Letter number 6.

[postmarked Sep 26 ?pm Rochester Minn]

Rochester 23rd Sept 1924

Dear Mother,

The first part of our journey over we are resting off for a little while and Bill is attending the Mayo Bros clinic, so far with good results. To continue the narrative from our last letter we left San Fran on the Thursday after I wrote you, in the Daylight Ltd for Los Angeles and arrived 12 hours later at our destination which was 571 miles away. The train stopped once during that time so you can imagine we did not waste much time. At Los Angeles we put up at the new Rosselyn Hotel which was not nearly as good as our San Fran pub but as we were not there much it did not inconvenience us much. On the Friday I presented a letter at the picture house in Los Angeles and received a permit to visit Famous Players Gasty* Studio and we went to Hollywood by electric train that afternoon about 6 miles away and then down to the Studios. It sure is some place. We were taken over it by a chap who explained everything. We saw Betty Compson making the picture "Garden of Weeds" with Creaves as Director and then on the next stage where Pola Negrie was a work on "The Tsarina". From there back to town and on to Saturday we did two sightseeing tours around the place: the one in the afternoon was through Hollywood taking in all the movie people homes. Doug and Mary* have the finest of all we also saw the Bernheimer Gardens. This is a Japanese affair build by two old bachelors at an enormous cost and they are now both dead so the estate has been opened to the public at a small cost, for inspection. The pagodas through the gardens are roofed with gold. On Sunday we went to Venice about 20 miles away from Los Angeles and this place is the Manly of the district. It is built after the style of White City with every kind of amusement possible in it. On Monday afternoon we were out at Universal City Studios but as all the actors etc were some distance out shooting pictures in the field we did not see much except some of the stages and street scenes they use.

On Tuesday we set sail for Grand Canyon and after a very trying trip across the desert we arrived early on Wednesday morning and stayed at the Bright Angel Camp at the head of Bright Angel trail. Bill had developed a bad cold by this time so he spent the day in bed so I did not go far away but in the morning took a short trip around the rim of the Canyon and returned to lunch and in the afternoon just hung around with another chap I met there that night I attended a lecture and found out a lot about the history of the place. The North Rim is 8000 feet above sea level, the South 7000 while the depth of the Canyon from top to the bed of the Colorado River below this way ["V" diagram] is just over a mile. I think 5580 feet so she is some gutter. It is 20 miles across in the widest place and 8 is the narrowest measurement and it is 250 miles long. I cannot describe the place as is it so wild and rugged so have enclosed some postcards of the place instead to convey some idea of the grandeur. On Thursday Bill and I took a car ride the other way and back and then off that night to Colorado Springs which we reach on Saturday morning. That afternoon we took a drive and some drive too up to the top of Pikes Peak and that the sight around here I might state that the Peak is a small mound arising behind the town to a height of 14109 feet above sea level of 2½ miles it takes 32 miles to reach the summit but the air line is 13 miles. It is the highest highway in the world and of course there was lots of snow and ice although in the town it was quite hot. We registered our names for the paper that is published there and in due course you will receive a copy of it. They hold speed races to the summit from 18 miles off and the record is held by DePalma driving a Exington and the time 18 2/5 minutes. It sounds incredible but I am told it is a fact. We returned to the Springs and caught the train again to Denver but we did not seen much at that place as it was after nine when we arrived and raining so we first went down to the main street by street car and then came back to the station and got into our bunks ready for it to leave at 11.30 and the arrived in Omaha next day, Sunday at 3.30 p.m. As our train on did not leave till 7.45 that night we took a run out to Krugs Park by street car and quite enjoyed our little excursion so the Park was very similar to Venice at Los Angeles and the weather was perfect. Then to here at 8.50am Monday. Bill went straight to the Clinic and they started on their examination of him in the afternoon and it is some examination as it will not be finished until Friday next and they will then have his case diagnosed. So far everything is going as well as can be expected and from the doctor's (who is looking after him) advice he seems to think it will not be long before he will be quite OK. again or rather the treatment he will prescribe for him will not prevent us taking up our trip again.

Bill was up at the Clinic again the morning a while and when he returned we took a car without a driver and spent the remainder of the morning driving around the town seeing the sights. The total cost for the hire of a Ford Coupe nearly new in this fashion was 9/- so that is dirt cheap we consider.

So far we have received no letters from Aussie although we wrote to the Express Co at New York and asked them to forward our letters on to us here.

The Mayo Clinic here just keeps the town. It is a marvellous place with 300 doctors employed all under the direct control of the Mayo's and the people flock to them in thousands every day. The town lists its population at 13,000 while there is always at least 25,000 in the place. Of course it is full of hotels and hospitals and cripples of all sorts abound. It is a pitiful sight to stand outside the clinic and watch the hundred pouring in and out of the place the whole time suffering from every known form of disease and lots I suppose unknown and line up in queues to wait their turn. It puts one in mind of Hickson's Mission on a very larger scale.

