The letter below was written by my 2nd Great Grandmother Cora Slusher (nee Martin, later Townsend).
The Slusher family: James, Kenneth, Lelia, Cora, and Will. Note the picture above was not made for the story below, but the ages are probably about right.
LETTER FROM WILL SLUSHER AND FAMILY FROM SOUTH, DECEMBER 21, 1920
Taken from the Winchester, Indiana Democrat
Thursday, January 6, 1921
Rockledge, Florida
December 21, 1920
Dear Folks, One and All:
I am going to write a letter and try to let you have some idea of our trip and also the condition of this country and the states we came thru.
On our first day, Monday, November 29, 1920, we had a beautiful day and made 196 miles. We had a little accident in New Castle, Indiana. A Ford came out a side street and plunged right into us, and to keep from hitting us, Will took the curb and a telephone pole, which smashed one of our fenders, but did not disable us in any way. We drove into New Albany, Indiana at 9:30, and stayed all night. Tuesday morning we left at 8 o’clock, paid toll to cross the large bridge across the Ohio river. We stopped some time in Louisville, then after leaving there ten miles we found them working on the Dixie Highway, and the detour was right through a corn field and it had rained all day and night, and mud does not spell it. When you ask any one if there is a better road they just laugh at you – it was the only one. Well, we took a chance by putting on our chains and before we got them on there were about fifteen cars drove in passed us, and by the time we were ready to start they were all lined up in the mud with two teams pulling them out, but we all piled out but Will and James and we went through O.K. by driving out around them. We only had three miles of this into West Point. We ate dinner in West Point and then started on and had extremely bad roads, the only good driving being over a bridge, which we paid toll for. We then passed Lincoln’s old birthplace, saw the old cabin, and then climbed an extremely high mountain with good hard road all the way. We coasted out of here right into Camp Knox, a very beautiful place, then drove into Cave City, Kentucky, at 5:30 in the evening. We stayed all night as we wanted to visit the Mammoth Cave, which we did the next morning. It was only ten miles and we thought we could make it by noon and then go on, but we failed as six miles of this was over very hilly and rocky contry and we met and passed cars being pulled. This road was right through the woods and I expect we passed as much as thirty teams of mules in that time hauling cedar ties as cedar was about all you saw. Then the last four miles was worse; it was level but you sank to the axles and stayed there and just pulled all the time, one of these miles will make four of our miles as you keep twisting around and they measure straight. Well, we got to the Cave. There are four trips in the cave and they have regular hours to make each trip, as we didn’t get there in time to take No. 1, we had to take No. 2, which was about five miles walk with nothing but rock all around you. There was eighteen of us in this crowd. Each couple carried a lantern to see our way and the old guide carried a gas lantern. He had been there 34 years and said he averaged making the trip once every day. The trip we were on was the center of the cave, as one route was above us and one was below; the one below had a lake in it with a boat on it in which you could go boat riding. Some parts of the one we were in, the dome and what they called Broadway, was over a hundred feet high, and Broadway was about 100 feet wide. Then there were some places you could just squeeze through the rock, which we did and went down and down and finally came to a flowing spring, where we got a drink. It was wonderful, but I can’t tell you one-tenth of it. We cooked dinner and then started back to Cave City. Had trouble all the way and didn’t get in until late. We stayed all night again in Cave City and it took until 3 o’clock next day to get the car fixed. We then started on and had something like twelve miles of cobble stone. This is where the car as well as ourselves learned to “shimmy.” Got into Bowling Green, Kentucky. We then drove on to Russelville, Kentucky, about eight miles from the Tennessee line. It was 11:30 and we were all tired as the road was hilly and rough, so we stayed all night.
