Six years ago in my column, I recalled a trip my mother and her parents made in 1934 to the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago. Recently, I discovered a book of photos my Mother had bought at the Expo. Always a “pack-rat,” she saved the book, and it somehow got overlooked in the bottom of a cedar chest. (More about it later.)

My parents and my mother’s parents had made the trip when the Expo opened in 1933, taking advantage of the Santa Fe Railroad’s extra-low fare of $5.45 for a round-trip ticket from Medill, MO, to Chicago. It was too good an offer to pass up, even in the Depression years. By the end of 1933, Expo officials decided to extend it for another year, and the railroad extended its offer.

My dad’s farm work kept him at home in 1934, so my mother made the trip again with her parents, leaving the Medill, MO, station on Sept. 10. Overnight expenses in Chicago weren’t a problem, either. My mother took advantage of a college friend’s offer to put them up in her home, not far from the show grounds.

My mother reported in her daily journal that the group enjoyed the Sky Ride, a bridge that enabled visitors to travel from one side of the Expo to the other. She mentioned several of the Expo’s highlights, including “seeing President (Theodore) Roosevelt and Marconi, the inventor of the telegraph.” She also noted that they “saw Chevrolet cars being assembled at the General Motors exhibit.”

In addition to seeing the Expo, the trio took time for sightseeing, taking in the Field Museum and other Chicago attractions. They spent one day shopping in the “Loop.” Mother’s diary entry reported visits to Marshall Field’s, Carson-Pirie’s, and the Davis store.

On Sept. 16, Mother and her folks returned to Medill on the train, after 10 days in the “Windy City.” My dad was there to bring Mother home to their farm near Granger, MO, by car, while her folks took the Keokuk and Western Railroad to Kahoka, MO, where they lived. It was an era when trains still dominated travel; my grandfather never owned a car, but enjoyed traveling by train.

By the time the Century of Progress Exposition finally closed in November, the total attendance was reported to be more than 48 million. A true “World’s Fair,” it was the first of its kind to pay for itself.

In my previous column, I shared postcards my Mother brought back, and the Santa Fe brochure, showing the train schedule and the railroad’s special round-trip fare, that undoubtedly had much to do with the Expo’s attendance.

I recently discovered a “picture book” of the fair that I had overlooked. I’m not sure what Mother paid for it, but given her attention to pinching pennies, I’m sure it was a bargain. The 48-page book measures 10 x 13 ½ inches and is printed on quality magazine stock, with 129 black & white photos and a two-color cover. The Expo celebrated the best of the world’s cultural and scientific achievements, making the book an interesting window into the 1930s.
Although my mother had repaired the spine of the book with tape, the rest of the book is unmarked and intact. The photos are clear, with no obvious fading. I’ve seen a few examples of this book online, with prices ranging from $13 to $42.

POSTSCRIPT:
I had a chance to examine the “souvenir playing cards” from the Expo, and made an interesting discovery. Although the cards have gilt edges as advertised, my package contained only 42 cards out of a normal 52-card deck. There was one joker (most decks have two), and I counted at least a dozen examples of the four of spades – meaning the deck was far from complete. It’s possible that some of the cards were taken out and lost, but the extra cards of one suit makes the deck unplayable.

My grandfather enjoyed playing cards – he introduced the game of “Casino” to my dad before I was born, and I would later learn my numbers playing the game as a child. I’m sure he would have been disappointed to learn he had been swindled at the Worlds Fair!