We are neither over struck with America and are looking forward to hope of seeing England in a short time. Their scenery is very fine their cities very large and convenient and their people are all only too willing to explain anything to you and take you about when you come to their home town. (I am speaking of travelling Americans as I know nothing of the citizen). but everything in the place is artificial they talk and think of nothing else but the almighty $ and the shortest way to pack up a stack of them. There is nothing substantial about the places we have so far seen. They are all jerry-built homes and buildings put up in quick time.

Well I think that is all the news for this letter so will close and write again next week if we are here or sooner should we move on.

We are both well. Bill brighter that he has previous been by a long way while I have put on 5lbs since leaving Sydney.

Hope you are all well at home even to Mack

Love from

Gordon.

Luckily I did not post this last night and today received your first letter. Bill also got one from his Mother. I am sorry to hear you have a bad cold and sincerely hope it has now quite left you. Please to hear the remainder of the family were in good nick. I am sorry I did not cable you but I have explained that already so will let it go. You were a bit anxious to hear from me and the Oceanic boat left Auckland for Sydney on the day we arrived at Wellington so that was impossible to catch and no doubt by this you have received three from me at least. I hope Fred did not get too full at the Artists Ball with that wild cobber of his and that if he did I hope the effects have quite worn off!

Often I would give a pound for a long iced lager. One can get lots of alcohol in this place and good stuff too I believe but not for me thanks. Everyone laughs at the Prohibition laws here and drink hard. Well that is that so I will get some dinner and post this.

Lots of love.

Gordon

[*Douglas Fairbanks junior and Mary Pickford.]

Letter number 7.

[postmarked Oct 3 6.30am Rochester Minn - encl snap of Grand Canyon]

1st October 1924

My dear Father,

We are unable to tell in this place when a mail goes out to Australia so am forced to take the risk and trust to luck.

Well we have been here a little over a week now and Bill is ever so much better after the doctors had finished their examinations of him They put him on a diet for a week and he finishes the course today. On Friday next Bill goes back to the Clinic and has his final instructions given him and we are hoping to leave this place about this day week to continue our trip.

You will be pleased to hear that I have received two letters from home so far. Mother's came to hand first and yours arrived a few days later and I was pleased to hear Mother's cold was much better. Also to hear you had received first letter posted in NZ.

We have not been doing much in this place as there is not much to do but we are both pleased about the rest we are having as we had been going hard since leaving Australia.

Our long suit in this place is to rent a Ford and Bill drives it all over the place yesterday were at a sale about 5 miles out and on the way home called into a stud farm of Holstein cattle owned by the State Hospital. It is a wonderful affair. The patients (all mad) milk 150 cows twice a day by hand and the milk is used in the hospitals around. The bails are enormous as they bail all the cows at the same time and they always go to the same bail and their milk is tested etc every time. Last night I went to a village dance in town with some girls from the hotel. They are nurses from the clinic. Bill went to bed.

We have just about seen all there is to see in this place as an old chap who devotes his life to wheeling patients about for the love of it, has taken a great fancy to us and has shown us all over the town. One day he took us to the basement of the colonial Hospital and from there through a subway to the Kahler Hotel. We went up to the top and saw all over the city from the 14th floor. The Kahler is a combination affair. The basement is set apart for nurses rest rooms etc. The first floor is lobby and offices the next six are hotel then to the roof is hospital. In a corner of the roof garden are four operating theatres and while we were up there one of the theatres was in full swing and was full of doctors watching the operation. From the roof we went back to the basement and then more subways to the Damon Hotel across the street. It is practically wholly devoted to hospital uses. More subways from there to the Clinic which is 3 blocks away from the Colonial Hospital where we entered so you can imagine how far we travelled underground.

In England all roads lead to London but in Rochester all subways lead to the Clinic. From the Clinic I went to St Mary's Hospital by jitney. This is the largest surgical hospital in the world under one roof. You can imagine the size of the place when there are fourteen operating theatres in it. They are all fitted with a gallery for onlookers and the largest of these theatres has a gallery built of marble leading up from the main floor and operating table, that will hold 240 people. One doctor alone in this hospital did 20 goitre operations in one day. I forgot to say this big operating theatre cost $60,000.

St Mary's is run by Catholic sisters and it is here the Mayos' do all their own operations. In fact they refuse to operate elsewhere. They are Protestants but when they first commenced practice in this place these Sisters helped him so much they stick to the sisters now.

Then there is Worrell Hospital where a lot of the X ray work is done and also the contagious diseases are kept. 9,000 cases in one month of one disease alone.

These are only a few of the hospitals that keep this place of 5,000 inhabitants alive. There are also the Curie, Samaritan, Zambro and many others.

In fact the town is full of hospitals drug stores (as they call chemists shops) and undertakers not forgetting hotels.

The country around here is the best and prettiest we have yet seen in the States and the weather is all one could wish for. We have worn our rain coats once since landing from the boat.

From here we go to Chicago for 2 days then to Detroit to Buffalo, Niagara and New York and then to England until about Xmas. Through France home. That is as far as we know at present. But you will hear as soon as we leave the States.

Well I think this is all the news for this time so I will close. Hope Mother's cold is now quite O.K. and that everyone at home is well.

I know I am.

Love to all from

Gordon.