We left without breakfast and drove till we got hungry and stopped in the hills with a steep bank of solid rock on one side and cooked our dinner. We took some pictures here, but it was cloudy and doubt if they are good. We then drove into Lewisburg, …[broken]
…out in the mud and push and it was sure good old red clay, slick as anything greased. Well, we were looking or a town all the time, thinking the four miles awfully long. At last we started up grade and kept on going and found we had pulled the highest of the Chain Mountains. When we got to the top the fog was so dense we could not see the road, but all being a little nervous we took it easy and wound round and round until we finally pulled out of the hills right on to the Tennessee river with no bridge on a slick slope to the river. Well, our brakes were good so we stopped and found four other cars there waiting, and as the ferry does not run at night we were up against it. The other men said they had been waiting for a half hour, and finally, it being Saturday night, we got them to come after us, as we could holler across to them. The men, or some fo them were from Redkey, people we knew. Well, the ferry came and took us all across the river at once, when we left the ferry we had to go right up the hill again and about two miles landed us in the town of Guntheville, Alabama, where we stayed all night. We left here Sunday morning and trailed wet sandy roads over sand mountains until noon when the sun came out nice and warm, the first good sunshine we had seen since our first days. After dinner we crossed the rest of Sand Mountain and had the finest drive of our trip at one place. We came out the side of the mountain in a short curve which overlooked a valley, something like 200 feet below and just as level as a floor. We drove into Gadsen, Alabama, and out about five miles we camped, later two other crowds came along and camped with us. This night was extremely cold. We left camp Monday morning and drove through some more beautiful country into Rome, Georgia. Just after noon we started on for Atlanta, but when we go out about four miles we were on the top of the Apalachian Mountains and we coasted down about a mile and when we got to the bottom we found we had broken a drive shaft, so we pulled out to the side of the road, struck up our tent and got busy. Tuesday about noon it began raining and the boys didn’t get the shaft out until evening, so the man who owned the farm took Will into Rome and got one made. The next day Wednesday, it did not rain but threatened all day. They got the car fixed about noon and could have gone on, but decided to wait until morning as we had bad road ahead of us.
Well, we got away from there early Thursday morning and drove through Carterville, Georgia, through mud with gutters so deep our apron dragged until we pulled it off. You could hardly get down hill, not saying anything about going up. Along her the banks along the roads were banks of sand and looked just like solid rock, but you could make marks in it, and it was a Carmen red in places, and others it was green (as you would look ahead of you in the road). Got to Atlanta, 76 miles from Rome at 2:45, then drove to Macon, about 75 miles, good road until evening. Left there just at sundown and intended to drive all night to make up lost time, but about eight miles out had bad road and very dark and battery low (on account of pulling on discharge), our lights were dim so pulled out to the side of the road and intended to sleep in the car, but the car got so full for comfort that Blanche and John got out and took the tent and made a bed on the tent. So at 6:00 we started on for Valdoska [sic], Georgia. Had breakfast at Vienna and saw our first specie of orange trees, and the oats around here were up about two inches high. We landed in Valdoska I the evening and went into camp.
Saturday morning the heavy frost went off when the warm sunshine came, the first real warm day we had. This was Will’s birthday, so we camped, washed, parafined the tent and had a general good time trying to stay in the shade. We bought fresh beef or mule for 10 cents per pound and sweet potatoes 20 cents a peck. Here we were in the heart of the pine forests, saw miles of pine where they were topping them to get the resin to make turpentine.
Sunday morning we broke camp and started out just to see the country, so we went through Lake Park, where the convicts camped. We saw several of the camps and saw them working the roads, as they do all the work on the Dixie Highway. We left here and started right through the wilderness again, just pine, cedar, and palms, the ground covered with palms. We only went a short ways til we came to a place that looks safer to walk railroad ties, so we did as the road was all under water. We went through so many of these places all along, we just said another bridge out. We crossed the Florida line at 11:30, and then stopped and cooked “weinies” in front of a man’s shack. Just before we crossed the line we saw a large field of…[broken]
Along in the evening we met a man who had a disabled Ford. Will asked him if he wanted any help, he said, yes, so Will had him going in about ten minutes. He said to follow him down the road and hea had a good camping place. Well, we did and camped right by his house and he showed us a good time. He took the boys coon hunting in the day time and they got a large coon. Monday morning we washed. Here we got pecans which are raised extensively, whole groves of them. Well, Mr. Puckett (the man’s name) almost adopted us, said if we didn’t like it on down farther come back and stay there all winter. All southerners are hospitable. We cooked the coon and make potpis.
