1937 Road Trip Photos

Photo by K.D. Jones. Open Road, 1937.

Back in July 2012, I posted a transcription of Chapter 13 from my Gumpy's collection of short stories he self-published in 2000. The story recalled his road trip in July and August 1937 from Indiana out west to California and back. This past weekend while visiting my Mom, I found a set of photos he took during the road trip.

Photo by K.D. Jones. 1937.

Seeing the photos puts the trip in new context. The Black Canyon photo below was clearly taken at Hoover Dam, which had just opened 2 years before Gumpy & his traveling companions arrived in 1937.

Photo by K.D. Jones. View from the road at Hoover Dam. 1937.

Photo by K.D. Jones. Signal Hill, California. 1937.

The photo of Signal Hill captures the area when it was predominantly oil wells. Below shows a view from San Francisco, looking out toward Alcatraz.

Photo by K.D. Jones. San Francisco, 1937.

The last photo in this set shows a dusty country road. I think this may be the road to the Jones home in rural Thorntown, Boone County, Indiana. This was probably the view of their return from the long road trip as they made the drive home, or the parting shot as they left home to begin the drive west.

Photo by K.D. Jones. Outside Thorntown, Indiana. 1937.