Travels With Grace: Canada and the Return Home, 1924
Welcome to the next segment of our 2019 #TravelTuesday series: Traveling with Grace. Today Grace and her family head into British Columbia and Alberta, Canada.
Banff Springs
View towards the Victoria Glacier and Lake Louise on October 20, 1924 (source: National Air Photo Library CA-114-60).
August 22, 1924: We left Lake Louise by auto this morning at nine o’clock, but not before I had one last, long, loving look at this, which I consider the most perfect picture I have yet beheld, for the sun was shining brightly, the air was clear as crystal and for the first time since I have been here there was not a vestige of mist on the mts. which stood out sharply their snowy summits clearly defined against the blue sky, the poppies gleaming like gold against their rich green background and the sailing surface of the lake shining softly in its basin. But the picture did not long remain thus, for the mists arrived presently, and on our ride of 5 hours to Banff we ran into several showers. The drive was a most enjoyable one with a nice party of jolly fellow tourists (I had a very interesting conversation with a young girl from N.Y.C. who sat next to me).
National Park Service poster featuring bighorn sheep, c. 1936-1939. Created by the Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
We had the Bow river in sight nearly all the way and one chain of mts. after the other with curious craggy peaks all different and all picturesque. A sight which fascinated me was that of a beautiful herd of about twenty fawn colored Rocky Mt. wild sheep which crossed the road in front of us, stood alert as though posing for a photo, then scattering like lightening thru the trees and up the rocky slopes. The resembled the wild deer in coloring and bucks have beautiful curving horns. There is much foxtail grass, which is a beautiful tawny shade, Indian paintbrush and harebells or Scottish blue bells, growing beside the road and tall cat0tails in the marshy places.
Banff Springs Hotel, 1902. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Arrived at Banff Springs Hotel a little after 2 P.M. (having stopped at Storm Mt., [??] and Johnson canyon en route) and after lunch took another ride to Banff village, thru the Rocky Mt. park and zoo where we saw the coyote, wolverine, a beautiful polar stream from a considerable height. We passed a little mining town called Bankhead and saw the shaft of an abandoned coal mine. We rode out to Lake Minnewanka, about 9 miles from Banff, a pretty sheet of water, long and winding with many gulls on its surface. A short distance from the lake Cascade Creek falls over a high dam and down in a narrow gorge between steep walls of rock in what is known as Devil’s canyon. We saw many beautiful wild flowers along the road including a quantity of black-eyed-susans.
Lake Minnewanka, Banff National Park, 1924. Via.
August 23, 1924: It has been a beautiful day and we enjoyed resting on the balcony of this very comfortable hotel, with an expansive view over the mts, not snow covered here but reminding one of that line in “Thanatosis:” “rock-rimmed and ancient as the hills,” standing as they do sentinel-like on all sides, they look as if they had weathered all the storms of all the ages. Below is the big swimming pool, half filled with hot sulphur water, the other half separated by a glass partition is filled with the icy waters from the mt. stream. On either side of the pool are grassy slopes planted with purple flowers, the hotel’s color and a little beyond is the private park wooded and rustic. Out in front are Bow Falls of conservable breadth but not very high and below them flows the Row River to where a few feet to the right it joins the Sprey when the two wind on in one thru the meadows to the eastward. Along the banks below the rocks are little sandy shelves in the protected coves where we see families picnicking, all of which makes a very animated picture.
View up the Bow River valley to Cascade Mountain. Note Canmore townsite in the foreground (source: National Air Photo Library CA-114-87).
After listening to the concert this evening we sat on the terrace watching the last light from the setting sun die out in the west and the stars come out one by one until they shown in myriads, making the mots. Stand out blacker in the contract with the sky and the while we hear the monotone of the rushing water as it tumbles over the falls. There were quite a few swimming in the pool tonight.
August 24, 1924: Before leaving Banff today at 1 p.m. We took the loop drive around the foot of the mts. past the golf course, up to the “hoodoos” peculiar rock formations projecting from the sides of the mts., thru the wooded ravine leading to the foot of Bow Falls and past the government fish hatcheries (salmon, rainbow and cutthroat trout). Within two hours after we took the train we were out of the mts. but we still had the river to keep us company until we reached Calgary which looked like a pretty good town from what I could see. The C.P.R. has a very nice hotel, the Palliser, next to the station. After leaving Calgary we see nothing but prairies stretching in endless green flatness on all sides to the horizon, and stocked with many head of blooded cattle, sheep, and horses and thousands of acres of golden wheat, some of it being harvested. Shortly after dark we arrived at Medicine Hat where a big crowd was gathered at the station. Tonight I watched the waiters make up their beds on army cots which they took from the possum belly of the dining car.
