My Dad's Hitchhiker's Guide to the USA


My dad was surveying in Ohio for the US Geological Survey (my dad helped map this country! in the 1950s, he had just graduated from college and that was one of the only jobs available) a long time ago, and he picked up a hitchhiker, who was a Spanish-American War veteran! He wanted a ride to the next town to the south so he could pick up his pension check from the VA facility. I guess things were safer back then, and my dad said "I was bigger than they were, anyway," referring to the handful of people he picked up during his years in the West.

You could rent a cottage for one dollar a night in Ohio when my dad worked there. My parents have tons of slides from years they spent flying around North America in my dad's plane and I'm going to insist they show all of them to me during the semester break because I want to record all of their stories while they're still here.

Project! I'll record my dad's life stories over the break!

My dad said that some towns in Ohio had so many Czech immigrants in the 1950s that all of the signs would be in Czech. When my dad was in Nebraska, they were holding the Nebraska State Bohemian Dances.

Comments

Halie D. said…
Just passing through, and putting off my work for now(still). I like this photo. Your grace is evident, even in the dexterity of your feet. You should follow-through with the project (recording your Dad's stories). He seems to have led an interesting life.
11:06 PM
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