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INTRODUCTION

During George Ehrlich's second sabbatical leave from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in 1969, he took his wife and sons on a "summer study trip" to and through Canada.  For this he kept a separate journal from the one chronicling his sabbatical activities; while Mila Jean assembled a large scrapbook, with characteristic marginal commentary, of our family vacations in 1968-70.  From these I have created this episode of The George & Mila Show, though my mother's contributions were not full-scale travel-diary entries (compared to those she would later make in England, Greece and France) but undated, often as captions to pasted postcards, requiring some editorial arrangement.

We traveled in a Volkswagen Squareback that had replaced 1961's Beetle on Apr. 5, 1968.  Like its predecessor, the Squareback was purchased from Mila Jean's onetime KCU Playhouse colleague Art Bunker at his dealership at 7800 Wornall; it cost $2,502.30 (no air conditioner) and had been used for our Mar. 28-30 trip to St. Louis.  As per usual, George did all the driving since Mila Jean never learned how to operate an automobile.

As always on an Ehrlich vacation-slash-"study-trip," expenses were meticulously recorded with George's share calculated for future tax deduction.  These [bracketed totals] are summarized below for comparison with the First Sabbatical's eight years earlier.  (It should be noted that $1.00 in 1969 was the equivalent of approximately $8.70 in 2025.)

Also as always, counterpointing Linear George's measured observations with the Mila Spiral's staccato responses is rather like interspersing Beethoven with bursts of Broadway show tunes; yet they journeyed together harmoniously, arriving at the same destinations with much the same mindset.  And fortunately they both left a record of their explorations, allowing us to hear their voices speak once more.

Also as per usual, thanks to my brother Matthew for providing some of the photos, some of the copyreading, and some of the clarification.
 

A NOTE ON THE TEXT

To enhance the clarity of reading these travel journals online, I have amended some punctuation, adjusted a few paragraph breaks, expanded most abbreviations, standardized most capitalization, made a few [bracketed] addenda, and silently corrected a few misspellings.  "[sic]" is my editorial addendum; "(sic)" appears in the original text.

This webpage is best viewed on a device using the three fonts I employed: Times New Roman for George's entries, Comic Sans for Mila Jean's, and Verdana for my own.

At the time of the 1969 trip to Canada, George was 44 years old, Mila Jean had recently turned 37, I was twelve and Matthew was six going on seven.

 

          Financial Status
               Traveler's Checks
                    G.E.       7  20's    $140
                                10  50's      500
                    M.J.E.    8  20's      160
                                                $800
                    Cash                      286
               Total Available       $1,086

          + Checkbook and Bankamericard

SUNDAY, JUNE 8

GEORGE:  Departed our house at 8:05 a.m. CDT and arrived at Terre Haute, at our motel, at 3:40 p.m. CDT.  Mileage was 414 (7815 - 7401).  Weather was hot and muggy, but the long delayed and much awaited front came through in the late afternoon, after we arrived in Terre Haute, and we had a good rain.  I-70 and US 40 all the way...  Auto Expenses, other than tolls, are recorded in the Auto Log, and motel expenses will be noted as of the day they are paid.

MONDAY, JUNE 9

GEORGE:  Departed Terre Haute at 8:45 EDT and arrived via stops and detours at suburban (northern) Cincinnati at 3:50 p.m. EDT.  Mileage was 225 (8040 - 7815).  Weather was much cooler.

Our first stop was Bloomington, Ind. where we stopped for directions and then went to the Fine Arts Building and the art museum there.  Henry Hope was out, and I sense he is semi-retired insofar as hours are concerned, or if not he "surprises" the office girl when he does come in.  I had wondered about the Ft. Lauderdale letter I received from him re: the Magic Theater paper.

The museum is in three major parts and two "lobbies."  The building is on a slope, so the second floor can be entered from one end while the first from the middle.  The building houses studies, auditorium, classrooms, offices and the art library (that I saw).  Whether it combines with other activities I cannot say.  The antiquities case [is] housed on the main floor with some choice sculpture pieces in the entrance lobby.  A nice variety, some decent pots and small bronzes.  As can be expected, there were some items which were more study than museum quality.  But also, as can be expected, some were very nice indeed.  On the second floor there are two major rooms opening off the "lobby," which is enclosed.  The lobby houses [insert: big sculpture and] some vitrines for small miscellany ranging from antique and Oriental, through "primitive."  One wing [insert: gallery] held Oriental plus open areas for a coming exhibit, and the other wing gallery held paintings, prints and drawings, and some sculpture from the permanent collections.  If Hope had not given major items and loaned many others, the collections would be thin (provided that what we saw was representative).  Henry Hope and his wife are major benefactors, and I must learn a bit more about his role in this activity.  Apparently there is money there.  From a general review, the museum is physically pleasant, and the displays are very attractive.  It is not, however, equal to K[ansas] U[niversity], and it is somewhat better than M[issouri] U[niversity] (except for MU's archeological stuff).  Washington U is a rather unusual (and not a balanced) collection which is of a different category.

From the Fine Arts Building we went over (next door) to the Auditorium and looked at Benton's Indiana mural which is housed there in the upper reaches of the outer lobby.  The mural was done for the Century of Progress, and grew out of the New School and the Whitney murals.  It preceded the Missouri State House mural which is similar in execution.  The Indiana mural is now in two long and two short panels, rather high up in a rectangular area.  They cannot be read as a unit.  The design is simple and boldly drawn and executed (it was a rush job), and it is interesting.  But the composition is not extraordinary.  Strong verticals, mostly trees, divide sections.  Since they are high and fragmentary (not a continuum) it isn't fair to make a final judgment.  I shall have to learn more about the original setting, but nothing on or by Benton says much on the subject.

From Bloomington we went to Columbus, Indiana, via a rather long detour due to some non-explained reason.  We saw some of the contemporary architecture which is being built in Columbus by major architects through (as I understand it) the benefactions of a citizen.  We did not explore, but drove about and then took off to the motel we selected in north Cincinnati area.

     [$  Meals $22.55 (George's share [represented as GS] $7.15) plus 35¢ tip.  Parking in Bloomington 15¢.  Motel in Terre Haute $15.45 (children free; GS $7.72)]

TUESDAY, JUNE 10

GEORGE:  Once we were ready, we took off for the city and arrived in the heart of Cincinnati in good time.  However, once there, it is a maze of one-way streets, but with map in hand we found our way to the Cincinnati Art Museum in Eden Park.  All told, we were there about three hours.  It is typical of those older museums which have been added onto over time.  It connects physically with the Art Academy, and a portion of the galleries were [sic] devoted to a student exhibit.  Pretty much what one might expect, and generally good.  There is no real guidebook to the collections, only some (four) supplements for school tours.  I bought these, since they did show the objects on a selected basis.  There is no floor plan available due to what I gather is a rather major reinstallation of the collection.  While there are some basement galleries, featuring the "Damascus room," the bulk is on the two main floors.  Ground floor contains Antiquities, Ancient and Medieval Near East, Far East (some in basement galleries), Medieval, Musical Instruments, much decorative arts (mostly vitrine stuff), period rooms, tapestries, costumes.  The second floor [is] principally painting and temporary exhibits.  Drawings and prints appear in several locations.  The place is something of a maze (113 exhibition areas or rooms—many small) and it reflects the accretion of additions.  However, one can work it out fairly well, and then one can see the contents.

Cincinnati Art Museum is a much better museum than I had anticipated, but the collection is uneven with the strengths quite impressive and pleasantly presented, while the weaknesses are evident only when you keep criteria in mind.  Major strengths were 18th and 19th Century painting, both European and American.  There was a surprising collection of near Eastern, both medieval and ancient, and a goodly group of late Roman, Coptic, etc. period objects.  Some of the period rooms were very nice (but furniture lacking or sparse).  There are individual strengths (depending on attributions I am not qualified to question) outside of these areas, and there was more Oriental on display than say in St. Louis.  Major weaknesses are in sculpture of all periods, especially after the medieval, although that is thin as well.  The very modern is deficient, but there are some nice things.  Paintings prior to the 18th Century (many Romneys, Gainsboroughs, Lawrences) are variable in quality and in condition.  The attributions on some were "interesting."  I must check with Burton Dunbar on the Herri met de Bles, Landscape with Sacrifice of Abraham.  The background looked scrubbed to me—quite washed out.  It is an interesting painting but rather ordinary in its execution—even a bit crude.  Our little Patinir (which Burton feels could be Herri met de Bles) is much more meticulous.  The range of 19th Century paintings was quite surprising [in margin: some good watercolors and pastels], although typical of 19th Century taste, it was primarily French and U.S.  There is a complete room of Duveneck (local) and he comes off well, right behind Eakins.

In general, the museum is frustrating insofar as it has much which deserves close scrutiny, but it is a little like "research," the stuff needs more sorting out.  There is a very large amount on display, and unless you know what you are looking for, it can be a trial.  The St. Louis City Art Museum seems easier to see, yet seems to say much more, and more logically.  On the other hand, I was not prepared for what was on display and the quality of much of it.  It was well worth the trip.  The labels are all (or almost all) quite long and educational.  It is, I believe, the only museum which has taken up this practice as a general proceeding rather than reserving it for special cases.  The temporary exhibit was an AAA-organized show entitled "Photography in Printmaking."  Satisfactory.  The cafeteria, where we had a quick lunch, is absolutely quaint.  Beside a small "steam table," sandwiches etc. are made to order.  The menu is a slate and one buses one's own dishes.  The prices were quite reasonable.  It was a bit of the past which has hung on.  The guards and other public staff people were most courteous and even eager to help.  I suspect it gets fewer tourists and adults than many museums.

After the Cincinnati Art Museum, we tried to get to the Taft House.  Well, it is girdled now by freeways—actual or under construction.  We tried dutifully to get there and ended up on the sidewalk (by instruction) in front, but past it was a vast wasteland of construction.  I saw no way to continue and no one to guide, so I turned around and retreated.  The Museum looked closed up and if not, it certainly was empty since passage to and from was nearly impossible.  Well, at least we saw it from the outside.