Winnipeg
August 25, 1924: We passed Moose Jaw and Regina before I got up this morning and I was disappointed that I did not see them, especially Regina which is the capitol of Saskatchewan. We say in the observation (swallows) a little while but saw nothing of interest beyond the prairies, much cattle, a few farms and orchards and an occasional country town. Arrived at Winnipeg at 8:10 and went to the Royal Alexandra, a C.P.R. hotel.
Assiniboine Park, view of the lake, c. 1920-1950. Published by Valentine Edy Co., courtesy of Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
August 26, 1924: We spent a most agreeable day in Winnipeg. This morning we took a car with a party of English ladies and rode around the city seeing the shops and residences, office buildings etc. There seem to be more banks than anything else and such big ones, but I understand many of them have failed and been absorbed by others. The Law Courts of the University of Manitoba are very pretty buildings as is also the Provincial Parliament buy not nearly so nice as that in Victoria. We rode thru Assiniboine Park, beside the river of that name, very flat with considerable open space, well kept lawn, a good zoo and botanical gardens. Went thru the suburban town of Tuxedo. The country homes are rather plain compared with the others we’ve seen.
Grain Exchange Building, Calgary. Published by Novelty Manufacturing and Art Co., courtesy of Peel’s Prairie Provinces, University of Alberta Libraries.
On our return to town we got off at the Grain Exchange and I was fascinated in watching the men bidding on the floor. It sounds like Bedlam and looks like a free-for-all fight. We stayed for about half an hour then went to Hudson’s Bay Co. where they served us an excellent lunch for 50 cents. The merchandise man from whom we got beaded caribou gauntlets, showed us thru the fur department and brought out for our inspection some of their choicest skins including silver, red, cross, and white fox, beaver, ermine and lynx. We saw in this store the most beautiful and complete collection of Indian arts and handicrafts from which one could learn much of their history. Then we took another nice ride thru Ellen Park and the St. Boniface district. The driver took us to the home of some Belgian settlers from whom we bought some good beer, and I talked French with the many. It was really bootlegging or rather a “speak-easy” as it is unlawful to sell liquor except at the commissioners.
On Lake Superior
“October on the North Shore, Lake Superior” by Arthur Lismer, 1927. Courtesy of Canadian Geographic.
August 27, 1924: We boarded the train at 9 o’clock last night and awoke this morning to find ourselves well out of the prairies and in the woods again varied here and there with lovely sylvan lakes. At 9:25 A.M. we reached Fort William where the train took us right to our boat, the “Assiniboia.” It is comfortable and spacious. Both Fort William and Port Arthur, an hour’s ride away, are large grain shipping ports and the water fronts are lined with huge elevators. We came out of Thunder Bay, which is really part of Lake Superior, at about 4:30 P.M. and were then beyond sight of land. Up to that time we saw the shore quite plainly with sloping hills on either side and a few islands with their light houses. This afternoon I talked to a Mrs. Heller from New York.
On Lake Huron
Anchor Line steamer in the Soo Locks, ca. 1900s. Courtesy of the Curt Teich Postcard Archives Digital Collection (Newberry Library).
August 28, 1924: The lake has been smooth as glass all night and we could hardly feel the boat move. We were up early this morning to see the ships go thru the Soo. The canal is a small one with just one lock and the ship only raises a little more than 18 ft. going thru under its own power slowly, fastened to the sides by means of a rope thrown from post to post. We stopped at Sault St. Marie for 4 hours, the American town on one side, with a big carbide plant on the dock, and the Canadian town which is smaller, on the other, the principal industry here being a paper mill. The scenery along St. Mary’s river is pretty and varied. Many little motor boats ply the water. The shores are dotted with light houses and little cottages. Then we went into Lake Huron which is just as calm as the other lake and finally emerged into Georgian Bay where we once again in sight of land. Tonight there is a beautiful sunset and we remained on dock until after ten o’clock watching the dancing. The hours passed pleasantly talking to the Hellers, and the Winters from Sheffield, Eng. The trip has been delightful in every way.
Toronto
Hotel Edward, envelope, 1903 and postcard showing annex built in 1922. Source: Sally Gibson via.
