Tales From the Past

In 1933 when my Grandfather was 7 years old, his parents loaded him and his brother into their Model T and began the trek from Santa Barbara, CA all the way to Chicago, IL. The purpose of this trip was to see the World's Fair, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Chicago. They took a meandering route so that they could stay with family along the way. Travel was much more difficult in those days, so it was a rare treat for my Great-Grandma to have the opportunity to see her 12 siblings again.

Once they finally arrived at the World's Fair, my Grandfather was thrilled by the train and airplane exhibits.

He would have seen this plane, and it may have been what started him on the path to joining the Air Force during the Korean war.

When I asked him more questions about the fair, my Grandfather's clearest memories were of the trains, planes, tractors and cars - I imagine these must have thrilled him as a 7 year old.

His stories prompted me to do some more research on the exhibits. I discovered that there was an entire building dedicated to the Dairy industry - with exhibits describing how the first cows came over with the pilgrims, up to the current dairy methods.

I began to think about my Grandfather's life, how he was a navigator on bombers during the Korean war, and then later a dairy man. I wonder if his parents realized how much that summer trip would impact his decisions later in life.