, another one of Sister's nieces

[8] - Ruth Lulay GrosJacques, sister of Margaret & Stella, another niece

[9] - Marie Beitel Lulay, mother of the previously mentioned girls and older half-sister of Sr Agnes

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Story to be continued....  

To read Post "6 - Southern Pacific Company - 28 April 1936, click here

4 - Grandma's Passport - 7 April 1936

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma was trying to figure out how to get to Czechoslovakia so she could see her siblings. Seeing an ad by a travel agency in a newspaper with information about a trip to Germany for sightseeing and the Olympics, she cut out the ad and sent in her name. They reserved a spot for her, answered questions about cost for a child's travel and gave her some advice on what she needed next.

*****

The letter from the Val J. Peter Travel Agency was written March 24, 1936, advising Grandma Cecile to get her passport, since they had reserved a space for her. By April 7, 1936, Grandma's passport was signed and certified, ready for her travel.

Grandma's passport was not one of the items in her collection in the trunk. Apparently my Aunt Betty had it. Thanks to my cousin Marilyn Pursley, we can see that passport. Marilyn shared scans of the original.

A few facts gleaned from the document:

The Beitel farm address changed over the years. Here it is listed as Box 207, Route 1, Stayton, Oregon. By the time I lived there, 20 plus years later, it was Rt 1, Box 275, Stayton. Today it is given as a "Coon Hollow" address, no more "Route 1".

Grandma was 5 feet, 1 inch tall with grey-brown hair and green-gray eyes.

She was born in (then) Austria, April 2, 1878.

One thing that this passport brings to my mind is citizenship. If Grandma had a US Passport, then she was an American citizen. I don't ever remember hearing about Grandpa and Grandma becoming citizens. Maybe only Grandma did? Maybe that's why Grandpa would not go back with her to visit. Do any of you relatives know anything about that subject? If you do, please share! Thank you!

inside front of the passport

pages 2 & 3 of the passport

pages 4 & 5, with photo, signature and a stamp

pages 6 & 7 - note swastikas on one of the stamps

pages 8 & 9, more stamps

page 32 - more stamps, then regulations

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Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "5 - Sr Agnes' Letter To Betty", click here

3 - Val J. Peter Travel Bureau Letter - 24 March 1936

letterhead

Click here to read story from beginning

Story so far: Grandma was trying to figure out how she would make her way back to Czechoslovakia so she could see her siblings. She found an ad in the newspaper for an economic trip to Germany for sightseeing and the Olympic Games.

*****

Apparently the newspaper ad prompted Grandma Cecile into action. She must have sent in her request for a reservation, along with a question about cost for a 12 year old child. She received this reply from the Travel Agency in early April. The envelope was stamped Omaha, Nebraska, March 31, so it would have been April by the time the letter arrived in Stayton, Oregon, where[see above] Grandma lived.  

The child in question was my late Aunt Betty (Beitel) Silbernagel, who was 12 at the time. Recently, while discussing this trip, my cousin Marilyn (Silbernagel) Pursley, one of Aunt Betty's daughters, told me that Grandma had asked her if she wanted to go along. Aunt Betty turned her down. The trip seemed to go too far away, to a strange and foreign land and would last too long. It was just too scary for 12 year old Betty. 

The letter was translated by Al Haunold.

*****

Letterhead[see above]:  Val. J. Peter Travel Bureau

1307 – 1309 Howard street

Omaha, NEBR.

24 March 1936

Frau Alois Beitel

Rt. 1, Box 207

Stayton, Oregon

Beginning of the letter

Dear Mrs. Beitel:

We thank you very much for your letter and reservation for our company's spring travel on May 30th and we reserved a cabin for you. The trip leader will take care of everything for you so that you have no problems to get to your home country. Mr. Georg Hack is also Austrian, coming from Vienna and is planning to visit his mother and sister who live there.

Children up to 12 years of age can travel for half price on the railroad, but on the ship the age limit is 10 years. Thus the whole price for your daughter would be $185.50

Please get two passport photos and bring these photos and your citizenship papers plus one witness to the office of your local judicial district office so that he can initiate the application for your U.S. Passport and send it on to Washington. The passport can be mailed from Washington directly to us because we have to obtain the German and Czech visa (immigration permit) for that passport and have it certified.

Please send us your down-payment of $10.- and in case that your daughter should travel with you, which we sincerely hope, $20.-, otherwise the ship's company would not be able to definitively reserve the cabin. The steamer will be sold out a few weeks before departure.

We would be glad to provide you with additional information. Please write to us at your convenience.

With German Greetings

Val J. Peter Travel Bureau

per:(hand written signature) Val J. Peter

the signature

Two items worthy of note. First, if you noticed the handwriting around the typing in the picture of the beginning of the letter above, that was Grandma. 

She ran out of pages in her notebook for the diary and resorted to writing on scraps of paper. The entire back of the sheet of paper was filled with her handwriting from near the end of the trip. She finished her entry on the top of this sheet of paper. 

When I first started putting the letters together, I did not have this one. It was only recently when my cousin Marilyn Pursley loaned me the original notebook that I found the letter inserted into the back of the notebook. Perhaps you could call it a case of the last almost being the first.

