This article is from a letter written by a former Clyo resident, Gene (Arnsdorff) Madonia, who has resided in Florida for 54 years. She had read a recent article from Echoes about Mary Turner and the Rich’s Contest that triggered these memories.

Gene Arnsdorff attended school and was a close friend of Mary Zoller (Turner). They went all the way through school in Clyo together and Ruth Bromell was their teacher.

In the summer of 1941, Ruth Bromell invited Gene’s mother, Ruby (Metzger) Arnsdorff to go on a trip out west along with Ruth’s mother, Mrs. Greene, and her friend Mrs. MacElheny, both retired schoolteachers. Having just returned from a trip herself, Ruby declined but asked if her daughter Gene could go. Ruth said yes if she brought along a girlfriend so Gene and her friend Gloria Armstrong set out on an adventure. Emma Williams of Clyo was also on the trip.  

The group toured the Sherman Institute, the Indian Reservation School where Ruth had taught, and met with the head of the school.  The Indians were all glad to see their former teacher. Later on while touring the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, the travelers stopped at a small store to buy a cold drink. A young Indian man (21 years old) was watching them and recognized “Mrs. B” and came dashing to meet them. He was Donald Hongewa, a former pupil as a boy, and she remembered him. They had a nice chat and all along the way Mrs. B shared interesting stories about the Indian students.

Mrs. B’s stepson, who lived near Denver, met the travelers and entertained them with a picnic in a park along with some friends of his family. The ladies stayed in a hotel near Denver and toured a U. S. Mint. Each was allowed to hold a 40-pound gold brick worth twenty-five thousand dollars. “Talk about excited teenagers!” exclaimed Gene.

While in Seattle, Washington, they visited Gene’s Aunt Josie Metzger. She invited Gene and Emma to stay overnight while the other ladies took a boat trip to Victoria, B. C. They toured interesting places there including Grand Coulee Dam which was under construction. Gene’s Uncle Ray was away in the Navy and her Aunt was delighted to have Georgia visitors.

In San Francisco, the group stayed in a guest house of Mrs. Bromell’s cousin, Mrs. Harvey Lemcke. It was nice to have accommodations with friends or relatives. On the road they stayed in guest cabins which were primitive, nothing like the motels of today.  The rate was fifty cents to a dollar per person per night, two to a bed. They did stay in hotels in some larger cities and an overnight apartment which she described as being “nice.”

The automobile trip covered 14 states and a brief jaunt into Mexico at Tijuana. Places visited included: Great Salt Lake, Mormon Tabernacle, Grand Canyon, Redwood Forest, Hollywood and a tour of the movie stars homes with a guide, Rose Bowl Stadium, a baseball game in Wrigley Field, Catalina Island and much more.

Mrs. Gene summed the trip up, “Mrs. Bromell was an excellent driver and guide. She and the other ladies ‘mothered’ Gloria and me. We were two lucky girls to have been in the group.  I’ll never forget the people we met, experience of a lifetime, and the places we visited.”

Thanks go to Mrs. Gene Madonia for sharing her letter and photographs for this article.  This article was compiled by Susan Exley of Historic Effingham Society. If you have comments, photos or information to share contact her at 754-6681 or e-mail: susanexley@historiceffinghamsociety.org.