Harold & Shullie Drive across the US in 1943

Harold and Shullie traveled across the country in an 18' Airstream Trailer with all they owned in 1943.
It was the middle of WWII and Harold’s health was deteriorating in Miami Beach. Because Harold was a valued war worker arrangements were made for them to travel on Ration Stamps for the gasoline, oil and tires they might need on the trip.
The floor of the old Airstream Trailer was damaged by mold and rot so they removed it, water proofed the large space below it and packed the space between the floor and the metal undercarriage with their collection of "78" records and treasured books into the dead space. Then they relaid the floor put down linoleum and packed the rest of their life in trailer and headed west.
Shullie didn’t know how to drive so the trip up the length of Florida, across parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, all across Texas and New Mexico, they were able to travel only as long as Harold could drive each day.
Many times they just pulled off the road and got into the trailer for the night only to stay put for a day or two while he recovered from an asthma attack.
Then, when they got to Carlsbad New Mexico, they decided to take the Cavern’s tour as a lark. In the bottom of the cave Harold found the cool air clear and that he could breath easily. He tried really to figure out how to drag that trailer down and stay forever but as it was not allowed, they traveled on west.
Their first stop in Arizona was in Phoenix. In April 1943 many of the roads were still lined with orange trees, in full bloom! Harold was instantly wheezing almost as badly as he did in Miami. Harold turned to his wife and said "Shullie if we don’t find a place soon, we are turning around and going back home. I am not going to die out here and leave you out here in the middle of a bunch strangers."
I can’t imagine the 2 of them ever in a bunch of strangers for very long.
The next day, after driving around north of the Gila for most of the day, they drove down to Tucson on the "Casa Grande Highway" now known as I-10 and pulled into the "Desert Shores Trailer Park"*
The first morning in Tucson, Shullie told me "I slipped out of bed to make coffee. I always woke him with a cup of steaming hot black coffee to help him breath." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before continuing, "Then I realized that the trailer was quiet, I could not hear him breathing! I ran over to the bed and he was lying flat on his back breathing through his nose quietly! I had never seen him like that in all our lives!" I shook him thinking that he had died in the night and I didn’t know it!.
Harold woke up, yelling, "What the hell is the matter with you?!"
Shullie said to me all those many years later, "Right then and there we knew this was the place we would live. There was a Consolidated Aircraft Plant here and most of all, the air was good for Harold!"
Harold said once, "I took that first breath and didn’t cough, I couldn’t remember when that had ever happened before except in the bottom of Carlsbad Caverns. I was going to stay in Tucson no matter what."
They lived at Desert Shores until they found the Seagles, (Segels?) House on 6th Street. The Seagel’s turned out to be distant cousins of Harold’s and real Lefties!
Harold and Shullie had been on their own, socially and politically since leaving Miami Beach. That didn’t change the way they thought, it was just that they only had one and other to talk to about things.
They pulled the Airstream up behind that house and lived there until they discovered they were pregnant with Sandee in February 1945 and bought the house on First Avenue.
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Sunday, December 29, 2007 5:52 AM
*Desert Shores Trailer Park is still there in 2007, it is now known as a Mobile Home and RV Park but the little lake and stables are still there just at the bottom of the Miracle Mile Overpass.
Thursday, October 2, 2008 12:13 AM
The house on 6th Street is still there and I believe it is still a "Boarding House". You can find the house on the south side of 6th Street between Euclid and Park. There are two houses alike, and the one I am talking about is the east one.
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