WELCOME TO SALLY’S DIARIES:

Before I get started describing this piece, I want to let you know that I have a podcast. I’ve taken some diaries from my private collection and shared them on our podcast called “Diary Discoveries.” We’ve got 48 episodes out now and you can find it on all the usual podcast venues. So if you enjoy the compelling and adventurous stories from vintage diaries then please check it out.

Plus, I was asked to do a TEDx talk in Vienna about this very thing, collecting diaries, and if you are interested in this sort of thing just put into the search engines “10,000 diaries” and you should come up with it. It was a privileged and blessing to be able to share what I’ve learned in the last 36 years. And with all that said……

Up for auction today is one of the most extensive Canadian travel diaries I’ve had. It was written by 23 year old Elizabeth Helen Mahon who was from Halifax Nova Scotia. The diary contains 85 handwritten pages and she’s really a great descriptive writer which gives the reader a detailed look at what life was like traveling through Canada in the 1950’s.

She leaves Halifax in the summer of 1951 traveling through Montreal, Port Arthur, Winnipeg, Regina, Edmonton, Banff, Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle, and Yellowstone where the the ends.

A few things really stood out to me and one of them was when she was staying at the beautiful and very historical hotel, The Banff Springs Hotel, that and her time at Lake Louise while there. Five full pages are devoted to her stay there. Then while in Montreal she tours the Caughnawaga Indian Reservation. Then while in Seattle they stay at the historical Edward Meany hotel that boasted, “every room a corner room,” with large windows and sweeping views, as a 1940 brochure boasted. This and so much more.

Elizabeth was born around 1927 to the parents of Harry W. and Marion Mahon. Her father was a Civil Engineer for the Power Company in Halifax. The 1949 Canada voters list registers her as a lab technician. I know she had one brother by the name of James. Not sure if there were other siblings and I’m not quite sure when she passed away.

Along with this diary came 20 black and white photos, some of which are blurry or out of focus. I believe these pictures where taken on this very trip and from when she stopped in Winnipeg to visit friends.

Here are a few example entries….

1951

“June 10^th, Left Halifax 9 A.M. with Aunt Helen for Montreal. Jimmie and Curtis said goodbye after bringing our bags on to the train. Beautiful clear sunshiny day. Quite cool. The water sparkled in the sunlight and the clouds causing dark patch on the green hills. Everything is fresh and green. Coming into Newcastle very pretty with the very blue water contracting with the green all around...” (Soon they came to Bathurst, then Bay Chaleur, Gaspe Peninsula. They are following along the Restigouche River through the Matapedia Valley.)… “Sat in the observation car watching the scenery. Lovely and sunset over the lakes. Tonight I am sleeping in an upper berth for the first time. Met an Army engineer named St. Onge, graduated from Tech and knew Jimmie. It was light long enough to see much more along the way than I had ever seen before. The shining church steeples gleamed in the sunlight as we passed through French towns….” (By 7:45 the next morning they are in Montreal at the Windsor Hotel. They tour the area including a reservation)

“June 11th,…..Then we took a sightseeing tour to the Caughnawaga Indian Reservation. The drive was lovely and we saw a lot getting a very good idea of the layout of Montreal and surrounding districts but the Indian Reservation wasn’t very impressive. They live in such shacks and the place was dirty and rough. The tour left Dominion Square, Sherbrook St. and then over the Jacques Cartier Bridge….Driver called the road to the Indian Reserve All Staints Road because he said it was so bumpy it would scare away any devils. Visited Church in the Indian Reserve. There was an Indian girl there one who they honor and hope she will be made a saint. Saw Indian model village and native costumes but the place was dirty and not really very impressive…..Many of the Indians from the reserve work on bridges because they are sure footed at high altitudes. Many work on bridges in New York and Montreal. Return to their little shacks on weekends in big cars. At the church the Iroquois Wampum belt was displayed. One of the few good ones in existence give as a peace offering from the Huron Tribe….” (She is now back on the train and by the 12^th they are close to the shores of Lake Superior. Beautiful description of the lake. She says, “Looked as if the clouds were sitting on the water in places.”)

“June 12th,…..We just followed the shore winding in and out and sometimes passing along the edge of the cliff over the water. This continued until we watched a hazy dusty pink sunset over the water. Enjoyed dinner tonight in the company of the two English people and a lady from Regina…..Will soon be in Port Arthur, the head of the lakes…..”

“June 13^th, Before going to sleep saw the lights of Port Arthur. Could see a few ships and lights on top of the grain elevators. Slept soundly….”

(I’m not sure as the photos are not marked, but I believe they represent her time spent with Jean in Winnipeg)

“June 14^th, Didn’t write this last night as I was very excited and tired. Now will finish June 13^th. Jean was at the station and met me. Had been waiting as the train was 30 minutes late and also I had give her the wrong time. She was so glad to see me. We talked incessantly the rest of the day….” (She heads to Jeans home. Ed, Jean’s husband, takes them all over Winnipeg and in fact a few days are spent around this area. She devotes 13 pages of writing to it)

“June 16^th, Spent the day at Caddy Lake with the Souch’s. Ed got breakfast ready in an effort to get us started for the Lake sooner. We finally had sandwiches etc. made and were off by 9.30. I drove about 80 miles of the102 miles. Very straight road at first. One part went straight as far as you could see in front and behind they say 23 miles. Then we got to the lake district where the roads were more like N. S. Saw Ukrainian farmhouse along the way. There were built with logs and packed with clay and painted white. Many are now replaced by modern homes but most farms in one district had one of these on their property. Reached the lake about twelve thirty. Mr. Souch was fixing his dock. Ed and I had a swim with Mr. Souch…..” (Then it’s out on a motorboat on the lake. They headed back home at 9 o’clock. Boards the train the next morning and she spends all day and night on it. On the 18^th she arrives in Regina, Saskatchewan. Her friend Molly is there to meet her. She describes Regina and how a lot of the homes look tiny and poor. She also says there are wooden sidewalks. She stays there until the 20^th when she boards the train again and by night is in Moose Jaw, Calgary and Edmonton)

“June 20th,….Before going to sleep put up the blind and the moon was just coming up over the horizon. A big orange ball over the flat country. Not a cloud in the sky. Got up early to be ready for Calgary. There was some rolling country and then very flat again. Then in the distance the foothills of the Rockies appeared. First could hardly tell them from the clouds. Then the peaks appeared pink in the sunshine and finally the white peaks towering over the blue hazy hills below.”

