Conover / Nicholson Jeep Trip

During parts of 1947 and 1948, Stuart Conover and former camp staff member Dale Nicholson took a jeep that Stu had purchased on a tour of all 48 states in the U.S. proper, plus short visits to Mexico and Canada. They prepared their own meals and camped alongside the road. No restaurants or motels!

Along the way they did odd jobs such as packing oranges and loading box cars to replenish their traveling fund. The two came home for the holidays and worked in Rockford for several months in order to earn more money.

They headed out again in May, and returned home to Rockford on August 12, 1948, just in time for the Order of the Arrow Fall Convention at Camp Lowden. The entire trip covered 19,500 miles. (Dale Nicholson later owned Nicholson Hardware in Rockford for many years, and it is still in the family.)

Pre-Trip

In early October 1947, Stu and former camp staff member Dale Nicholson were readying their newly purchased 1941 Ford Jeep for an extended trip to all 48 states in the U.S. proper, plus short visits to Mexico and Canada. Stu, age 19, was an Eagle Scout while Dale, 18, was a Star Scout.

The original plan was to leave Rockford and head east, and from there go to Florida to spend the winter along the southern coast. In the spring, a tour of the western states, and from there to Canada and possibly Alaska.

Newspaper article: "Two musts during their travel are visits to national parks and the collection of Scout medallions and insignia from every state."

They bought the jeep from Winfried Hesse, another Eagle Scout, and equipped it with new tires, a canvas top, and racks behind the seat for food and clothing. They also made major repairs to the engine.

First Leg

They proceeded with their plan on October 22, 1947, heading northeast after passing through the states surrounding Illinois. Rain accompanied them for the first nine days. Undeterred, they then made their way down through the eastern states to Florida.

Their parents followed the trip by placing tacks on maps as they heard from the two travelers. Stu and Dale mailed postcards from most of the larger cities as they drove through.

Rain for first nine days. The sun came out the day they reached Niagara Falls, after traveling through Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. After leaving New York they traveled through Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia before reaching Eustis, Florida, arriving on Armistice Day.

Putting some of their Scouting skills to work, they prepared their own meals and made their own sleeping arrangements. No restaurants, no motels! There was little time or money for recreation, but they did get in some swimming and some fishing.

Prepared their own meals and camped along the roadside at night. Breakfast consisted of milk and cereal, lunch of sandwiches and sometimes bacon and eggs while dinner, always a warm meal, was usually vegetables or spaghetti with meat only on rare occasions.

In Florida they made camp in an old city park and went to work picking and packing oranges and loading box cars to replenish their traveling fund, which totaled exactly 10 cents upon their arrival.

Odd jobs, such as boxing oranges and loading train cars provided them with some subsistence funds but little more, so they decided to head home for the holidays.

Home for Holidays

They headed home at Christmas time through Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

By working in Rockford (Stu worked for Barber-Coleman and Dale for Holmquist Lumber and Fuel) they replenished their "travel kitty"

Start in May

hit the road again in May 7, 1948.

During the rest of the journey they swam in the Gulf of Mexico, visited the Alamo in Texas, Tijuana, Mexico, and the petrified forests in Arizona.

When they left in May they headed through Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma to Arkansas, where they visited Hot Springs. Then they toured Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. Along the Gulf coas they stopped for a swim in the Gulf of Mexico. Their attempt to enter Mexico was futile because the jeep was in Stu’s father’s name and it was required that the owner be driving. Instead they drove to San Antonio and visited the Alamo.

In New Mexico they visited Carlsbad Caverns, then stopped at White Sands National park and Petrified Forests in Arizona and Mesa Verde National park in Colorado. They couldn’t reach Pike’s Peak because it was covered with 35 feet of snow and the mountain passes were blocked. They did visit the Royal Gorge in Colorado and Capitol Reef and Zion National Park in Utah. They drove from the north to the south rim of the Grand Canyon. When they left for Hoover Dam the jeep broke down and had to be towed 15 miles at $1 per mile back to Kingman, Arizona. There they spent two weeks waiting for repairs. While there they spent the nights trying to sleep in a truck parked in front of the garage in the center of town.

As luck would have it, after viewing the Grand Canyon and going over the mighty Hoover Dam, the jeep was disabled for two weeks awaiting repair parts. This was when that part of the Scout Oath, "Cheerful", had to be exercised! Also, being "thrifty" came into play quite often.

From Hoover Dam they went to Death Valley where they camped for the night at Bad Water, the lowest spot in the western hemisphere. At two miles per hour for 30 miles they drove to Baker, California, where they had a broken spring repaired before going to Los Angeles for a six week stay.

Last part of trip

Temporary work during a six-week holdover in Los Angeles provided funding to carry on. In the mountains, Stu recalls how they played "tag" with the large trucks! The jeep passed them on the "upgrades"” but was just about run over by them going downhill. And that’s when being "reverent" came in handy!

Stu and Dale said that their biggest thrill was experienced just before reaching California when a forest fire blocked the way about five miles from the Oregon border. They traveled through Washington and Idaho to Canada where they spent four days with Stu’s uncle before starting home.

Leaving the States they then made a visit to Stu’s Uncle Watson, who lived in British Columbia in a log cabin. He was what you would call a "mountain man," having lived there since 1902, primariliy guiding for a living. Teddy Roosevelt’s son Archibald and Carter Harrison (four-time mayor of Chicago) were just two of his guests.

They left Watson’s with only six days to get home for the Order of the Arrow Fall Convention at Camp Lowden. Brief visits were made to the Yellowstone national park, Mount Rushmore, and the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Completing their travels, they drove through Idaho and Montana, visting Yellowstone National Park and Devils Tower in Wyoming, Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the Badlands and Black Hills of South Dakota, and via North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Conclusions

With their goal attained - all 48 states, Mexico, and Canada visited - Stu and Dale arrived home on August 12, 1948. And yes, they did make it in time for the convention!

They arrived home at 8 p.m. on August 12.

By the numbers

19,500 miles
975 gallons of gas
24 quarts of oil
1 flat tire