August 29, 1924: Arrived at Port McNicoll at 8:20 A.M. Everyone was sorry to leave the boat. The ride of two hours in the train to Toronto was a pretty one viewing farm lands, meadows, orchards, rolling fields of corn and wheat, here and there crossing a placid river and an occasional neat little town of which Alliston, Ont. Is a type. The country hereabout seems very fertile. The Hellers came in our car and talked a while. When we arrived at Toronto, we went to the King Edward where we feel quite at home having stopped here last year. One of the things that strikes a visitor to this city is the number and variety of the church chimes. They strike every quarter hour and some of them are very pretty.
Toronto, Queen Street looking east from James Street, 1924. Via.
August 30, 1924: We spent a quiet day in the hotel and took a little walk this evening. It is much warmer, really quite the warmest day we have had in weeks for although we have been in some warm places (Winnipeg for example, but there was a strong wind blowing there) it is usually a dry heat in the west whereas we are back in that awful humidity. Toronto is very crowded now with visitors from all parts of the States and Canada coming to see the Exposition, and we were lucky to get rooms here.
Hamilton
Sunnyside Beach, Toronto, July 1924. Via.
August 31, 1924: After breakfast we started to motor over to Hamilton but hadn’t gone very far when the tire blew out (our second experience of this kind in 3 months) and not having a second spare the driver took us back to Sunnyside where we got in the regular bus and this time made the trip without mishap. The ride was very pretty and part of the time at least agreeably cool where we followed the shore of Lake Ontario. Many people were bathing and canoeing in the lake. There are a number of beautiful homes along the shore fringed with flower gardens, and several large estates. In Hamilton we went to the Royall Connaught, a very attractive hotel under the same management as the King Edward, and here ate lunch. This is an industrial city of about 150,000 with a pretty retail district, wide well-kept streets, nice homes, a pretty park and museum, several theaters, etc. We came back to Toronto in the evening by a different road. The country looks so pretty at sunset and a lot of people are eating supper on the lawns. Back at Sunnyside Beach we saw a tremendous crowd of people and cars so that we could hardly get thru. The place is beautifully illuminated and there are some eleven electric signs along the way.
Buffalo
Aerial view of the Buffalo Inner Harbor from the south, 1924 from the 1924 Ronne & Watson aerial survey. Courtesy of Western New York Heritage.
September 1, 1924: A storm during the night cooled the air considerably so that it was very pleasant travelling. We took the train at 3:10 P.M. and on the four hour ride to Buffalo we travelled on three different railroads, the C.P.R., the T.H. and B., and the Michigan Central, but our car went straight thru. There were large crowds on the train returning from their holiday excursions. The immigration officer came aboard when we had crossed the Niagara river and some if the people he questioned very roughly. I have noticed that the Canadian officials are usually much more courteous than the Americans. Arrived in Buffalo a little after seven o’clock. They certainly do need a new railroad station in this city.
Panorama of Shelton Square, Buffalo, NY, September 21, 1911. Created by W.H. Brandel, courtesy of the Library of Congress.
September 2, 1924: This morning I spoke to Ada in Rochester. Had intended going over there but changed our minds when it rained. However, the hotel [Staten?] is a very pleasant place in which to stay and we listened to the organ recital this morning which was followed by the orchestra. This hotel is one of the very nicest I have ever been in. I got an interesting book out of the library, a treatise on biology called “Man, the Animal.” The weather cleared beautifully this evening, so I took a little walk.
Baltimore
September 3, 1924: Left Buffalo at 9 A.M. and had a very pleasant cool trip home. This part of the country compares favorably in point of view of fertility and pastoral beauty with any we have seen and now is seen at its best with its abundance of fruits, vegetables, corn and other grain ripe and ready for harvest.
As usual I found some people on the train with whom to talk, a Miss Weil from Altoona and two ladies from Philadelphia, and they were all so interested in hearing about our trip. Now that I look back upon it all there surely comes a deep gratitude for the beauties I have seen, the experience good and bad, tho there were but few of the latter and these have a humorous side, and the good fellowship met with all around. It was nice to come home and find everything O.K. [and] find everything and everybody in good condition and all our friends eager to welcome us.
And thus conclude’s Grace’s travels for 1924! Next week we’ll pick up in March 1925. Grace’s next destination? Florida!
Thanks for reading “Traveling with Grace,” a series where we’re sharing (and annotating) posts from the travel diaries of Grace Amelia Hecht, native Baltimorean, b. 1897 and d. 1955. As mentioned in my introductory post transcription errors sometimes occur and I’ve made my best guesses where possible, denoted by [brackets]. – Rachel Kassman, marketing manager