“June 21^st, Edmonton, Alberta. This was a terrible shock and I am so far away. I didn’t know what to do. First inclination was to get home as fast as I could. Tried to telephone but bad connections so sent a telegram. Then the call went through and I found Curtis was in bed with measles.” (That night she goes to a wiener roast in the pouring rain but has a good time.)

“June 22^nd, First thing I got a telegram from Curtis saying he couldn’t phone because he has the measles….” (She tours the University and the new Library.) “….From there went to the new Provincial Public Health Laboratory. Betty Summers took us through. Especially intrigued by the Central Media Room and large walk in frig. From there went to the truck shop for coffee and through the students union building. A truly gorgeous building….” (She boards the train that night and arrives at Calgary the next morning for a quick stop and then on to Banff. There’s two pages devoted to that and then 4 blank pages and her next entry is three days later on the 27^th.)

“June 27^th, Got up about 10 o’clock and had breakfast at the Coffee Shop Inglenook. Started off about 11:30 for Lakes in the Clouds, Lake Agnes and Little Beehive Mountain look off. Started along side of Lake Louise and climbed the path quite steeply…..” (I decided to scan these next pages because her description of this day is so wonderful I could easily quote it all. She is staying at Deer Lodge)

“June 28^th, Up early this morning to come back to Banff. Felt rather sorry to leave Deer Lodge as it was a very friendly homey place to stay and we were feeling quite at home there. Had a very nice bus drive down to Banff. Anna wrote down the details as we came along. There was a mother bear and three cubs that came right out to the road…..The bus brought us direct to the Banff Springs Hotel. We really felt “ritzy” in our room which is huge. If this is what the cheapest ones are we wonder what the more expensive ones are like…..At the Cascade and take the chair lift up Mount Norguay….” (Another fabulous entry, see scans above)

“June 29^th, Had breakfast in the Alhambra Dining Room at Banff Springs. Then after looking around went for a swim in the outdoor pool. The air was quite chilly but the water was very warm. Too warm to be refreshing. We laid in the sun and got some sunburn. The pools is beautiful, located on the terrace overlooking the Bow Valley. Then we had lunch again in the Alhambra Dining Room. After lunch we looked around the hotel and went out and sat on the terrace overlooking the Bow Valley…..” (She goes on to describe the view, then tours the hotel a little and attends a concert in the ballroom. Next day they board the train going through British Columbia. Her description from her train window is fabulous. Since the train was late picking them up she said by the morning of July 1^st they got to see things they never would have if the train had been on time. They are going along the Fraser River. They arrive in Vancouver about 1:30 in the afternoon. Seven pages (and days) are devoted to Vancouver and much of their time is spent at Stanley Park. By the 4^th they are in Victoria BC by boat. A day spent there and it’s on to Seattle.)

“July 5^th,(after touring Victoria for the day)….back to Victoria to catch our boat. Had no trouble going through the immigration. The sky on the horizon was very black and we ran into rain coming down the coast with land on both sides. The clouds hid most of the mountains but occasionally I could see a peak through the clouds. The lights of Seattle were like fairyland as we approached the dock. A huge neon sign Port of Seattle. It was pouring rain. As we came ashore American customs looked through our baggage. We took a taxi to the Edmund Meany Hotel. This was quite a long drive as it is out in the University district. The drive out took us through a lot of the city at night. This is one of the best hotels in Seattle named after a history professor. It is built so that every room has a corner room so is very unusual in architecture. Everything about it is very modern. We were amazed when we saw our room. It was large with round corner window, a desk in the window, chesterfield two easy chairs, three little tables, dresser and two were folded away in another little storage room and the doors closed. A lovely sitting room with no sign of beds. A large closet and bath too. Our room was on the eighth floor so we could look down over the lights of the city….” (they only stay that night and tour a little of Seattle the next day. About 3:30 they boarded the train called the Olympian Hiawatha. That night they pass through Spokane an on July 7^th they are in Montana. Here are the last two pages of entries.)

“July 7th,…..At 10.28 we disembarked at Three Forks for Yellowstone. Discovered we were the only ones getting off the train. The bus was waiting to go to Gallatin. We bought our tickets and got on the bus, the only two passengers. Discovered that there was a 2 ½ day tour that would just get us back in time. Anna was tired and didn’t want to spend the money but there was no other way we could see anything so we decided to take the tour for fifty dollars which included all transportation, meal, lodging and back to the train. The bus took us to Gallatin Inn where we had lunch. This is a very nice inn run by the Milwaukee Railroad. Left at 1.30 in a Yellowstone Park Bus. We were the only two passengers. It was like a large car with four seats back. We sat up with the driver and enjoyed the tip through Gallatin Canyon very much.”

Why it stops there I don’t know. The diary and photos are in great shape. The diary measures about 4” x 6 1/2”.

Wait to pay internationally so I can figure the exact shipping cost as I don't want to over charge.