My Trip from Nampa, Idaho to Kansas City, Missouri
My mother and me with the pile of "stuff" going to Kansas City with me.
In February 1959, I took a train from Nampa, Idaho, to Kansas City, Mo., with my three-month-old son in order to join my husband in Kansas City. My mother arranged the trip for me and insisted that I take a large amount of household goods with me. I am enclosing a picture of my mother and me, next to the pile of “stuff.” When I complained about the problems associated with so much stuff along with an infant, she assured me that my husband would be able to help me unload in Kansas City.
My mother had arranged for me to have a sleeping compartment, with its own private toilet and a bed that folded up to the wall. This certainly made for a comfortable trip. The porter was very helpful both with making up the bed and folding it up again, and also with warming up the baby’s bottles. I can’t recall what I did with dirty diapers – I don’t remember if there were disposables in those days.
When I arrived in Kansas City, it turned out that my husband was not allowed past the barrier and I was stuck with trying to unload all of the stuff from the train and still keep track of my baby. I believe I finally accepted the assistance of a red cap.