These photographs, brochures and stickers, from the Thomas Edison NHP archives, document Theodore Edison's August 1939 trip to four national parks: Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Olympic and Crater Lake. Theodore worked for many years in West Orange as a researcher, first for his father's company Thomas A. Edison, Inc. and later for his own engineering consulting firm, Calibron, but a love of nature and the "wild places" motivated his trips to the natural wonders of the west. Traveling by railroad via Newark and Chicago, Theodore and his wife Ann arrived at Red Lodge, Montana on August 7, 1939. The next day they passed through Yellowstone to the T Cross Ranch, where they spent three days hiking in Grand Teton. They toured Yellowstone from August 13 to August 15. On the evening of August 15, they boarded a Northern Pacific train at Gardiner, Montana, which took them to Seattle. In Seattle, the Edison's rented a car from the "Hertz Drive Ur Self" system, and took a car ferry to Port Angeles, Washington. After a side trip to Olympic's rain forest, they drove south along the Washington coast, crossing the Columbia River by ferry into Oregon at Astoria. Continuing south through Waldport, Coquille and Grants Pass, they arrived at Crater Lake on August 24. From Crater Lake they continued on to San Francisco, which they reached on August 29. The Edison's left San Francisco on the evening of September 2, returning to Newark via the Western Pacific Railroad to Salt Lake City and the Burlington Route to Chicago.
Below are several pictures of mementos that Theodore and his wife Ann collected from their trip. |
Last updated: April 27, 2015