Then we went to the Museum of Natural History.  The place is like so many others—a miscellany of stuffed animals, rocks, fossils, etc.  But there was a major feature—a simulated cavern, which was very well done.  The natural history museums are so often less well developed or organized, even if they include science and technology.  The Chicago or Washington examples are exceptions.  Yet, one would think that there would be considerable support for display and presentation if not acquisition of collections.  Tradition, role of patronage, etc. are no doubt factors.  But it may also affect the training (?) [sic] of the staff and administration of these establishments.  Even St. Louis, with Monsanto, McDonnell, etc. has relatively a small and modest natural history/science museum.

Well, that wrapped up Tuesday except for a return to the motel to rest our wearied selves, and to write this up.  We saw more of the city in the process.  Local miles today were 43 (8083 - 8040).

It was difficult to judge any of the architecture I saw.  Cincinnati is "old," and while there is much new construction going on, the overall appearance of things was an old town which had little reverence for its past.  There is a lot of later 19th Century to be seen, but not easily seen.  Kansas City wiped out most of its "old town" and moved its downtown.  It is hard to tell what Cincinnati tried to do, or is doing other than the freeway construction.  Perhaps a later trip some year along the Ohio River may provide some answers.

     [$  Meals $21.99 (GS $7.40).  Parking 15¢.  Admission to N.H. Museum 25¢.  Museum books $1.00.  Postcards 50¢]

MILA JEAN:  Imperial House, Cincinnati, Ohio.  Trips to Art Museum & Museum of Natural History.  Decorative & Costume Art Section, Cincinnati Art Museum.  [envelope: Souvenir from the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History / Petrified Dinosaur Bone from Greybull Wyoming]—Mom's Choice.  Visit with Connie next day.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11

GEORGE:  We departed at 8:30 and headed north.  We went through Dayton up to see Jean's sister Connie.  We spent two hours or so there (did a laundry) and had a good visit (and lunch).  Then we retraced a few miles to Dayton to see the Dayton Art Institute.  From there we went north to our next stop just outside of Toledo.  Total miles were 219 (8302 - 8083) less 30 for the side excursion to visit "the relatives"; hence the business mileage was 189.

The Dayton Art Institute is not too impressive.  It is a nice little building with a pleasant courtyard, but while the collection ranges in time, geography and art-form, it is not really of museum caliber (except in a few selected pieces).  Major artists are represented by small or minor works (or dubious, as in the case of the Bourdon Holy Family).  Most western works were by third or fourth echelon names (a few I knew).  There is some ancient, some Far East, and a small college would be delighted to have this "study collection," but a good second echelon museum would put all of it in storage.  Many of the paintings need cleaning, relining, etc.  There was a selection of prints from the permanent collection on display and that looked quite satisfactory.  One large gallery was clear (loan exhibitions?).  The only museum publication was "50 Masterpieces from etc." [sic] but it cost $12, so we did not buy it.  One curious coincidence was a former student acting as a docent.  Lucille Callahan (some 3½ years back—that long?) came up and Jean brought her up to date on K.C. news after amenities while I walked the galleries.

From there is was on to Toledo.

     [$  Meals $18.02 (GS $5.25).  Motel, two nights in Cincinnati $39.52 (GS $19.76)]

THURSDAY, JUNE 12

GEORGE:  The day did not start quite as planned.  First, after considerable rethinking of plans on the evening of the 11th, we decided that the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn were of sufficient importance (and close to the motel) that Ann Arbor should be removed from the schedule and [these] substituted.  Once decided, we departed in high style right after breakfast for the Toledo Museum, only to discover that we needed to wheel about to pick up my toilet gear (and the flask) left behind.  Why we failed to do the routine last check is not too clear to any of us.  While we lost about 40 minutes, this was unexpectedly picked up by the fact that Michigan is on standard time!

We arrived at the Toledo Art Museum, and once again was charmed.  There was no special exhibit open, so we concentrated on the permanent collection.  The paintings are of quality, well presented and in good conservation state.  I recognized several that had passed through Jim Roth's studio.  Libbey is of course the major benefactor and his taste is a factor [insert: no doubt] in the imbalance of the collections.  Secor (Arthur J.) also gave major works, but few in number when compared to the Libbeys.  The collection has some fine Italian paintings, but relatively few in number.  The tradition of collecting names seems in this instance to have benefited the Museum because major works are there to be seen.  The 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries are well represented, with a very good 19th Century range.  That key works can be placed in the "Great Gallery" and still leave excellent items for the other periods, and several rooms of American and European 19th Century, early 20th Century is a gratifying experience.  Sculpture is very thin, but there are some nice examples.  There are a nice number of medieval objects, mostly Kleinkunst.  Decorative arts exist but sparsely and the[y?] "decorate" the exhibition galleries.  Modern is rather conservative and thin.  Ancient is there in number, but in modest pieces, and not effectively displayed.  The Oriental is modest and displayed in a dull way.  Prints are in evidence, the "Books and Manuscript" display is still out in its regular place and still informative but not exciting.  Lots of glass and just racked up in cases like a junior British Museum.  Several nice new touches: a number of the galleries have info sheets with little cuts to illustrate and brief paragraph commentaries.  These also have a brief taped lecture (push the button).  We found the place refreshing as anticipated (but no lounge facilities) and I purchased a guide and two pertinent bulletins.

From Toledo we made our way to Dearborn.  We went first to the Henry Ford Museum.  It is the Winterthur of the blue collar and tradesman.  The size and the enormity of the collections is staggering.  Well organized, much push the button for a taped lecture, and literally acres to walk.  I note the guide book lists eight acres for just the Mechanical Arts Hall.  About all I can say that makes sense is that it is all very well kept up and presented, and the cost to see it is impressive as well.  The crowds were also impressive.  The operation had a scale to it which must rival the Met or the Washington Museums.  I cannot say we saw the display systematically, there were about 175 automobiles and an extraordinary number of pieces of "folk furniture," etc.  But we traversed the entire structure and looked at and over the totality and some of the contents with attention.  I suspect it must be used as Winerthur must be used, with blinders up except to that which is being studied.  The give-away plan is available in about eight languages and guides and guards are in profusion.

From there we walked over to Greenfield Village.  Well, that is another phenomenon altogether.  Besides memorabilia—by complete buildings—of Henry Ford, there are nearly 100 structures.  Some are treasures of historic interest but little of architectural excellence—still blue collar and tradesman.  However, the complete Menlo Park Compound is a phenomenon, and other aspects are equally curious.  It cannot be seen easily in a short time, but guides are on [insert: about] all buildings to all tidbits of lore and so slow up the pace.  It is a kind of architectural version of the Henry Ford Museum, and nostalgia seems to have more influence than it should have.  It is a small town like none that existed, but there is a three-dimensional past that is a bit more real than any museum interior replication.  As for mirroring America?  Here I would say that Greenfield Village needs to be seen through very cautious eyes.

After a reasonable time, but only a portion of the premises, a storm began to develop.  We made it to the car in time and we had a short shower.  We were tired by then, a full day it seemed of traipsing, and perhaps the brief rain was a mercy in stopping our otherwise busy adventure.  In summary, the two Dearborn museums were definitely important experiences, but as with any large display, comprehension is impossible in a single visit regardless of its length.

Mileage 87 (8389 - 8302) with departure at 8:35 EDT and arrival at 4:15 EDT.

     [$  Meals $17.36 (GS $4.60).  Admission to Museums $12.00 (GS $4.00).  Guidebooks $3.95.  Motel in Toledo $17.12 (children free; GE $8.56)]

MILA JEAN:  Holiday Inn, Perrysburg Ohio (outside Toledo).  [Insert: Lovely turkey dinner.]  Excellent, though we left things in room and had to go back for them.  Dearborn, Michigan: expensive ($6 each museum), tourist-ridden, but worth it.  Under threat of stormy skies, thousands of people, and gravelly walks (I wore sandals!), we spent a fascinating afternoon here.  Didn't see all due to fatigue and the storm which finally arrived.  Much wind and dust (much to indignation of George)—we finally made a run for it, and got to car just in time for violent, short-lived (15 min.) storm.  Motel (Ramada Inn) just a short way from museum.  Ford plant across street.  Very unprepossessing café, but cheap with kiddie-menu.  [postcard of a 1909 Model T roadster:] One of 100's—Matthew's choice.

 

FRIDAY, JUNE 13

GEORGE:  Left the motel in good time and began our trip into the city of Detroit to see the Art Museum there.  It is a very impressive collection, although principally paintings.  There are two or three of what might be called period rooms, and while there is decorative art and some fine sculpture, it is primarily painting from the 14th Century to the present.  The American collection has been rehung in newly furbished section which makes it easy to see and to move through.  The European of the "Latin" variety (other than "modern") is in the flanking wing of the old building, and displayed in a state of approximate opulence.  The Northern and Modern are in the new wing, along with Ethnic, Temporary Loan, etc.  An unused (unfinished?) flanking [insert: new] wing to the north will make of the total an enormous structure.  The American paintings are very good, and there is an impressive collection of Italian work.  The medieval is tastefully shown, but seems sparse in contrast with the painting galleries.  There is very, very little Oriental, and the few small rooms of ancient were all closed but one.  This is a Pinakothek.

There was, of course, Washington Allston's Belshazzar's Feast, and Peale's Court of Death.  An interesting confused cubist A.B. Davies of large dimension and immediate post-Armory Show.  The big Breughel is, I gather from its appearance, unfinished.  The Van Eyck is very small.  There is a nice textile collection, but displayed in a dull way.  The Archives of American Art is with the Library of the Museum.  The Rivera Room is interesting.  It is enormous, and functions as a smoking lounge.  It sort of works in the space, but the architecture is very evident and except for the two big walls, the paintings fight the mouldings.  Some of the figures are almost caricatures.  It is hard to summarize the Detroit Museum except to say that it is unbalanced, but what they have is impressive.  The WRNG has palms for balance and the Oriental, the Detroit for size and the painting collection.

From the museum we crossed to Canada by the tunnel, and stopped in Windsor along the way to the freeway to convert some traveler's checks into Canadian money.  [insert: The part of Ontario between Windsor and Kitchener is mostly flat farmland.  Very pastoral and smacks of Illinois except for the rows of pines (spruces or firs) panted as windbreaks.]

