I discovered this antique journal at a neighborhood tag sale. The marbled paper on its cover caught my eye, and when I peeked inside, I saw that it was filled with beautiful handwriting. I was intrigued and knew this item had to come home with me.
Even though I am aware that it is bad etiquette to read someone else's diary, in this instance, I just couldn't help myself.
On the very first page, I saw that the writer, a young man named Harold M. Willmott, was from Darien, Connecticut, the town right next to mine. His diary begins on Monday, May 3, 1909, the day he said good-bye to "Mama and Papa" and bravely left home to journey across the country.
After reading a bit, I learned that Harold yearned to work on a sheep herding ranch and would be traveling by train all the way to Miles City, Montana. Train travel was quite a bit slower back in 1909. For instance, it took Harold 3-1/2 hours to reach New York City, a ride that takes just under an hour today.
In Manhattan, he purchased a one-way ticket to Chicago for $18. Then took a boat to Jersey City and boarded a train to Illinois, where he proceeded to write about the many sights from his window along the way. Harold arrived in Chicago 28 hours later.
From there, he traveled on across the midwest. Harold finally got off the train in Steele, North Dakota where he planned to stay a while with some family friends, the Robinsons.
While in Steele, he enjoyed many walks over the prairie where he often spotted Native Americans. He stated, "I like this country pretty well. You can lead a grand free life and be your own boss."
On May 18, Harold left Steele for Montana where he hoped to find sheep herding work. Sadly, when he arrived in Miles City, his dreams were dashed. He found out that he was two weeks too late and all of the herding jobs had been taken.
Eventually, Harold found work on a farm, where he rose at 4:45 a.m. every morning to begin his chores — milking the cows, plowing the fields, and planting potatoes. A month after he left home, Harold writes, "The hours are awful long here. I work 17 hours and only sleep about seven."
Then, on June 11, he decided he'd had enough and quit his farm job. After doing odd jobs for a couple of weeks, he headed back to Steele where he found employment at the general store. Working in the dry goods department suited him and he seemed quite content.
Unfortunately, the entries in Harold's journal end abruptly on Tuesday, July 20, 1909, while he was still in North Dakota. Why did he stop writing so suddenly? Since I found this travelogue right here in Connecticut, I can only assume that Harold eventually headed home. And after reading this relic from cover to cover, I have decided it truly is a vintage treasure. So I will be donating it to the Darien Historical Society.
I often wonder where the antiques I find have been. After all, every vintage item has a story. But few can share theirs as beautifully as this one does.
Susan
Just wonderful. What a novel his life would have made!
Posted by: barbara | March 29, 2012 at 07:51 AM
What fun to find your blog. I googled "display vintage linens" and your post of April 20, 2010, came up. It is wonderful, and I love your displays. I am so glad to have found your blog. I skimmed through the first several pages, and you are now bookmarked. I will return in the near future to enjoy more.
Thanks so much for posting.
Posted by: Ellie | March 30, 2012 at 03:13 AM
what a lovely journal, a glimpse into a person's past and times gone by... and i loved the way you wrote about it :-)
Posted by: jeyanthi | April 01, 2012 at 03:27 AM
Susan that is just about the neatest thing I have seen in
a while. Awesome!!! I have my
mom's autograph books in which
she writes about an escapade her and her friends went on in a
car and they went so fast her friend almost lost her bloomers.
Now this was in the late 20's so you know that car went fast.LOL.
It is so much fun to read her two books. Times have certainly change since then.
Posted by: Elsie | April 01, 2012 at 11:04 PM