What a vicarious pleasure I am taking as you peek into the past via your dad's trunk. This is so entertaining. I noticed that you also called your father, Daddy. We did that also and had that carved into his headstone, he was always Daddy, no matter how old we were. Our entertainment today was arriving home to find a waterline in the second floor bathroom had broken. Water everywhere! We had been gone 10 hours, it was a 1/4" line. I had been in that bathroom earlier but did not notice anything. The den, powder room, our closet, and part of our bedroom on the first floor, plus the basement bathroom and the workshop areas are flooded. So, boys and girls...methinks Anna and Del will be very busy. Weary smile, Anna ----- Original Message ----- From: "Vee L. Housman" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 7:31 PM Subject: [FOLKS] Father's 1938 trip to Europe Pt 2 1938 TRIP TO FRANCE AND SWITZERLAND February 1, 2004 My father was a collector of many things besides stamps and "covers." He also collected match BOX labels from all over the world, antique beer steins, books that interested him, shot glasses and swizzle sticks from bars all over, and he and Mother collected Early American patterned pressed glass pieces. Therefore, it didn't surprise me that he collected every bit of memorabilia from his trip abroad and filed it neatly into two bulging scrapbooks. For example, in the one scrapbook he saved the luncheon and dinner menus for November 19, 21, 22, 24 (Thanksgiving Day) and 25, 1938. The menus in themselves were works of art. Each day a different historic French sailing vessel originally painted in watercolors(?) was displayed on both the front and back of the menu. There was Le "Soleil Royal" (1690), La "Galere Royale (1690-1748), La "Couronne" (1638) and Le "Sphinx" (1829). However, the much larger Thanksgiving Day dinner menu's cover showed another watercolor but this one was of what appeared to be a simple countryside village, "Village d'Ile de France (Par Ceria)." For example of a typical luncheon menu was like, the one of November 22, gave a long list of choices in French on the left side of the menu and the same choices in English. However, in the middle was a Menu Suggestion. Note: forgive any typos in the French words below. I don't have a clue what I'm typing! Hors-d (Euvre Varies) [a variety of appetizers including olives, smoked salmon, Spanish melon, canapés, etc.] Truite Saumonee Belle Meuniere [that was the fish course-Salmon Trout Belle Meuniere] Rognons d'Agneau au Chablis [that was the entrée-Spring Lamb's Kidneys with Chablis Wine] Haricots Verts a l'lsigny [the vegetable-String beans a l'lsigny] Entrecote Minute Maitre d'Hotel [from the grill-Steak Minute Maitre d'Hotel] Pommes Copeaux [the potatoes-Potatoes Copeaux] Salade de Saison [the salad course-frankly I only know that apparently there was a choice of salad greens] Le Plateau des Fromges [A plate(?) of a variety of cheese] Patisserie Parisienne [a variety of pastries such as chocolate truffles, apricot tarts and jalouisies] Coupe Germain [a variety of ice cream such as vanilla, coffee and cherry] Corbeille de Fruits [Assorted fruits] Although the menu suggestion didn't mention it there was a variety of teas, French coffee, American coffee which also included Sanka(!). Regarding Thanksgiving Day's dinner menu you takes what you gets and the list includes eighteen items plus hopefully coffee and tea. And no doubt wine was served at every meal. Oh my goodness, I had overlooked a much smaller menu that on the inside reads, "Dinner tendered on board the S. S. Ile de France to Mr. H. Earl Dunn and Mr. C. W. Housman. At sea, November 23, 1938." The dinner started off with caviar, then a veloute something, then it appears that there was fish entrée Sole Normandie, then a poussin en cocotte something, then a salad, then a praline parfait and ended in a variety of fruits. No wonder Daddy mentioned that they served too much food! Among the "Things to Do" aboard the ship was (alphabetically) clay pigeon shooting, dancing, "Entertainments" such as Horse Racing, Gala Concert and Cabarets. Aboard the ship is a drug store, a flower shop, a gymnasium where the attendant in charge will give instructions in boxing and fencing, hair dressing parlors, a library, a lounge where games may be played such as chess, drought and backgammon, a massage parlor where a Swedish massage can be obtained, medical attendance consisting of a doctor and a nurse, moving pictures, musical concerts, novelty shop, outdoor sports including a ping pong tournament, photographer's studio, post office, a daily Punch and Judy show in the Children's Room, a chapel with religious services, a shooting gallery, stenographers (French or English) to take dictation and type letters, reports, etc., and finally wireless service, a mail department and wireless telephone service. Just two more things to comment about right now from Daddy's scrapbook. The first one is a card with his name handwritten, Stateroom 417, on it that said, "In the case of emergency, put warm clothes on, then your life jacket and proceed at once to Promenade deck, Starboard side where you will embark into boat No. 18." Right below the card on the same page of the scrapbook is a foldout that I can only assume my father received aboard the ship at the time. It's entitled, "Fromages, H. Androuet, Maitre Fromager." From my limited knowledge of French food, I know that fromage means cheese. Therefore I interpret it to mean that H. Androuet is the "Maitre de Fromager," THE head person on the subject of cheese aboard the ship. When I unfolded it I saw a list of more different cheeses than I ever knew even existed. Not only were there French cheeses from every province in France, but cheese from Belgium, Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. I thought that it was a bit odd that the ship would have such a vast variety of cheese available on board but upon closer look, it appeared that "Mr." Andouet showed two Paris mailing addresses in the event that anyone would like to buy from his vast inventory upon arriving in Paris. At least that's my take on it. vee