The other item of interest is the signature "With German greetings". My friend Al Haunold, who did the translating, added a personal connection to this mysterious phrase. This is Al's explanation of how the expression came to be:

"I thought of something that I should have mentioned to you when I translated the letter from the travel bureau in Omaha, He ends the letter with the words: "Mit deutschem Gruss", (with German greetings)..... I remember from my father (who was opposed to the Nazis and when they took over Austria on March 13, 1938 and he lost his job - a school superintendent) that correspondence then was expected to end with Heil Hitler (Hail to Hitler) which of course he hated. Thus people found a way around the nearly mandatory Heil Hitler with the phrase "Mit deutschem Gruss", at least they did not have to gag .... My father finally was given a teaching position a few months later since they needed teachers, while younger teachers were inducted into the army to prepare for the invasion of the Sudetenland (German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia where your relatives probably lived then.)
Al"

Al's ending comments about the invasion of Sudetenland are chilling, as they are a reminder of what loomed on the horizon only a few years after Grandma's visit to her old homeland - WWII. 

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Story to be continued...... 

To read Post "4 - Grandma's Passport 7 April 1936", click here

2 - Newspaper Clipping About Travel

 Click here to read the story from the beginning

Story so far: Grandma Cecile has been thinking about visiting her siblings in the Old Country. She has not seen them for 35 years since she immigrated. She received a letter from her youngest Minna, telling of being very ill the summer before and of how wonderful it would be if they could all see her again.

*****

Apparently an advertisement on travel to Germany for the Olympics that summer in Germany caught Grandma's eye. The following article was in Grandma's collection. Nothing indicates which paper it came from. It could have been the St Joseph's Blatt, published in Mount Angel, Oregon, for the local German speaking community. Grandpa & Grandma were subscribers, so it is a possible source.

Grandma Cecile had been in the United States for 35 years. In all that time she had not returned to visit her family, and none of them had ever traveled abroad to see her.  She was the only one to emigrate. The thought of going back for a visit must have always been in the back of her mind, but now it is a full blown idea.

It is not without its challenges. She lives in Stayton, Oregon. That's on the far west coast of the United States. Her sisters still live in their home village of Nieder-Mohrau. That's thousands of miles away.

The town hasn't moved, but the map lines have. When she left in 1901, Nieder-Mohrau was in Austria. In 1936 it was in Czechoslovakia. (In the present day it is in the Czech Republic.)

Now, how to get there? It's a long way just to the east coast and the interstate highway system won't be built for a couple more decades. Grandma couldn't catch a red-eye flight to Heathrow. So how do you get there?

The following ad in the paper gave Grandma an idea. She kept this clipping in an envelope from the Val Peter Travel Bureau.

Translation of the article was done by Al Haunold.

*****

 "Big  

Spring 

Social Trip  

with the Speedy Steamer 

“Bremen” 

on May 30, 1936

Top of newspaper clipping

under the personal guidance 
of Mr. George T. Hackl, Trip Coordinator

An exemplary inexpensive trip

• Reduced round-trip ticket, 3^rd class, from New York to Bremen and return trip with an Hapag steamer to New York, $177.25

  Additional charge $ 5.11, S. Revenue tax 
  Children under 10 years pay half fare

  
  

  Fabulous trip program

  On our trip to New York we will be visiting the world famous Niagara Falls or the National Capital Washington D.C. After arriving in Bremen we will take a 21-day round trip throughout Germany which includes the biggest sights and the most beautiful parts of our old home country and concludes with a steamer cruise on the fabulous German Rhein River.

  • Special prices for American tourists in Germany
  • 60% price discount on German railroads
  • Savings of 30 to 40 % by use of German Mark travelers checks. 
     

  Visit your old Home Country under knowledgeable guidance.

  For many years, many thousands harbor the wish to once more visit their old home country and their loved relatives but they could not muster the energy because they did not want to travel alone or were afraid that the costs might be too prohibitive. The cheap price of our trip makes it possible even for people with modest means to see their loved ones once again and with such a fabulous trip to enjoy the beauty of Germany. You don’t have to concern yourself about anything, the trip leader will take care of the smooth operation of the program.

  The fabulous month of May is the best month for your trip to Germany!

  Immediate booking is urgently advised

  Travel activities this year, with regard to the Olympic Games, are rather busy. Many steamers have fully booked their berths for large sports organizations. Thus secure your cabin as long as something is available on various steamers. A down payment of $ 10.00 is sufficient.

  Germans and German-Americans!

  Avail yourself of this fabulous opportunity to make a trip to your old Home Country under knowledgeable guidance and for a modest price! Decide to embark now on the long desired visit to your old Home Country! Travel in the company of old friends and acquaintances in German happiness and friendship. 

  On to Germany and to the Olympic Games! 

  German Travel Bureau, Val. J. Peter Travel Bureau

  1307 Howard street, Omaha Nebr.

  Information

  Please immediately send me details about a trip to the old Home Country.

  I intend to be a partner of your social trip

  Name.......................
  Address....................
  Town..........State........ "

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  Story to be continued....

  To read Post "3 - Val J. Peter Travel Bureau Letter - 24 March 1936"  Click here