Monday, June 4, 2012

Uncle Reuben's Journeys Part 2 - The Journeys



Reuben with his sisters
     Uncle Reuben was born near McPherson, Kansas in 1903. He loved to read and must have had an adventurous spirit because at 20 years old he began 10 years of traveling the country.  He started his journeys in 1924 when he went to Chicago to attend flight school. A year and a half (and one plane crash) later he returned to Kansas to help his brothers with the farm. Before too long, he borrowed his brother’s Indian motorcycle and took off on a thousand mile trip south to help his parents with their new farm in Alamo, Texas. His continued to travel this way, crossing the United States in all directions until 1934, when he finally settled back in Chicago for awhile.

Here is the data we had to work with for the map.
Uncle Reuben's Journeys:
McPherson, Kansas
Chicago, Illinois
Train
Chicago, Illinois
McPherson, Kansas
Train
McPherson, Kansas
Alamo, Texas
Indian Motorcycle
Alamo, Texas
McPherson, Kansas
Indian Motorcycle
McPherson, Kansas
Canada
Model T Ford Coupe
Canada
Yellowstone National Park
Train
Yellowstone National Park
Salt Lake City, Utah
Train
Salt Lake City, Utah
Phoenix, Arizona
Train
Phoenix, Arizona
San Diego, California
Train
San Diego, California
Los Angeles, California
Train
Los Angeles, California
Chicago, Illinois
Car
Chicago, Illinois
Detroit, Michigan
Bus
Detroit, Michigan
Buffalo, New York
Steamer across Lake Erie
Buffalo, New York
Portland, Maine
Train
Portland, Maine
New York City, New York
Train
New York City, New York
Chicago, Illinois
Train
Chicago, Illinois
Illinois River
Car
Illinois River
Mississippi River
Canoe
Mississippi River
New Orleans, Louisiana
Canoe
New Orleans, Louisiana

bicycle shop
New Orleans, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Canoe
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
Canoe
New Orleans, Louisiana
Chicago, Illinois
Harley Motorcycle
Chicago, Illinois
Minnesota
Harley Motorcycle
Minnesota
North Dakota
Harley Motorcycle
North Dakota
Tucson, Arizona
Harley Motorcycle
Los Angeles, California
San Francisco, California
Harley Motorcycle
San Francisco, California
New Orleans, Louisiana
Cars and Boxcars
New Orleans, Louisiana
Chicago, Illinois
motorcycle

This is what our map looked like when we were finished mapping it out.
Uncle Reuben's Journeys all mapped out! The colors of yarn stand for the mode of transportation.
So many questions and deep thinking came out of this task. Is Texas bigger or smaller than California? Why did he decide to go to flight school? How many states did he go through? How many miles did he travel by motorcycle? Why did he sell his motorcycle in California? How many countries did he visit? Do you think he ever went to Mexico? How long did it take him to get from Chicago to New Orleans by river?
Some questions could be answered and others not, but all of it was interesting!

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