Europe 1952 Cover

60 years ago today my mom left on a three-month trip to tour Europe with a group from Brigham Young University. I recently finished a 440 page book incorporating her journals from the trip, 100’s of photos and lots of brochures and other memorabilia. It is the biggest project of that kind that I’ve tackled so far and I’m really happy with the results. I’ll post the finished pages over the next 3 months as she progresses through her journey.

The cover was inspired by a suit case that my mom used on the trip. It had an alligator texture and she add stickers from the hotels they stayed in. I printed this book using Blurb.com in their large landscape size.

Transportation by special Burlington Bus. The bus is scheduled to leave Knight Hall in Provo at 3:30 p.m., Friday, May 30. It will pick up students from Ogden and Salt Lake in front of the Salt Lake City and County Building at approximately 4:30 p.m.

We leave Salt Lake City by way of Parley’s Canyon and travel via Cheyenne, Omaha, and Chicago to Washington D.C.

After doing some sightseeing in Washington during the morning and early afternoon of Monday, June 2, we continue on our way to New York arriving there at approximately 8 p.m.

Friday, 30 May 1952:

Can you believe it? It was 3:30 p.m. and I was still disorganized for the trip. However, I had plenty of help with Aunt Mary, Lynette, Marion Allen, Doris Hermansen, and Maria Zamora assisting me. As time grew short, we just tossed the remaining equipment in the suitcase and gently closed the lid. I was given 3½ months ahead to get things organized. You would think I could’ve been better prepared!

By the time we arrived in front of Knight Hall, there was a big crowd that had already congregated. There were goodbyes and more goodbyes. Then Dr. Harold Glen Clark called us all into Knight Hall for prayer. President Wilkinson bid us God speed, and Dr. Harold W. Lee led us in prayer. With our heads hanging out the bus windows for last glimpses and final waves our big beautiful greyhound bus pulled out about an hour late.

Then the Give Us Some Money Committee hurried into quick action collecting money for the anticipated performance of Rigoletto in Paris. Our first stop at the Salt Lake City bus depot brought more excitement and new friends: Eloise Wilcox, Margaret Brown, Dick Myers (one of the sadly outnumbered boys on this tour), and Alene (my old friend).

Spirits were high in anticipation of the wonderful experiences ahead of us. I made an attempt to pick up some travelers cheques at American Express, but it was closed. Dr. Rogers called Paul Childs, who took us down to the Union Pacific Depot where I exchanged most of my money for 39 ten dollar cheques. Then we were ready to go when Herr Rogers discovered that he still had to sign his cheques. He had lots of money in large denominations though, so it didn’t take long.

At approximately 7 p.m., we went back to the bus depot where all goodbyers and well-wishers had departed. As we boarded the bus and headed east, things quieted down a little. All of us ate sandwiches and napped. Alicia and I had a huge box full of goodies that her family had fixed for us. We came to Evanston and went into the restaurant for a drink. Then we traveled on to Rock Springs and Laramie. The bus driver woke us up every two hours.