By the way, you can help spread the word that this blog exists by telling people they can find it at eastoncuriosityshop.blogspot.com. I've got to remember that address as I not so subtly drop conversational hints about my blogifying.
We haven' talked about our Union soldiers this week because I have been waiting to delve into the New York Times Complete Civil War 1861-65, This coffee table book has about 600 top articles in the print version and on a DVD 104,960 Times articles related to Slavery, Secession, the War, and Reconstruction from 1853 to 1876. The search feature to the DVD is pretty pathetic, but it works well enough to let us follow the Easton boys in the Fourth Regiment when they arrived in New York. Unfortunately, contrary to what we've been told about the effects of the Internet, New Yorkers in 1861 also had the attention span of a gnat. There was extended coverage of the arrival of the 6th Massachusetts including where they drank their morning coffee, but when the 4th showed up troop arrivals from upstate New York were already seizing the headlines and apparently most of our boys did not come ashore. You can learn that there were 500 members of the 4th on the steamer when it pulled into New York, but no mention of anyone being poisoned by whiskey. The boys stay in the city was a short one. They arrived on the 18th and left for Fortress Monroe, still on the steamer State of Maine, at 4 am on the 19th. Fortress Monroe is located in Hampton, Virginia at Old Point Comfort. It guarded the channel between Chesapeake Bay and Hampton Roads with a six-sided stone fort surrounded by a moat. Since it was actually in the state of Virginia, the boys on board the State of Maine had some reason to fear that the old fort had been taken over by the rebels. They were happy to find the Stars and Stripes flying when they arrived at sunrise on the 20th. The regiment would stay at Fortress Monroe for a month ultimately under the command of Massachusetts' own Benjamin Butler, the future grandpa of Blanche Ames. In order to learn more about first tour of duty for the 4th we'll have to go beyond the pages of Chaffin.
As noted yesterday, Fanny Holt Ames left San Francisco on the 23rd. While in the city she spent her time visiting friends. One was ill at St. Luke's Hospital. St. Luke's seems a little down on its luck today and seems to have been past its prime even in 1954. After visiting her friend at the hospital she ordered flowers from Podesta-Baldocchi, a florist shop that first opened it's doors in 1871. Today, based on the reviews I read, it is considered to be the finest florist in the city. Fanny and her friends had lunch at the Presidio Golf Course which also is still in business today. Fanny probably wouldn't eat their, however, since it now has a reputation for poor service. Despite being overpriced and not always in great condition, the course seems to survive as one of only a very few within city limits. It does have a good view of San Francisco Bay so that may have been the attraction for Fanny.
One day Fanny left the city and visited the "southern peninsula." She and her friends drove beyond Palo Alto to visit Allied Arts in Menlo Park. You can check out the beautiful gardens and buildings of this collection of shops and artists' studios at this website. The Rose Allee must have reminded Fanny of the Allee at Mrs. Parker's Unity Close. On another day, she visited the Cliff House, which I must say was the only landmark in San Francisco I knew beyond the Golden Gate Bridge when I started this project. The website features a spectacular slideshow of the place's history which has been open through many vicissitudes since 1863. Fanny's visit in 1954 came only four years after an extensive remodelling that is still in use today.
Back in the city two stand alone restaurants visited by Fanny have not fared as well. The first is El Prado named for a district in the city. Contrary to what you may think it did not serve Mexican food which apparently was not considered for high style dining in California in 1954. A menu from the '50s shows the restaurant was Italian with an eclectic bent to include some French and even a Chicken Bombay Style. Fanny enjoyed the food, but not the ambiance. This large and busy restaurant was too noisy for her. I could find no reference to the restaurant still being in business although memorabilia is on sale at ebay.
Fanny's ship was the American President Lines "President Monroe." It was 15 years old in 1954 and had seen service in World War II as a troop carrier. Ironically, she had been built at Newport News, Viriginia not far from Fortress Monroe. She was in naval service between 1943 and 1947 when she was refitted as a cruise ship. The President Monroe was sold to the Greek Shipping Line in 1965 and was scrapped in 1973.
The ship sailed at noon. Agnes Tuck of San Francisco had joined Fanny and her sister for the remainder of the trip. They lunched together and then went to their staterooms to unpack. The ship was apparently passing through rough waters because Fanny notes that it was rolling so badly she took a dramamine before going to cocktails at 6:20 followed by a "leisurely dinner." Unfortunately, Agnes never made it to dinner. On the way the roll of the ship "catapulted" her across a stair landing severely breaking her left arm near the shoulder. The remainder of the voyage would be spent nursing Agnes although Fanny's noted that while she and Louise missed the captain's cocktail party, he was kind enough to send down cocktails and hors d'oeuvres to Agnes cabin for "all three of us." It must have been a spectacular party for Agnes who was also being dosed with codeine!
Well, back to school and shorter posts tomorrow. One thing I'd like to begin looking at is the idea of so-called "smart growth." The proponents of this idea to end "suburban sprawl" are an arrogant bunch-else why would they call their proposal "smart" implying any alternatives are well, not so smart. Smart growth is one of the cornerstones of the MBTA bureaucracy's attempt to perpetuate itself so I think a closer look at it and any alternatives are warranted. Stay tuned, maybe us rubes in Easton aren't so dumb. Not that it makes any difference to the T.
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