A few years ago, I chronicled the story of a long “road trip” my parents and grandparents took to California in 1935, a couple of years before I was born. My parents and my mother’s folks shared at least one thing in common: a love for travel, and once the crops on the family farm in northeast Missouri were cultivated (or “laid by,” as they called it) my Dad would look for ways to get the family “on the open road.”

In 1935, still in the depths of the Great Depression, money was tight, and any travel had to be done “on the cheap.” Staying with relatives often saved overnight expenses, which in those days meant paying $2 to $3 for a “tourist cabin,” and maybe furnishing your own bed linens. Food was bought at grocery stores along the way, with few stops at restaurants. Gas cost as little as 17 cents a gallon, and their nearly-new 1935 Chevy had fresh tires that gave them no trouble.

Using a trip-planner furnished by Conoco, my mother recorded every cent the foursome spent, even including haircuts for the men. The total cost of their 6,603-mile, 24-day trip came to only $164.

One of the highlights of their trip was the California Pacific International Exposition at Balboa Park in San Diego.  They were among the more than 7 million visitors to visit the expo. Admission for the four of them cost $2.

Along with the Expo’s many (free) attractions was the Ford Motor Co.’s exhibit, highlighting its latest automobiles, and the various steps in their manufacture. The exhibit included twenty working models showing the Rouge plant in Dearborn. Obviously impressed with the Ford exhibit, my folks saved the brochure among other keepsakes from their trip. To me, it remains a “time capsule” of the state of automotive progress nearly 90 years ago.

Besides describing in detail the advantages of the latest models, the Ford brochure touted Henry Ford and his status as a leader of the industry. His thoughts are quoted on every page, and the cover features a photo of Henry with his first automobile. In one of his quotes, he writes, “Industry is Mind using Nature to make human life more free.”

By 1935, Ford was facing intense competition from Chevrolet and others, and the brochure shows the effort the company was making to remain an industry leader. Ten years later, Henry Ford II would succeed his father as company president.

While today’s parents and teachers fret about how youngsters are too dependent on smart phones, I was tickled to find an “education tool” from another age in the back of a closet. My mother’s name, written in a child-like scrawl, appears on one edge. it’s a good bet my slate-board set got some hard use back in its day.

My mother was born June 5, 1894, in Palmyra, IL, and lived for a time in Lincoln, MO, before the family moved to Kahoka, where her dad became an RFD Mail Carrier. By 1900, she was a student in a Kahoka elementary school, where she undoubtedly used the slate board. (Fortunately she also studied music, something she would utilize most of her life). An article in the Clark County Courier noted that she had performed a violin solo at a meeting of the local teachers’ association.)

The slate-board I found is actually two 6 x 9-inch boards, both with inch-wide wooden frames. The frames are wrapped in a thin layer of protective cotton, held in place by a thin cords. The corners of the frames are rounded, and both boards are hinged with narrow fabric straps.

Besides my mother’s name: “Mabel June Forrester,” the frame also includes a faintly stamped logo: “THE UNEXCELLED.” My online research revealed that the fabric edges on the frame “softened the noise” of the slate clattering against the edges of desk, and these slates were called “soft slates.”

One of the “finds” in my collection of “old stuff” is a well-preserved “Mother Goose” book from my childhood. It isn’t guesswork on my part: the book has my name written discretely in small letters in my mother’s handwriting at the top edge of the cover, along with “Christmas, 1939,” obviously a gift to my 2-year-old self.

Large for a children’s book (13” x 9 ¾”), the full-color book was printed on heavy paper that has the feel of wallpaper. It was designed to resist aggressive handling by toddlers. As a result, my copy survived in excellent shape.

My research shows that Marian Elizabeth Merrill founded the Chicago publishing company in 1936, and specialized in children’s books. Merrill had a reputation for hiring quality artists, including the artist for my book, Milo Winter, who was well known for his Alice in Wonderland illustrations, and many others.

My book contains 14 pages of Mother Goose classics, including”Baa Baa Black Sheep,” “Little Miss Muffet,” “Jack Be Nimble,” “Little Boy Blue,” “Old Mother Hubbard,” and others. The emphasis is on the large illustrations, with a simple poem or phrase in bold print below each one. The images were captivating, and probably excited my interest in reading – fulfilling the book’s purpose.

My book is in excellent condition and probably worth many times its original price of less than $1.00. But I intend to give it to a youngster I’ve been mentoring in a “Lead to Read” program in Kansas City. I’m hoping it will inspire his interest in reading as it did for me.