We arrived in good time at Stratford (we would have been hard-pressed to see it to Toronto anyway) and saw the Festival Theatre's performance of The Alchemist and had a brief reunion with Bunny Behrens who is of the company in a major role.  We are to visit at his house the next morning.

Mileage 189 (8576 - 8387).  We began at 9:50 EDT and terminated at 4:50 EDT.

     [$  Meals $8.30 (GS $2.25).  Motel $19.24 (GE $9.62).  Guidebooks $4.95.  Toll to Canada 80¢.  Supper $12.26 Canadian (GE $4.00)]

     [Conversion of Funds: Cashed 4 50's (traveler's checks) for $215 Canadian.  Motel in Stratford: prepaid $22.65 U.S.; at registration, tax $1.20 Canadian (GE $6.00)]

MILA JEAN:  Got cold (50's).  Detroit Institute of Arts: collection quite takes one's breath away.  Reeks of a great deal of money spent (walls of deep velvet plush behind works of art).  Paintings particularly impressive.  Whitby Hall: American 1754.  One room of a two-story composite of a whole house, built into museum.  Have even facade of exterior front wall.  Kresge Court: where we ate lunch before driving to Canada.  Windows seen [in postcard] are those of Baroque Renaissance medieval rooms which overlook "courtyard."

SATURDAY, JUNE 14

GEORGE:  Once we checked out of the motel, we were off to see a bit of Stratford, and then over to Bunny Behrens's house.  As things turned out, it was a delightful interlude.  We had an excellent meal with his family, had lunch together, and he went off to makeup for the matinée.  We then began our laundry courtesy of their equipment, and I took Jean to the Festival Theater to see Measure for Measure.  I had our boys and Bunny's oldest along, and took time to get the car washed (the dust storm in Detroit with intermittent rain did not help the car's exterior) and serviced.

We stopped for a bit in downtown Stratford and then went back to the Behrenses.  We finished the laundry, I visited with Debbie (who has her hands full with three boys [aged] 2½ to 8), and we took our first farewell.  I picked up Jean at the theater, and took our second farewell with Bunny.  It was, all in all, a delightful interlude and gave us our only insight into a small Canadian town, since our other stays are in the metropolises.

We got away from Stratford at something past 5:30 EDT, and stopping for a wretched meal on the road, arrived at our destination in Toronto at 8:35.  Counting the Saturday Stratford excursion (a few miles) we covered 127 miles on Saturday (8703 - 8576).

     [$ all Canadian:  Meals $7.95 (GE $2.50)]

MILA JEAN:  Stratford, Ontario.  The Festival Theatre seats 2,258.  Created in 1953 by Tanya Moiseiwitsch (recently redesigned it along with Brian Jackson).  Had wonderful visit with Bunny the day after our seeing The Alchemist (brilliant).  We went to his house around 10:00 AM, had lunch there, Bunny and I went to theatre for a matinee performance of Measure while George stayed with Deb and the kids.  George and kids picked me up after the performance, and we drove on to Toronto for the night.

SUNDAY, JUNE 15

GEORGE:  The entire day in Toronto.  The morning was an auto excursion in and around the central city, capped by a visit to Fort York and the noon cannon salute.  After lunch went to the Royal Ontario Museum, and then over to the Art Gallery of Toronto.

Toronto is a large and cosmopolitan city.  Coming in yesterday along the freeway belt, we saw many, many new buildings, quite [a] few tall apartment blocks (of high quality prices no doubt).  Much of the architecture was above average.  Then, the heart of the city, a mélange of old and new, small town and very urban.  We traversed hippieville areas, Chinatown, the Hungarian enclave, the Portuguese section, Little Greece, etc.  It is a mixture of impressions.  Many government buildings, a large, large [sic] university complex, tall towers, grubby industrial and commercial structures.  Gaudy and tawdry and stodgy.

Fort York was fun in that the restoration is good, it has a garrison and they wear period uniforms.  We toured, heard and saw the ceremonial firing of the noon gun (as of yore) and in the Officers Quarters we had a sample of freshly baked stone-ground bread, baked in the brick oven.  From this view of the past, incongruously in the shadow of the elevated traffic ways and warehouses, to another: the ROM, Royal Ontario Museum.

This extraordinary museum on four floors is largely natural history and ethnography-archaeology.  However, it includes more.  The structure is an .  The front leg is on floor 1 Geology, floor 2 Paleontology, and floor 3 Zoology.  I didn't try to look at that.  The bar and the back of the horizontal "H" continued the other public areas on four floors.  Ground floor had Native Arts and Amer-Indian.  The first floor had armor, decorative arts, European sculpture, Medieval and Renaissance, large-scale Chinese wall painting and sculpture, musical instruments, and a temporary show on the art of forgotten people (various ethnic).  The second floor had textiles, costumes, Egypt and Classic.  The third floor was the Near East and the Far East dominated by an incredible array of Chinese art, with little painting visible but an enormous number of sculptural and ceramic examples.  It is a strange combination of the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert.  This excludes the Natural History.  The big feature is the Oriental.  The displays were not terribly novel, mostly cases well filled, and in crowded rooms.  But once you look past the totality (if this is possible) you can see some impressive things.

The Art Gallery [of] Toronto is quite a contrast.  This is small, and the collection was truncated by the Picasso Graphics (recent work) on exhibit.  The price, $1.00 to see his recent work on a crowded day, wasn't worth it, so I skipped it.  The Art Gallery's permanent collection, at least that on display, had a number of nice—principally Baroque—works.  Condition was questionable, but there was (as per labels) a [insert: nice big] Claude, a Poussin, a big Van Goyen, two Rembrandts which seemed O.K., a very big Tintoretto, a nice "small" Hals, an interesting Hals and a good example of the Fauve aspect of Dufy.  There was a room of Impressionists and related people, one room of very Op and a cross-section of abstract Expressionists.  A few drawings were on display.  It is a small museum, and not adequate for Toronto—especially in contrast to the ROM.  The Art School is adjacent to the museum.  Really it was a [two crossed-out misspellings] disappointment.

     Expenses (in Canadian):  [$  Meals $15.80 (GS $5.30).  Parking 50¢.  Catalogues $7.75.  Admission fees $3.00 (GS $1.25)]

MILA JEAN:  The Executive Motor Inn, 621 King St. Toronto.  Firing the cannon [at Fort York:] My, what a production!  Toronto is a veritable melting pot of various nationalities: Greek, Portuguese, Hungarian, Orientals.  Various signs exhibited include "Save Chinatown" (being torn down, due to Urban Renewal), Budapest Laundry, Hong Kong Imporium [sic], The International House of Hair.  Many people on bicycles.  Use of vinegar on French fries, walking in the rain without umbrellas, many flowers in beds or being sold in stalls and many streetcars (hippie community of some fame).  On Sunday morning, saw a walking procession from a Portuguese church carrying an effigy of Virgin (very European).  Motel seemed deserted after first night.  We ate in cheap British-Lyons type of café called "Frans"—children learned to subsist on chicken or turkey sandwiches.

MONDAY, JUNE 16

GEORGE:  Departed Toronto for Montreal at 8:40 EDT and arrived at 3:30.  Mileage 344 (9076 - 8732).  A largely routine trip with some opportunity to see the general terrain—rather pastoral, since we were on the freeway which bypassed the cities and towns.  We were able to see the increased ruggedness (sic) as we moved into the St. Lawrence River Valley.

Upon arrival, an interesting experience once in Montreal proper insofar as traffic is concerned.  We got settled and I did a fast walk around in the immediate area of the motel (Guy and Dorchester).  Found numerous inner city features which were not slum, but shops etc.  Once oriented, we exited and made our way to one-star (Mobilguide Expo '67) restaurant not too far away and had dinner.  From there it was back to the motel and a decompression with some effort given to the study of sundry maps.

     [$  Meals $16.10 (GS $5.00).  Motel in Toronto $44.10 (GS $22.05).  Tips on entering Le Martinique $1.50 (GS $1.00)]

Note: motor inn masquerading as a swinging place (which it wasn't).

MILA JEAN:  Motor Hotel Le Martinique: 1005 Guy St., 211 rooms.  (Toilet had trouble flushing first day, but help came.)  [Swimming pool] heated and nice.

TUESDAY, JUNE 17

GEORGE:  The day began, when organized, with a subway trip to the old section of Montreal.  The subway is not too difficult to comprehend, but I gather the autobus is the key to much local transportation, at least in the areas we saw today.  Much of old Montreal is gone except for some very narrow congested streets.  Some rehabilitation has taken place, and what we saw is more "quaint" than architecturally significant.  We went through the Château de Ramezay, an early 18th Century house now a historical museum of Montreal.  It is an attic of stuff of all sorts, very little labeled except by numbers which refer to the catalogue.  This we obtained.  From there we promenaded, and we went into the cathedral—early 19th Century Gothic Revival.  Interesting but not distinguished.  Footsore, we returned to the motel by subway (a very modern and clean affair—much cleaner than the city itself).

In the early afternoon, after a light lunch, we went to the Museum of Fine Arts (sans the children).  This is rather small (although larger than Toronto) and it does attempt to present a comprehensive group of things from ancient to very contemporary, from the Far East to Pre-Columbian Eskimo and local Canadian.  Once again, nothing extraordinary.  A fair amount of the permanent collection was not on display (according to the 1960 catalogue) and there was evidence that a renovation of a portion (at least one gallery) was under way.  Also, there were loan items very much in evidence.  Most striking, of [insert: all on display] the large number of Boudins and Eskimo art.  It is a nice little collection, but except for the Far East, it was not displayed in any extraordinary way.  No air conditioning.  It is, of course, decidedly better than Toronto's Art Gallery, but it would be third-level at best in the United States.  Rather sad since Montreal is supposed to be a swinging, metropolitan city.  I suspect that the provincial status of the French province, both to Canada and to France, has manifested itself.  The bustle of the hotels, commerce, little eating places, etc. (we have seen so far) smacks of a transient money or culture in contrast to the local money needed as in Detroit.  Art museums reflect in almost all U.S. cases the taste and effort of a certain slice of society, and the French Canadian possibly did not have this.  Then again, there is a superficial "bigness" to Toronto or Montreal.  Neither is as large as Detroit, and neither is even as big as St. Louis.  But they have the concentration of the metropolitan and urban sorts.  Toronto has the foreign-born in obvious quantity—industry?  Or was it more receptive in general?