Tuesday morning we started for Rockledge, thinking we could drive it in a day. Well it was easier said than done. We intended to go by the way of Gainesville, but when we got to Lake City the garage man said no, go by the way of Jacksonville. Well we thought he should know so we started for Jacksonville. Well, we pulled about twelve miles, mostly on low, through deep sand and water, came to a small town; here we met three men from central Florida and they said you must not go by the way of Jacksonville, turn back and go to Gainesville, so they told us how to cut through the country for Gainesville, by the way of Lake Butler, which we did. Well, about one mile out we fell into a hole and couldn’t get out for some time, backed out and took a road out in the woods and hung up again. All got out again and pushed, drove there for miles through sand and palm trees to Lake Butler road just like a wagon road down our old lanes, only deep sand. Saw some people butchering, who looked to horrid to describe, but we were sightseeing, so we stopped. Will asked what they sold meat for? He said 15 cents. Well, we decided we would buy some as we didn’t know how soon we might hang up and have to camp. John went in and had some cut off and when he went to pay him he charged him 20 cents. John said, isn’t that a little high, and he said get right out o’ here if you don’t want it, get out, so he did and we drove on. It was all funny, of course, so we drove on through Wetherton Springs, a little town you could not see from above as everything here is one story and the trees completely hide everything. We saw several like this. Then we drove on through deep white sand till we came to an old house. We just drove in and stopped. The boys went and asked if we could camp in it and they said yes all winter if you want to. We built a fire in the fire place as that is the only mode of heating they have here – haven’t seen a heating stove since we left Indiana. Got our supper and then all piled down on the floor in a circle with our feet to the fireplace. Along in the night Lelia raised up and said the house is on fire. You ought to have had a picture of us then, all heads popped up at once. The casing around the fireplace was afire just enough to smoke real nice.
Next morning we visited a cane mill close. It was something new to me. Was just like the old style one on Uncle Dan Harmon’s place, but none of the rest had ever seen one. Then we drove one and a half miles along a road just wide enough for one machine and you wanted to keep your head inside. The road was sand and running water, out of this through deep sand, passing a turpentine distillery to the H.W. into Gainesville. We felt like screaming glory for we had make only forty miles the day before. After leaving Gainesville a little ways we ran into the orange groves, then we began feeling we were in Florida. Well, we drove from here to Leesburg and then a few miles farther on to a large lake, Lake Weir, and camped over the fence from an orange grove on the lake. This night the boys pulled moss out of trees which is very plentiful an in fact it is killing the trees, it will kill any of them if not kept out. In the night the wind came up and almost blew the tent over, and I thought the car was afire. Caught two centipeads in our tent. I called them alligators. Thursday morning we drove to Sanford. After leaving Sanford we got on the wrong road and drove on ferry across St. John river. While on the ferry the man said we were on the wrong road, so we backed off and went back to the other road; drove twelve miles of fine road, cement right through the gardening section. Acres of lettuce all sizes, celery, cabbage and some other things we didn’t know what they were. All day having tire trouble for the first. We drove twelve miles into Geneva in the evening late and found we could not cross the bridge. Said we must go back and cross by the ferry. Well we pitched our tent…[broken]
We got our mail and found the Dull place, but they would not let us stay there, there was no one there but the colored people. So they said Sol Dull was on down farther about six miles, so we came on down and found him. George Bolander, Walter Wagner, Bert Cowden, and George Harris all here camping in an old house. They are picking oranges. Well we asked the man about camping and he said well these people have about 300 acres and we surely can find some place to camp. He had a one room house just built, so he said we could have it; so here we are on the bank of the river with plenty of fish, oranges and everything needed. Everyone is good to us. We fixed our camp up Saturday evening and got supper and then called on the rest of the Hoosiers here and had a real good time. Sunday the boys fished all day. Monday we washed and the boys fixed the oranges to send home and fished, catching a good catch every time. Tuesday the man who owns the farm asked them if they wanted to help pick oranges and they said, yes. So they have been picking today as this is Tuesday evening. Kenneth, James, Lelia and I finished this afternoon and caught a bucketful; the rest are fishing now.
One other nice thing for us, Mr. Bradlum, the man who owns the farm, has given us the privilege to use all the fruit we want and anything else on the farm, and says we can stay as long as we like. Also that he will have work for them most of the time. We sure appreciate it too, but we can not realize that this is December for it is extremely warm here in the day time; at night it is cool, just nice to sleep. There are several mosquitoes and they say at times they get real bad, but they don’t seem to poison like our kind. We are going to town tomorrow to try and fix us up a Christmas dinner. Don’t know what it will be. We are sending the oranges for your Christmas. Divide them up as best you can.
One thing I forgot to mention was the celebrating of my birthday on the day we only made forty miles. They all thought it was real funny, and another was we crossed the Swanee river on our last Sunday’s drive, and saw the spring where they go to take baths.
Well, I think this is about all I can tell you. When you read it hand it to some of the rest. We will stay here for some time.
One more thing I want to say, the most important to me. None of us have taken the least bit of cold. We have never had to use our medicine kit. Well this is Wednesdary morning and everything lovely. We are going to town at noon.
Good-bye,
Cora, Will, and Children in the Sunny South
The girls are sitting here tempting me with oranges.
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