California 1957

My dad was a manly man!

Immediately following Hurricane Audrey, in late June - early July, he loaded my brother, Terry Golden, my mom, her parents and me into our 1956 Dodge Texan and headed west. The seating arrangement was: Dad, Mom and Terry in the front and Me, Gramma and Grampa in the back. Sardines.

This was before the interstate system (conceived by Eisenhower) was fully available so we mostly drove on two lane highways. The car had no cruise control and NO AIR CONDITIONER.

Day one was Beaumont to Fort Stockton. We got there in time to swim in the motel pool. He must have had the pedal to the metal.

The second day we rocketed to Carlsbad, New Mexico, toured Carlsbad Cavern and then finished in Las Cruces. It was HOT!!!

So to cross southern New Mexico and Arizona we bought a block of dry ice. It was placed on the back seat floor near my feet. I don’t know if we were cooler that day, but after spending the night in Yuma we all had splitting headaches the next morning.

The fourth travel day got us to Rosemead, California, to our Uncle Gus’s house. I don’t recall going into their house. There was a tent in the backyard for the kids. My cousin Butch was my age and his two sisters Karen and Michelle were around Terry’s age. Sadly, I have lost contact with this group.

We took in DisneyLand. It was brand new at the time. Unlike today, we were issued ticket books when we entered with A, B, C, D and E tickets. Every ride or attraction required a ticket, with the best rides requiring an E ticket. There was a phrase in the 60s - ‘that’s an E Ticket ride’ - that came from these ticket books.

We also went to Knott’s Berry Farm and to the beach at Long Beach, I think for the 4th of July fireworks.

On the way home: Angeles Crest Highway, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Flagstaff Arizona, Grand Canyon (just a look over the rim), Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Palo Duro Canyon and home. I am sure my dad hammered the dodge to get us down the road.

Many cars in the desert area had ‘swamp coolers’ hung on the passenger window to provide some evaporative cooling. We begged dad to buy one, but he was also quite frugal and held out.

Finally, in Las Vegas, my mom prevailed and we bought one. It cooled marvelously the rest of the trip to Flagstaff except for the water it blew onto Mom and Terry.

At that point we picked up a cool front that kept us cool the rest of the way to Beaumont.

The rest of the story: The swamp cooler was worth next to nothing in the humid gulf coast climate so we did not use it, but we had paid for it and my dad hung on to it - even after he started having cars with A/C. We actually disposed of it after his passing while cleaning up his workshop.

And, did I mention, my mom realized she was pregnant with my sister during this trip. I think that gave her the leverage to get the swamp cooler.

My dad was truly a manly man.