The separatist element in Montreal is not immediately evident to this eye or ear, but I gather they they are pressing hard for identity and there is currently an effort to pass a unilingual bill which would make quite a psychological impact.  The papers in both Toronto and Montreal are filled with letters commenting on this and other aspects.  The issue which is now surfaced in a bitter way suggest why some of the costly arts are not supported as one might expect.  [Insert: Live] Theater is more evident in Toronto than Montreal, but I sense that Toronto may well be the intellectual capital of Canada while Montreal is the emotional and groovy center.  Since there is no [insert: recent] guidebook of any reasonable type available on Canada (either in the U.S. or in Canada) I have found no popular answers to my tentative impressions.  Clearly, the planned one-day excursion to Ottawa may give the third answer to "art in Canada."  On Thursday we plan to see more of the city by auto.

Cashed 5 $50 traveler's checks for $296.06 Canadian.

     [$  Meals $19.25 (GS $8.00).  Admission fee $1.10 (GS 50¢).  Catalogues $4.00.  Subway $1.65 (GS 75¢)]

MILA JEAN:  Montreal is a fascinating city and beautiful, when one is on foot.  (In car one is too conscious of other drivers.)  Le Martinique was quite satisfactory, being right in the heart of town, walking distance to main shopping areas, swinging places (Mountain St.) and good restaurants.  Eating is a joy in this place.  Like Paris, a "bad meal" seems to be nonexistent.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18

GEORGE:  The excursion to Ottawa.  The round trip was 241 miles (9317 - 9076).  While not extensive, it was tiring since we returned to Montreal just as the rush hour was at its peak (about 5 p.m.)

In Ottawa the main observation places were the National Gallery of Canada and Parliament.  Almost everything is clustered in that general area, and we saw the exterior of the National Art Centre.  Going around Canada, and seeing the various public buildings of one sort or another, I find that [insert: new] Canadian architecture is a cut above that observed in similar expeditions in the U.S.  The [insert: Canadian] buildings tend to use texture and color to greater advantage, and many have developed more relief in the walls—not sculptural facades alone, but clear three-dimensional articulation.  Nevertheless Mies is still honored and has more knowledgeable disciples here in Canada.  The boldness of the architecture, both vertical and horizontal exponents, is in the larger structures that are in the center of either or parallel the freeway belts around the cities.  Downtown Montreal has a fair number of new towers and Toronto had an extraordinary number of high-rise apartments on the outskirts.  Both have some handsome low-slung commercial structures.  I have no particular insight into the advantages of Canadian architecture which permits the freer expression and more advanced taste.  I must look into this.

The National Gallery of Canada is a rather special experience.  It is housed in part of a new high-rise structure of eight stories and two basement levels.  Three floors (2, 3, 4) are for exhibition.  Conservation, sales, etc. are housed on other floors and the entire [building] seems to provide a complement to the Arts Centre across the street.

Floor two housed the permanent collection of European painting (and a few pieces of sculpture).  What is up is good, wide-ranging and in excellent condition.  The gallery floor is tasteful and comfortable and easy to get about.  There is a good selection of Italians, Northern (especially German) and a good Baroque group.  I saw three Turners on display along with five Cezannes (two portraits).  Of the Turners, two were relatively late and big, and it was here, rather than in the Tate, that it dawned on me that the late Turners need to be seen at a distance.  They read quite well that way and make considerable compositional sense.  The Death of Wolfe is a good picture, probably the best West I have ever seen, and it benefits by a happy sense of scale.  Big enough to say what needed to be said, but not so large as to overwhelm the viewer (as in the Louvre 10-acre battle piece by Gros).  The quality (many nice pieces are later than the date of the only catalog available) is interesting.  For example, Derain, Vlaminck and Braque were available in Fauve examples.  All in all, a good survey from the early early [sic] Renaissance to the early "masters" of the 20th Century with most bases touched.  While not an enormous collection by numbers of pieces on display, it was a very satisfying experience and it helped offset the lesser presentations in Toronto and Montreal (insofar as European painting is concerned).  On floor three there was a survey of Canadian art to relatively recent, with some decorative art and sculpture specially housed [insert: along with paintings] that represented the early years.  The work seemed to parallel the U.S. and Britain and was relative[ly] conservative, competent but not exciting.  Individual paintings were impressive, but I cannot say I know too much about it other than to begin to recognize a few of the names.

The Houses of Parliament are housed in a rebuilt (after a fire [in] 1916) version of the original of the later 19th Century.  It is a good example of Victorian Gothic.  The structures have an admirable setting on the bluff overlooking the river, and there is plenty of space in front.  We saw a bit of the interior, including the Library, the survivor of the fire.

We made it back to the car just as it began to rain, which continued on into the morning.

     [$  Meals $16.30 (GS $4.15).  Parking $1.25  Books $5.10]

MILA JEAN:  We took a side trip east to Ottawa—very enjoyable place.  New modern National Arts Centre.  Very interesting art collection in National Gallery.  Took a tour of Parliament.  Library most interesting, survivor of massive fire in early 1900's.  Missed Changing of the Guard.

THURSDAY, JUNE 19

GEORGE:  Today had an important chore—to do the laundry.  We went out some rather extended distance on Ste. Catherine to a Laundromat in the very French section of lower economic level.  After the laundry was done, we continued on an auto tour of various sections of Montreal (metropolitan) not seen before.  We hardly covered all sections, but did see areas north as well as east of the Mont.  We also ascended the Mont and got a misty view of the city toward the river.  We saw the less elegant and the everyday sections of the city.  Some is prosperous—around Montreal University—and part is shabby.  Balconies are very much in evidence in older residences (of multiple stories).  Must have been to offset the summer heat-humidity.  We ended—regrettably at noon—in the very heart of town by the convention center.  Montreal is therefore much like any city undergoing transition except that the black population is not geographically evident.  Northeast of the Mont is a large Greek section, and possibly the other Euro-ethnic groups are there.  What we saw of east, and yesterday west, seems French and English if signs tell anything.  We ended by buying a few books not available at home in two (related) bookstores.  One, devoted exclusively to paperbacks, was the most impressive I've seen of this sort.  The other, hardback, had the French books both hard and paper, and I got two more in French for home consumption.

     [$  Meals $26.19 (GS $9.00)]   Mileage covered today 22 (9339 - 9317)

MILA JEAN:  Montreal is a city of many hills and "views."  Unfortunately, due to aggressive French drivers, one sees less than one would wish.  Much greenery, flowers and interesting architecture.  Also many hippie types and college students on holiday.  Main streets are clogged with traffic noises, screeching brakes, sirens, and strolling groups of people.

FRIDAY, JUNE 20

GEORGE:  Depart Montreal at 9:15 and we took the old route, #2, which was rather slow and at times tedious, but it paralleled the St. Lawrence River and we could see it about half of the time.  It is also the old way between Quebec and Montreal.  We saw something of the non-tourist (American) aspects of the province, but then it was much earlier than the typical tourist season.  We arrived in Quebec at 2:20.  Mileage 169 (9508 - 9339).

Once we got settled, we wended our way to the old town to the tourist information center and we picked up some useful literature.  When we returned to the motel we were able to ascertain that a major party (French in Quebec) was having its political convention, and our motel is a headquarters (?) [sic] for the leading contender.  After a nice supper, I was able to view the materials at hand and make some preliminary decisions relative to the next two days.

     [$  Meals $22.30 (GS $6.60).  Motel $95.04 (GS 47.52).  Exit tips $1.00 (GE 50¢).  Parking 25¢]

MILA JEAN:  Québec City.  Hotel L'Aristocrate, 3235 Boul. Laurier, Quebec 10.  100 rooms.  Not much sleep here.  An extremely loud motel due to presence of factional delegates attending sessions for election of Quebec Prime Minister.  Segregationists want to remain independent of French-speaking.  Very vocal.

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

GEORGE:  We began by heading into the old city where we parked the car and began following the planned foot-tour.  First, however, we had attempted to get into the Citadel and wandered helplessly under the battlements climbing and descending, but seeing only the upper and outer ramparts.  The foot-tour followed quite closely the little publication sent to us by the Tourist Bureau long ago, called Walking Tour of Old Quebec.  There is no question but that this is a unique experience.  Not only is it a walled city retaining its little streets going every which way, but with an upper and a lower town and a tremendous estuary; the entire[ty] smacks of a European concept rather than American.  Old Montreal is the American solution, [cf.] the lowland peninsula of Charleston.  Here we have the commercial solution, despite the forts in each of the above.  The upper and lower concept, an obvious choice due to the geography, gives this a completely different quality.

The architecture is not really terribly distinguished, but it is consistent and despite measures at modernization or repair, still retains much of the older sense of its appearance.  There is one place, a small "square" in front of Notre Dame des Victoires, which—with the church, houses, streets—is right out of a pre-late-18th Century conception.  It is picturesque, simply because it "looks right"—as no doubt it always looked.  We walked and walked, and thereby noted almost all of the structures which have historic interest.  From a design point of view they are doubly provincial—the use of stone the most characteristic feature with the massive chimney stacks.  In some ways it reminded me of old San Antonio, where age rather than design is the noteworthy feature.  We did the entire bit, including a ride across the river on the ferry which does give one an interesting view of the way the plateau on which Quebec is situated projects out into a formidable position in conjunction with the Île de Orléans.  One can see how the site was selected, and why it was—until modern siege techniques (if this is the appropriate term) prevailed—a major fort-garrison.

Our visit to the Citadel, in the manner of the more ancient stone and earthwork forts, gave insight into why fortification was of such architectural interest in earlier centuries.  The placement of redoubts, entrances, dry moats and covering fire, etc. etc. all present what are—in effect—traffic problems.  To confound the resources of an army prior to the later 19th Century would be a feasible intellectual task for someone.  And add to it the positive feature of protecting a river and harbor, you have an exercise that would be captivating for some of the engineers and architects.  The guide who conducted us was a retired veteran (of when?) who had his patter down with all witticisms tried and true.  The museum of the Citadel was not impressive to me, it was a grab-bag of memorabilia of the regiment.  But put it all together, the walled city with one foot in a medieval inheritance, fathered in the later 17th and early 18th Century, with a conservative tradition which helped preserve it, you have a truly unique experience, one which cannot be approximated anywhere else in the United States or Canada.

