Trip to Rochester, Minnesota

In the Spring of 1956 Hazel wanted to visit her sister Helen and her husband Carl that lived in Rochester, Minnesota. She wanted to take her Mother, Father, and younger sister Glenda to see them. Hazel, Pam, Glenn, and I made up the seven people making this long road trip. We packed the car full of about everything we had which included plenty of food since we were going to cook our meals on the way up.

We started out in the wee hours of the morning. When we reached West Virginia, we stopped at a roadside picnic table to have our breakfast. When we stopped and got out of the car, it was not long before we felt that we were about to freeze! We found that the water was not fit to drink and it tasted awfully bad. We hurried and when we finished our meal it felt so good to get back into the warm car and be back on the road. After twelve hours we arrived in Rochester and had no problems finding Helen and Carl’s house. This picture of Hazel's parents was taken at one of our stops on the way to Rochester.

On the way up I drove as fast as I could and the first morning that we were there I discovered that I had blown a head gasket on the 1952 Rambler. I took it to a dealer and got it fixed so it was back in top condition and only cost $14.00. This was the only trouble that I ever had with that car.

Carl was still in the army and his job was recruiting so after work he was able to come home for the evenings. We had a great four-day visit. We all agreed that the trip home was much better that the one going up. Part of that was knowing that we were going to be home and would be able to sleep in our own bed that night after the long trip.

We enjoyed making the trip in the 52 Rambler, later on I sold it to Fred Jr. and bought a brand new1959 Rambler station wagon which cost me $2400.00; I drove until 1968. Listen as I tell this story.