Of unusual interest was the leadership battle for the Union Nationale party of Quebec.  There were over 2,000 delegates in town from the 108 counties of the province, and the confrontation loomed so large that the police had a tear gas battle outside of the Exposition building with rock-throwing dissidents.  This took place while we were at the Citadel.  TV coverage in the evening (one station was English) brought us up to date on that and the rather strong feelings generated by the convention.  The incumbent won (what was essentially a vote of confidence in his party leadership) but the process had all of the hoopla associated with a major nominating convention.  Federation and Separatism, with unilingualism a factor among others, made itself a prime issue with the challenger considered to be the more radical.

Before returning to the motel, I was able to obtain a guidebook on Quebec which was very much like the Michelin guides in format, content, etc.  This was a useful tool throughout the day.

     [$  Meals $14.65 (GS $8.05).  Admission to Fort $2.25 (GS 75¢).  Guidebook $1.50.  Parking $1.75.  Ferry $1.40 (GS 50¢)]

MILA JEAN:  Spend one whole day just on foot, with guidebooks.  Weather is very pleasant and coolish.  Lots of hills.  We take ferry on St. Lawrence River—very cold.  [At the Citadel] had hilarious French guide à la Maurice Chevalier.  [Later] we see some egg-throwing episodes on TV.  Restaurant is equally traumatic.  One waiter seems to have trouble understanding English (is he Algerian?).  Gets orders mixed up and ends up in altercation with head waiter.  Two head waiters, Max and Karl, seem like hangovers from World War II (German side).  One of them very officious—smells cork of wine bottle.

SUNDAY, JUNE 22

GEORGE:  Began by driving by a new route toward Highway 15, which continues along the north shore of the St. Lawrence past Quebec.  We went up to L'Ange-Gardien by the old road and stopped at the top of the Montmorency Falls.  We returned via the new road below, and stopped at the bottom of the falls.  At top and bottom the setting was designed as a park with tables, etc. and good viewing points.  It was genuinely impressive.  Returning toward the city, we could see the site from a different vantage point, and once again it proved impressive and natural.  I started along the river under the city and came up eventually at Sillery, about where Wolfe ascended to the battlefield.  We moved through this area—which acts as the park—and entered the old city where we stopped for a spot of lunch. Afterwards, we went back to the park and went to the Quebec Museum.

The building is refurbished and everything is nicely displayed.  It is small and T-shaped.  On the ground floor there was a rather impressive display of "folk" and early (i.e. 19th Century) carved items—most [insert: all?] church furnishing and sculpture in wood.  Very tasteful.  Across the head of the "T" was a temporary exhibit—rather geometric and Op—of two contemporary artists, one a sculptor, the other a painter.  The leg of the "T" held vitrines with silver—all Canadian.  Upstairs the two arms held 19th Century Canadian painting and some furniture.  The other held the more modern collection, also Canadian.  While small and not overly stocked with distinguished objects, the entire was presented with a grace that was quite rewarding.  The basement room held the Archives of Quebec.

From the Museum, we continued an auto view of Quebec and suburbs, and it seems that architecture here (with a few exceptions) is rather conservative in contrast to Montreal.  Possibly it is the proximity of so much old tourist attraction stuff, but I sense that other factors may prevail, since the far outskirts are not well endowed by other than an enormous number of motels—most shabby or tawdry.  We ended at the Aquarium, which was one of the most impressive I've seen.  It is at the north end of the famous Quebec Bridge, alongside of which a new suspension bridge is now being constructed.  They are at the cable-making stage.  The old bridge is one whose fame rests upon it being the longest cantilever span.  Tomorrow we cross it as we begin our way back to home by a fairly direct route.

Random observations:  The old #15 along the north shore of the St. Lawrence gives one a view of the old trail as it wandered along the "top" of the bluffs with the farms stretching down to the river (or upland).  Some old houses were in evidence.  To the south of the Museum, there are a number of rather interesting wooden constructions, some large in size, some like modern abstracted totems, but interwoven, acting as both playground sculpture and large-scale outsize sculpture.  We ate at a "cheap" place in the heart of old town—a place popular with the hippies (we used to call them hobos), the young and the very old.  Decent dinner available at fast service and low prices.  From there it was a Sunday evening promenade on Dufferin Terrace as a last experience in Vieille Québec.  Local mileage in Quebec 84 (9592 - 9508)

     [$  Meals $14.66 (GS $4.40).  Guidebook $1.00]

MILA JEAN:  Québec City (continued).  A nice trip north of Quebec City.  Lovely park surrounding Montmorency Falls.  Paul and Matthew walk up close and get thoroughly soaked.  The Quebec Aquarium [on] Sunday afternoon—nice to see, including baby seals, but marred by aggressive French sightseers.  World-renowned Canadian Pacific Hotel, the Chateau Frontenac, seems out of an old Hollywood film—must seem strange staying in it.  This town is filled with hippie types.  We ate in very inexpensive restaurant, filled with them and old people.

 

MONDAY, JUNE 23

GEORGE:  We departed from Ste. Foy (Quebec) at 8:20 and arrived at Watertown NY at 3:30.  Mileage covered was 344 (9936 - 9592).  It rained hard most of the way and the day was primarily go-go-go—but carefully.

Once back in the U.S.—no questions to hamper us in our customs check—we sensed that we were back in the U.S.  The contrast between the Watertown Howard Johnson and the Quebec world was more than noticeable.  They are different in ways beyond touristship vs. small town.  Habits, as well as speech patterns, were evident differences.

     [$  Meals $7.63 (GS $2.05) Canadian, $14.40 (GS $5.50) U.S.  Motel in Quebec $61.56 (GS $30.78)  Toll $1.00 Canadian]

MILA JEAN:  Howard Johnson's, Interstate 81 & N.Y. Rt. 3, Watertown, New York.  A gorgeous motel, with very classy furnishings.  Swimming pool right outside rooms, but too cold to swim.

TUESDAY, JUNE 24

GEORGE:  Departed Watertown at 8:40 and arrived in Buffalo—via Rochester—at 4:55.  Mileage was 228 (10164 - 9936).  The first hour was rather heavy fog and a rather tense period.

We went into Rochester and spent several hours there.  After lunch (an unusually nice restaurant which initially seemed to be a rundown downtowner's place—far from it), we went to Eastman House.  Much had been done since our last visit in 1961.  A new exhibition gallery on the ground floor, to the rear, contained an extensive series of demonstration setups which illustrate principles of light, lenses, color (additive and subtractive), historical photo processes and similar concepts and matters.  Also, there was an extensive display of photo apparatus, both still and cinema.  There was in the older section a series of photos, instruction and advertising matter which covered the 19th Century in a non-labeled but delightfully instructive manner.  The central big room (behind the stairs) which held extensive exhibit material in 1961 is now equipped with an 18th Century camera obscura, a daguerreotype camera, an old monster of a studio camera, and the camera component of the lunar orbiter.  Upstairs continued an extensive exhibit of photographs from earliest times to the present.  This was as before.  The entire display was truly delightful and much improved over the last visit.  As before, several rooms were set up as when Eastman lived here.  An added attraction was a slide show—two carousels—what else) geared to a tape presentation written and narrated by Beaumont Newhall.  It dealt with serial photography from earliest times to the most recent—Apollo 10.  The photos of the moon and earth in color were truly impressive.  I have not seen anything quite like them.

From Eastman House we went over to the History-Science Museum down the street.  Saw primarily the Old Rochester section and that on the American Indians (primarily of the area).  This museum is a better one that Cincinnati, and insofar a [science?/scenic?], and the Rochester 1830's (?) [sic], consists of a "street" of shops.  Fairly well done.  And from there it was over to the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery, which is on the University campus, but apparently serves as the community's museum.  This was a pleasant surprise.  The collection has some very nice things, and everything is displayed with considerable taste.  This is possible since a large new wing has been added.  The collection is very well balanced, with something from everywhere and all times.  While not all of the objects are top-quality, they form an excellent group for a city museum, and for the university—or any university—it is impressive and beautifully mounted.  All in all, a nice conclusion (except for getting back on the freeway) of a rather packed period in Rochester.

     [$  Meals $21.32 (GS $6.00).  NY freeway tolls $1.85.  Parking 55¢.  Museum admission 50¢.  Guidebooks $4.25.  Motel in Watertown $23.32 (GS $10.60)]

MILA JEAN:  Eastman House is still impressive.  Cavalier Motel [in Buffalo] is just awful—our air conditioning not on, though it's hot and humid.  Buffalo is as ugly and dirty as ever.  We do get laundry done here, and Art Gallery is quite nice.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25

GEORGE:  We began by heading (old road) to Niagara Falls.  We arrived after passing through a wretched industrial area with terrible air pollution.  The park on Goat Island is very well laid out and there are numerous walks, vantage points etc.  Granted that the Falls are better seen from the Canadian side, I made no attempt to go there since the American Falls had been "shut off."  This gave us a dry gorge walk, for which I was grateful.  Despite the buildup—including tall "space needle" affairs for spectacular viewings—the Falls are impressive and I can see how they attracted the artist.  It is also easy to see why they are so difficult to paint.  The mist rises far above the gorge, and makes the "drop" less clear than at the Montmorency for example.  I shall find the old catalog I have on paintings of Niagara Falls a more challenging thing, once I can see it again.  At any rate, I have finally seen Niagara Falls.  However, Grand Canyon is still on the list.

We returned to Buffalo by an alternate old road and once again passed through a wretched industrial buildup at Niagara Falls with considerable pollution.  We made it to the Albright-Knox Gallery, which is still clean from its scrubbing seven years ago.  The arrangement of the old section with the new one is well done (Gordon Bunshaft) and it does present an interesting problem.  I think of Detroit, Cleveland and Rochester as three other solutions.  Visually the Buffalo answer is the most satisfactory way of combining an old classic and a new modern.  However, it seems that the money put into the auditorium must have counted for more than the exhibition area, per square [foot?].  The collection was very heavily weighted toward very recent works, and a number of the famous earlier works were not on view—e.g. The Yellow Christ.  There is no attempt to be comprehensive and the collection is primarily late 19th and 20th Century.  Here the collection is impressive, but when so much of the big non-objective—abstract—work is seen one after the other, it does become visually superficial.  The works do not call for contemplation or intellection, despite the critical commentary that pretends otherwise.  The German Expressionists were more intellectual.  This does not lessen the works on an individual basis, but neither [does] it suggests to me that the art museum is not necessarily the best place for some of this work.  The Commercial Interior is really a better place in which to see many of these.  The Op stuff strikes me as a dead end.  So it proves issues of illusion—this is not new—and it is difficult to look at.  The ones I notice staring at the works—with forced gaze—are younger than I and apparently seeking visual effects which I find unpleasant.  But then I find hard rock at 125 decibels lunatic.  I'll have to ask Parelman when I get my eyes checked if the eye may not indeed sustain some sort of injury from purely optical effects.

Well, in summary, the Albright-Knox is a very pleasant museum—especially the new section—to visit, but the new section is mostly corridor except for the "end" which has partitions.  But there is no "logic" in the display as I saw it, so a sense of balanced rooms was not needed.  I confess I like the rooms better than the maze concept.  Must be a result of giving tours.  "Local" mileage 36 (10220 - 10164).

     [$  Meals $17.43 (GS $4.85).  Gorge walk $1.80.  Guidebook ($ not noted).]

MILA JEAN:  Niagara Falls, N.Y.  A viewmobile on Goat Island.  We went on catwalk, but falls were turned off.

THURSDAY, JUNE 26

GEORGE:  The day was one long drive, hot and humid.  We departed at 8:20 and arrived at 4:45.  Mileage 403 (10623 -10220).  We switched to the Holiday Inn to ensure a little better accommodations in Springfield [OH].

     [$  Meals $24.59 (GS $8.10).  Tolls 1.35.  Motel in Buffalo $46.20 (GS $21.00) paid by 3 $20 traveler's checks.]

MILA JEAN:  It really starts getting hot from Buffalo on.  Before we reach Columbus, Ohio we really are buckled by heat and change our accommodations to a cool Holiday Inn (complete with gin and tonics).

FRIDAY, JUNE 27

GEORGE:  Departed Springfield at 9:45 and arrived in Urbana at 4:50 EDT.  Mileage 274 (10897 - 10623).  The only noteworthy interlude was a visit to the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.  We had passed by on more than one occasion, and now with an hour to be gained as we headed back to CDT, and a short run, we had time.  The Air Force Base is really a history of military flight with concentration on the U.S.  It consists of two parts.  One portion is housed in a large loft building which is carefully compartmented with partitions to provide a chronological history and a logical flow of the visitor-traffic.  It houses not only antique airplanes, but it also had numerous objects and informational displays (including an art gallery with a small selection of the 2,500 paintings owned).  The interior display was effective and comprehensive.  It was well presented and included many techniques of the modern technology (push button) presentation.  The other portion is a "park" for planes from WWII to fairly recent.  This is a rather crowded area and yet effective as it gave authentic scale and appearance.  Some of the aircraft were in rather sad condition, but all were impressive in their formidable aspect.  The larger craft were outside while the smaller ones were inside.  As a museum it is effective and well worth the visit.  Nostalgia did not take hold, but as I wandered past my own past it did present an impact rather different from that experienced in any of the other museums.

The arrival at the Holshousers['s] in Urbana was unusually festive insofar as the two girls also arrived home, one from California and the other from Chicago.

     [$  Meals $7.58 (GS $2.25).  Motel in Springfield $16.64 (GS $8.32) paid by the last $20 traveler's check]

MILA JEAN:  [Air Force Museum] near Dayton, Ohio.  Took time off to visit this on way home and found it to be well worth the time.  It is in 90's by the time we reach Holshousers, but their central air conditioning is on all day and night.  We have most pleasant visit with them and both Judy and Donna are home.

SATURDAY, JUNE 28

GEORGE:  The major events of the day, other than extended visiting with the Holshousers, were a visit with Bea Roos and a quick look at the expanded Krannert Museum.  Bea has survived the impact of Frank's death, and the visit worked out rather well.  She gave me a copy of Frank's Bibliography which she finished.  It was a rather touching moment.  I can now sit down, when I have time to compose my thoughts, and write her the letter I couldn't quite work out before.

The newly enlarged Krannert has about doubled the capacity.  The exhibits were some modern British artists (predictable Op—etc.) and the summer faculty—various with some familiar names.  The permanent collection was represented principally by the "old masters" and "primitive" Peruvian.  What was up was mostly familiar and not too exciting—especially since the Trees collection is as a group in one area.  As a collection for a university it is less than great, and it would be a difficult one for teaching purposes.  The university-college museum is a rather special matter, and deserves a different orientation (by the viewer) than the so-called public museums.  My thinking on this will need considerable time for resolution.

The weather continued hot, humid and generally unpleasant—since Wednesday for us, and the morrow is not eagerly awaited except that it will be "home again."

Local mileage 17 (10914 - 18897).

SUNDAY, JUNE 29

GEORGE:  After a solid round of farewells, we headed out in the heat and the humidity.  The day was wretched, and after some necessary stops to collect myself against the continued ordeal, we finally arrived home after a 15 minute stop at Milgrams for some supplies.  Fortunately Jean's parents had turned on the air conditioners.

Departed 8:30 CDT, arrived 5:00 CDT.  Mileage 424 (11338 - 10914).

     [$  Meals $4.22 (GS $1.35)]

GENERAL SUMMARY: Total Mileage 3,927 (11338 - 7401).
 

NOTES

[click on the > at the end of each Note to return to that date's entry above]

●  Bank of America launched its all-purpose credit card program in California in 1958; it spread to a network of nationwide banks in 1966.  A decade later it was renamed Visa.  >
●  Bloomington is the home of Indiana University's flagship campus.  >
●  Henry Radford Hope (1905-1989), chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Indiana University from 1941 to 1967, was editor of the Art Journal from 1945 to 1949 and then from 1953 to 1973.  >
●  The Magic Theater was a collection of eight avant-garde exhibits (or "environments") appearing at KCMO's Nelson Art Gallery from May to July 1968.  "The genius of the artist, the engineer and industry have been brought together here to produce 'Magic Theater,' undoubtedly the most wide-ranging and advanced psychic art exhibition that will be mounted this year in the United States," stated the Kansas City Star in a preview.  Commissioned by the Performing Arts Foundation, it was visited by over 50,000 persons in its first month.  George's article, "The Magic Theater Exhibition: An Appraisal" would appear in the Fall 1969 Art Journal.  >
●  Indiana University's Art Center Gallery was opened in 1941.  A permanent collection was established in the 1950s and the museum moved into the new Fine Arts Building in 1962.  A separate building would be completed in 1982 and renamed the Eskenazi Museum of Art in 2016.  >
●  A vitrine is a glass display case, typically found in stores and museums.  >
●  Washington University is a private research institution in St. Louis, and includes what is now the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts (comprising the colleges and graduate schools of art and architecture, plus the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum).  >
●  Thomas Hart Benton, still a relative unknown, won the commission to paint murals of Indiana life as part of the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago.  Benton's Regionalist style and choice of subject matter (including the KKK burning a cross and Eugene V. Debs rallying strikers) stirred considerable controversy.  >
●  Benton's America Today mural was commissioned by the New School for Social Research in 1929 and painted in 1930-31; The Arts of Life in America mural was done for the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1932.  >
●  Benton's Mural of Missouri, commissioned in 1936 and depicting the state's social history, is located in the third-floor House of Representatives Lounge at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.  The Ehrlichs were allowed to see it on Mar. 30, 1969.  >
●  Columbus IN is known for its modern architecture, much of it subsidized by the Cummins Foundation; seven buildings constructed between 1942 and 1965 have been named National Historic Landmarks.  >
●  The Cincinnati Art Museum, opened in 1886, is one of the oldest of its kind in the United States: the first built so far west of the Atlantic seaboard.  >
●  The private Art Academy of Cincinnati, founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, relocated to the new Art Museum campus and was renamed in 1887.  >
●  The Damascus Room, an 18th Century Syrian reception chamber, was donated to the Cincinnati Art Museum in 1966.  >
●  Actually titled When Abraham Has His Hand Raised to Kill Isaac, an Angel Restrains Abraham's Hand (generally referred to as Landscape with the Offering of Isaac), this was painted by Flemish Mannerist artist Herri met de Bles (c.1490-c.1566) circa 1540.  > 
●  Penitent Saint Jerome in Landscape, attributed to—"as by"—Joachim Patinir (c.1480-1524), a Flemish painter and pioneer landscapist.  The work, painted c.1525-30, was acquired by the Nelson Gallery (now Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art) in 1961.  >
●  Frank Duveneck (1848-1919), a figure and portrait painter who taught at Cincinnati's Art Academy.  >
●  In the famous Peanuts Sunday strip of Aug. 14, 1960, Linus says "That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor" (1844-1916).  Whenever I cited this, George would respond "More of a painter than a sculptor."  >
●  The St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM) moved into the World's Fair Palace of Fine Arts when the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Expedition closed.  The Ehrlichs visited it on Mar. 28, 1969.  >
●  More likely the Taft Museum of Art (located in the oldest house in downtown Cincinnati) than the William Howard Taft Historic Site (residence of the Taft family from the 1850s to 1890s).  >
●  The Museum of Natural History & Science was established in 1957 and installed its reproduction of a limestone cavern in 1967.  It is now part of the Cincinnati Museum Center complex.  >
●  The Monsanto agrochemical company is headquartered in Creve Coeur MO, part of Greater St. Louis.  McDonnell Aircraft is based in St. Louis, and built the Mercury and Gemini spacecrafts.  >
●  Despite its name, Imperial House was a small chain of motels in Ohio with two locations in Cincinnati.  Their sign was a crowned arch with two lions climbing a pedestal.  >
●  Corinne Doris Smith Frisby Huff (1924-2016) was Mila Jean's older (middle) sister; her story is told in footnotes to Mila Jean's First Seventeen: 1932-1949.  >
●  Originally called the Dayton Museum of Fine Arts in 1919, the Art Institute relocated in 1930 to a new building modeled after a villa of the Italian Renaissance.  >
●  The Holy Family with Saint Elizabeth and the Infant John the Baptist (c.1660-65) by French painter Sébastien Bourdon (1616-1671).  >
●  I was unable to identify anyone of this or similar name and appropriate age in either KCMO or Dayton.  >
●  In Nov. 1968 Michigan voted against observing Daylight Savings Time, and stuck to year-round Standard Time until repealing this exemption in Nov. 1972.  >
●  Previously visited during George's First Sabbatical on May 24, 1961.  >
●  As a student at the Kansas City Art Institute, James Buford Roth (1910-1990) was hired as a guard at the newly-opened Nelson Gallery in 1933 and there became involved with art conservation.  For over four decades he managed the Gallery's Restoration Department while doing similar work for other clients, including the St. Louis City Art Museum, Toledo Museum of Art, Princeton University, and Nelson Rockefeller.  > 
●  Edward Drummond Libbey (1854-1925) opened his namesake glassmaking plant in Toledo in 1888; not surprisingly the Toledo Art Museum (which he also founded) has a major collection of glass art, and opened a Glass Pavilion in 2006.  >
●  Toledo philanthropist Arthur J. Secor (1857-1938) acquired many artworks for the newly-established Toledo Museum, telling E.D. Libbey "Why hell Ed, pick out any painting you like and I’ll buy it for you."  >
●  Miniature art.  >
●  Dearborn MI was Henry Ford's birthplace, site of his Ford Motor factory and Fair Lane estate.  >
●  The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation was dedicated as part of the Edison Institute in 1929 and opened to the general public in 1933.  >
●  The Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library was founded on the du Pont family's Delaware estate in 1951.  The Ehrlichs visited it on July 20, 1968; George wrote that "the entire experience was overwhelming."  >
●  Greenfield Village, adjacent to and opened along with the Henry Ford Museum, was the first outdoor "living history" museum (showing how people lived and worked through past centuries) in the United States.  >
●  A faithfully exact replica of Thomas Edison's laboratory complex in New Jersey.  >
●  Matthew began collecting toy cars at a very early age.  During our 1971 trip to England he would acquire six of these, plus a taxicab and train steam engine.  Mila Jean saved his assortment of Matchbox cars, which in 2016 elicited an admiring “Oh my goodness!” from an estate appraiser.  >
●  The Detroit Institute of Arts, established in 1885, has one of the largest, most comprehensive, and highest-ranked collections in the United States.  >
●  German for picture gallery (< Latin pinacotheca < Ancient Greek πινακοθήκη); here used by George in a grand "Picture Gallery" sense.  >
●  Washington Allston (1779-1843) was a pioneering American Romantic landscape painter and poet; his intended masterpiece, Belshazzar's Feast, was left unfinished at his death.  >
●  Court of Death (1820) is a vast Neoclassical allegory by American portrait painter Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860).  >
●  Arthur Bowen Davies (1862-1928) was an avant-garde artist and member of The Eight, who protested the National Academy of Design's restrictive standards and practices in 1908.  Five years later Davies organized the groundbreaking Armory Show (International Exhibition of Modern Art).  >
●  Evidently The Wedding Dance (1566) by Dutch and Flemish Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel/Brueghel/Breughel the Elder (c.1525-1569), though this was not unfinished.  >
●  Saint Jerome in His Study, attributed to the workshop of Jan van Eyck (c.1390-1441), an Early Northern Renaissance innovator whom some art historians claim invented oil painting.  >
●  Now called Rivera Court, where Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals (1932-33) are displayed.  >
●  William Rockhill Nelson Gallery (an acronym occasionally used by George, that took me some time to decipher).  >
●  Windsor, Ontario is directly across the Detroit River from Detroit, Michigan.  (Supposedly Matthew and I exited the VW's back seat simultaneously so as to claim equal footing on foreign soil.)  >
●  Stratford, Ontario (on the Avon River) was associated from Shakespeare from its 1832 settlement.  >
●  The Stratford Festival repertory organization was founded in 1952 and began performing in its Festival Theatre in 1957.  >
●  The Alchemist, a comedy by Ben Jonson, was first performed in 1610.  Bunny Behrens appeared as "Captain Face," the butler turned conman, in Stratford's 1969 production.  >
●  Mila Jean met Bernard "Bunny" Behrens (1926-2012) in Bristol during her 1954-55 Fulbright Year Abroad, calling him "later one of my best friends."  As a child in poverty-stricken London, Bunny would sneak into cinemas and dream of becoming a Hollywood actor.  From the Bristol Old Vic company he went on to London's Old Vic and then Canada, where he and wife Deborah Cass (née Bernice Katz: 1930-2004) spent the greater part of their careers; they were founding members of the Neptune Theatre in Halifax and often took part in the Stratford and Shaw Festivals.  Bunny received frequent Gemini nominations for his performances on Canadian television, winning in 1992 and 1995; he also had a long run on American TV, appearing in everything from Little House on the Prairie to Bosom Buddies, and providing Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice in NPR radio dramatizations of the first Star Wars trilogy.  Mila Jean and Bunny would correspond for half a century, the final years by phone ("Bunny Behrens called four times last week and we laughed a lot about the old days," she informed me in 2006).  According to his obituary, when recognized shortly before his death and asked if he used to be an actor, "Bunny responded, with his trademark tongue and attitude, 'I still AM an actor!'"  >
●  When Philadelphia's colonial Whitby Hall was deconstructed for moving in 1922, its drawing room and stair hall were sold to and installed at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  >
●  The Detroit Institute of Arts's atrium café.  >
●  At 257 Huntingdon Avenue in Stratford.  >
●  Bunny and Debbie had three young sons: Mark, Matthew, and Adam.  Matthew administers the Bunny Behrens/Deborah Cass Appreciation Page on Facebook.  >
●  "So, you'll come for drinks after Alchemist & then come over for lunch Saturday.  I'm in both shows that day so this is the only way we can spent a little time together.  We are going 12 hours a day and everybody's on their knees," Bunny had remarked in a May 25 letter to the Ehrlichs.  >
●  Bunny (who appeared as Pompey, "tapster to Mistress Overdone, a bawd") was able to obtain only a single ticket for the June 14 performance of Measure for Measure.  >
●  Stratford had a population of approximately 25,000 in 1969.  >
●  Besides the Stratford Festival and its Theatre, Tanya Moiseiwitsch (1914-2003) designed the stages for the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, as well as many productions in England, Ireland, on Broadway and for television.  >
●  Brian Jackson (1926-1990) was costume, scenic, and/or production designer for numerous Stratford productions between 1960 and 1977.  >
●  This was the first time Mila Jean and Bunny Behrens had seen each other since Jan. 30, 1959, when Bunny came through KCMO on tour with the Canadian Players.  They performed The Devil's Disciple at the Kansas City Music Hall, with Bunny playing the Sergeant.  >
●  During the War of 1812, the original Fort York was destroyed by American forces and then rebuilt as a military hospital.  Following restoration, it opened as a museum in 1934.  >
●  The Royal Ontario Museum, largest in Canada, opened in 1914 and was managed by the University of Toronto until 1968, when it became an independent agency.  >
●  Established as the Art Museum of Toronto in 1900, this was renamed the Art Gallery of Toronto in 1919 (to avoid confusion with the Royal Ontario Museum) and then the Art Gallery of Ontario in 1966.  >
●  The Embarkation of Carlo and Ubaldo (1667) by Claude Lorrain aka Claude Gellée (1604-1682); Venus, Mother of Aeneas, Presenting Him with Arms Forged by Vulcan (c.1636-37) by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665); View of Rhenen (1641) by Jan van Goyen (1596-1656).  >
●  One of these was the Portrait of a Lady with a Lap Dog (c.1665).  >
●  Christ Washing His Disciples' Feet (c.1545-55).  >
●  The Art Museum of Ontario currently has two paintings by Frans Hals (c.1582-1666): Vincent Laurensz, van der Vinne (c.1655-60) and Isaac Abrahamsz, Massa (1626); but they are more or less the same size.  >
●  Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), whose paintings at the Art Museum of Ontario include The Yellow Console of the Violin and The Place d'Hyeres with an Obelisk and Bandstand.  >
●  "Op Art" was Time magazine's 1964 term for the abstract optical illusions popular in the 1960s with the public, though less so with art critics.  >
●  Possibly Fran's Restaurant, "Toronto's favorite diner," opened in 1940 and closed in 2001; frequented by classical pianist Glenn Gould.  >
●  During the Expo '67 World's Fair, Trailways advertised a special package included "3 nights at the fabulous Le Martinique Motor Inn ... Downtown Montreal's most beautiful and modern motor inn!"  (By 2025 it would be renamed the Hotel Espresso.)  >
●  Originally the residence of the Governor of Montreal in 1705, the Château Ramezay became a museum and portrait gallery in 1894.  >
●  The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1860, now occupies the most gallery space of any art museum in Canada.  >
●  Eugène Boudin (1824-1898), one of the first French landscapists to paint outdoors, was a mentor to the young Monet.  >
●  On Sep. 9, 1969, the government of Pierre Trudeau officially enacted bilingualism in Canada, giving French and English equal status.  >
●  Mila Jean visited Paris twice during her Fulbright Year Abroad, in Mar. and Apr. 1955.  >
●  The National Arts Centre was one of Prime Minister Lester Pearson's projects to celebrate Canada's centennial in 1967.  This center for the performing arts opened on May 31, 1969.  >
●  Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969), the last director of the Bauhaus, who left Nazi Germany to design Modernist high-rises and other buildings in Chicago and elsewhere.  >
●  The National Gallery of Canada was established in 1880 and moved into the eight-story Lorne Building in 1960; it would relocate to a newly-designed structure in 1988.  >
●  George had visited London's Tate Gallery on July 1, 1966; the Ehrlichs would pay the Tate a suffocatingly airless (re-)visit on June 27, 1971.  >
●  The Death of General Wolfe (1770) by Benjamin West (1738-1820), who also painted The Death of Nelson and Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity From the Sky.  >
●  Napoleon on the Battlefield of Eylau (1807-08) by Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835): an early French Romantic oil painting that measures 205" x 309".  George visited the Louvre several times during his 1966 Solo Jaunt in Europe.  >
●  André Derain (1880-1954), Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958), and Georges Braque (1882-1963).  The first two were key figures in the Fauve movement, along with Matisse; the third's style evolved from Fauvism to Cubism, working with Picasso.  >
●  The Great Fire that destroyed most of Parliament's Centre Block in 1916 began with a cigar in a wastebasket, but wartime rumormongers attributed it to a German arsonist.  >
●  Rue Sainte-Catherine, Montreal's primary commercial street, dates back to the early 18th Century and expanded without formal planning.  >
●  Mont-Royal, a prominent hill and landmark, is the heart of Montreal and source of the city's name.  >
●  Prior to 1968, King's Highway 2 was the primary east-west route through southern Ontario to Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.  >
●  As with "New York," Quebec can refer to either the city or the province, with identification by context.  >
●  La Union Nationale (National Union Party) favored autonomism for Quebec, midway between independence and remaining a Canadian province.  After the sudden death of Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson in Sep. 1968, his successor Jean-Jacques Bertrand (1916-1973) was named interim leader of the National Union until its June 1969 Leadership Convention.  >
●  La Citadelle de Québec is an active part of Quebec City's fortifications; it took thirty years to build during the first half of the 19th Century.  >
●  Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, a Catholic church in the lower town of Old Quebec City, was consecrated in 1723; largely destroyed during a British bombardment in 1759, it was fully restored by 1816.  > 
●  George "saw precious little of" San Antonio while in preflight training at Randolph Field in 1944, so his recollection must have been of when he was recalled to the Air Force in 1951 and spent the Korean War training radar operators at Randolph Air Force Base.  (The whole story of George's military experiences can be found in his War Memoir.)  >
●  L'Île d'Orléans, an island in the St. Lawrence River, was one of the first places in Quebec to be colonized by the French in the late 17th Century.  >
●  After a bitter fight, Premier Bertrand defeated Deputy Premier Jean-Guy Cardinal (1925-1979) to become permanent leader of La Union Nationale on June 21.  Cardinal and many of his supporters left the party to join La Parti Québécois, which advocates independence from Canada and sovereignty for Quebec.  >
●  Seeking to increase demand for still-novel automobiles, the tire-manufacturing Michelin brothers published their first guides to France in 1900 and Belgium in 1904, quickly followed by the rest of western Europe and northern Africa.  The guidebooks were free of charge until 1920.  George made considerable use of them during his 1966 Solo Jaunt in Europe.  >
●  Highway 15 runs toward Montreal from the north as well as from the southern Quebec/New York State border.  >
●  L'Ange Gardien ("the Guardian Angel") is a picturesque municipality on the north bank of the St. Lawrence River, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) northeast of Quebec City.  >
●  The Montmorency Falls, taller than Niagara's, are mentioned in Keats's 1816 poem "Sleep and Poetry."  >
●  Sillery, a community on the St. Lawrence named for a Knight of Malta who became a Catholic priest, was founded in 1637.  >
●  Major General James Wolfe (1727-1759) and his British forces landed at Anse au Foulon ("Fuller's Handle"), a small Sillery cove, in 1759.  They proceeded to defeat the French in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (though Wolfe was killed) and went on to occupy Quebec City.  >
●  La Musée du Québec opened in 1933; the provincial archives would be removed in 1979.  >
●  L'Aquarium du Québec opened in 1959.  This may have been the aquarium where we saw the penguins lined up waiting to be fed, with the biggest bull penguin planted right beside the entrance hatch like a portly mogul anticipating a tavern's opening.  (George and Mila Jean always enjoyed public aquariums and took particular delight visiting Seattle's in 1990, being there at feeding time for the otters and seals.)  >
●  Le Pont de Québec, which opened in 1919 after many troubles and lives lost in the construction, is still the world's longest cantilever bridge span.  >
●  Le Pont Pierre Laporte, Canada's longest main span suspension bridge, would open in 1970 and be named after the Labour Minister kidnapped and murdered by the militant Front de Libération du Québec.  >
●  Driving the Pacific Coast Highway from San Simeon to Carmel on July 3, 1970, George would observe that "it was well traveled—many on foot with thumb.  California—along the coast—is populated by grimy youth on the bum.  The modern hobo is of another sort and of both sexes.  I saw only two cases of success at hitching.  One was a deposit from a panel truck, the other was a pick up by surfers."  >
●  La Terrasse Dufferin is a boardwalk around the Château Frontenac (an historic hotel built in 1892-93) overlooking the St. Lawrence River.  >
●  Old Quebec.  >
●  Sainte-Foy, then a municipality on the St. Lawrence, would be amalgamated into Quebec City in 2002.  >
●  George would caption a photo "We stay in a very posh (rooms only) Howard Johnson Lodge in Watertown."  (Matthew would recall being there when hearing the news that Judy Garland had died.)  >
●  The world's oldest photography museum, the George Eastman House is located on the Kodak founder's estate; his Georgian Revival home was opened to the public in 1949.  As with the Ehrlichs's previous excursion there on May 25, 1961, it would be pleasant to speculate that our fellow visitors included Louise Brooks (1906-1985), who'd been persuaded to move to Rochester in 1956 by Eastman film curator James Card (1915-2000) and there launch a new career as Lulu in Hollywood cinema essayist.  >
●  A "dark chamber" in which an exterior image is projected through a small aperture to form an inverted likeness.  >
●  Five unmanned Lunar Orbiter spacecrafts photographed the surface of the Moon and potential Apollo landing sites in 1966-67.  >
●  Beaumont Newhall (1908-1993), author of The History of Photography: From 1839 to the Present (first edition 1937), was curator of the Eastman House/Museum from 1948 to 1958 and then its director until 1971.  >
●  Founded as the Rochester Municipal Museum in 1912, this was renamed the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences in 1930 and is now the Rochester Museum & Science Center.  >
●  Travel fatigue appears to have affected this word, the entire sentence, and to a lesser extent the rest of the "study trip" journal (which shows an increase in misspellings).  >
●  Established in 1913, the University of Rochester's Memorial Art Gallery hosts the biennial Rochester-Finger Lakes Exhibition.  >
●  A fulsome brochure boasted that the Cavalier Motel was "in the center of things, and with everything!  2 big filtered swimming pools, 3 great golf courses within 1 mile, and a famous, lovely restaurant in which to enjoy Continental and Italian Cuisine.  Completely air-conditioned" (perhaps only applying to the restaurant).  >
●  Mila Jean's father Francis See "Frank" Smith (1896-1973) had been employed by KCMO's American Radiator from his arrival in town in 1913 until its local plant closed in 1942.  The parent company wanted to transfer him to Buffalo, but he'd been there on business and hadn't cared for its climate.  >
●  Goat Island is in the Niagara River between the Falls.  >
●  Earlier that June, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had used 28,000 tons of rock to dam the Niagara River and reduce the American Falls to a trickle.  For the next five months geologists inspected the cliff face, removed rock debris and stabilized the structure.  The Ehrlichs would revisit the Falls (on the Canadian side) in July 1972.  >
●  A year later the Ehrlichs would drive through a brutally hot Arizona, but not visit the Grand Canyon.  >
●  Now known as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, the Albright Art Gallery opened in 1905 and was renamed Albright-Knox in 1962 after a new addition was built.  >
●  Buffalo-born Gordon Bunshaft (1909-1990) was a leading proponent of Mid-Century Modern design.  >
●  Gauguin's Le Christ Jaune (1889), depicting a Crucifixion set in 19th Century Brittany, was acquired by the Albright in 1946.  >
●  Possibly a reference to the NeoCon (National Exposition of Contract Furnishings), established in 1969 to connect commercial interior design with the contract furnishings market, and held annually at Chicago's Merchandise Mart.  >
●  Dr. Allen G. Parelman (1934-2023) was ophthalmologist to all four glasses-wearing Ehrlichs.  >
●  Founded in 1923, the Army Aeronautical Museum became the Air Force Technical Museum in 1948 and opened to the public as the Air Force Museum in 1954, housed in Building 89 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base until a new permanent building was completed in 1971.  >
●  George served in the Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1946 and was recalled to the Air Force from 1951 to 1953, as detailed in his War Memoir.  >
●  At the Urbana IL Unitarian Church in 1946, a three-year-old girl with blonde braids turned in her seat and solemnly stared at George.  This was his introduction to the Holshouser family, who became his closest friends in Illinois.  Don Franklin Holshouser (1920-2002) was an associate at the University of Illinois Electrical Engineering Research Lab; in 1962 he published Research on Modulating Light at Microwave Frequencies.  Marion Holshouser (née Stankus: 1921-2011), "a passionate believer and dynamic participant in the democratic political process," would serve on Urbana's City Council and as City Treasurer; after retiring to Maine in 1985, she presided over the state's League of Women Voters.  Blonde-braided daughter Judy would be joined by sister Donna and brother Eric; Judy's solemn staring at George may have foreshadowed her future career as a cultural anthropologist studying indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest.  George and Mila Jean's second wedding was held at the Holshouser home in Urbana, which would always be the final stop on any Ehrlich family trip returning from the East.  >
●  Bea Roos (née Beatrice Belle Adams: 1900-1972) was the widow of Frank John Roos Jr. (1903-1967), one of George's mentors at the University of Illinois, where Roos taught the history of art and architecture from 1946 to 1967 and was Head of the Art Department before being voted out by studio faculty in 1948.  Together the Rooses wrote the Bibliography of Early American Architecture: Writings on Architecture Constructed Before 1860 in Eastern and Central United States (1968).  > 
●  The Krannert Art Museum opened in Champaign IL in 1961; it was named for philanthropist Herman C. Krannert (1887-1972) and his culture-loving wife Ellnora Decker Krannert (1890-1974), whose contributions also established Urbana's Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in 1969.  >
●  The Trees Collection of European and American Painting was donated to the Krannert by Merle J. and Emily N. Trees (1883-1954 and 1883-1960 respectively).  >
●  In the 1960s the Ehrlich family's principal grocery shopping was done at Milgram's at 1215 E. 47th, north of the UMKC campus; it had a vending machine where you could purchase comic books for a dime and two pennies.  >
●  This was centered at the heading of a page; but only the total mileage calculation followed, and the latter half of the 49¢ composition journal was left blank.  >

 

List of Illustrations

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