September 1936, off to California.

A postcard
To Mr and Mrs A. B. McClain
Rural Route #2
Lebanon

Leaving Medford
7 pm Sept 4, 1936

Dear Mom and Pop -
Thus far the journey has been very pleasant.  A bit warm this afternoon.  My package from Marian was stationery and a lovely card.  I am beginning to feel quite at home on the train.  I'm afraid I'll hate to leave it.  I had a half pint of milk for supper.  It surely tasted good.  I'm afraid I'll be stuffed by the time I get to Rachel's.  Things taste good tho!
Love,
Betty

A postcard
To Mr Lee Scott
63 Sherman Street
Lebanon

Martinez, California
September 5, 1936
8:30 am

Dear Lee-
Here I am in a dandy old waiting room with a hours wait ahead.  I changed my schedule so as to avoid changing trains a couple of times and now I must wait.
Last thing I saw last night was good old Oregon.  First thing I saw this morning was dry old California. It isn't so bad tho.  I am sure tired of riding and quite a bit of it ahead yet..
More later,
Bet

A typed letter
postmarked Sept 6, 1936
To Mr and Mrs. Arthur B McClain


128 Pierce St
Coalinga, CA
Sunday Afternoon

Dear Parents:--
I'm here and hot! It really isn't as bad as it might be though.
I had a lovely trip.  I think I slept a total of five hours all together.  I rented a pillow but there was too much to see to waste time sleeping  I had plenty of lunch in fact I bro't some of it home for supper.  I didn't change trains at Davis, the conductor told me to change at Martinez instead. I had an hours wait-over there. It wasn't so bad.  I met a girl who was going to Los Angeles on the same train so we got to talking and rode together the rest of the way.  She worked in Pasadena and had gone to her home in North Dakota for a visit during the summer.  The train was late so we didn't get into Fresno until about 3:00.  Rachel and Darwin were there to meet me.  They had a friend with them, Mrs. Baxley.  Her husband is also a teacher.  We looked over Fresno a bit.  It is a good size city.  From what I saw of it I would say it was about the size of Salem.  Finally we gathered up my baggage and started for home.  From what I saw on the train I had about decided that I wasn't going to like California very well, but as we left Fresno I began to change my mind.  We left on an Avenue lined on both sides by Palm trees and Oleander bushes.  We turned off this and went through the estate of the man who had planted the trees on the Avenue.  It was beautiful! All trees and alfalfa and peacocks.  His home was a big grey building built something like a castle.  He is dead now and the estate is open to the public. After we had driven through the estate we again entered the Avenue of Palms.  We went for miles and miles and all you could was an alley between tall Palm trees.  Finally we left that and went through a part of the country that was irrigated.  We saw vineyards, cotton fields, olive orchards, and fig trees.  We stopped and snitched a few figs.  Boy! Are they good right off the tree?  From this we entered the desert.  You could look for miles and miles and see nothing much but sand and an occasional ranch house with a bit of green around it from the irrigation.  The sun was just setting behind beautifully curved sand hills and the scenery was beginning to turn that twilight purple when I saw the first oil wells.  From a distance they looked like an old burnt off forest with just the black trunks remaining.  As we drew nearer they took on the appearance of a large group of windmills, each with a house at the foot of it.  After we had wound through a bunch of hills covered with oil fields we rounded a hill & spread out before us was a little valley with a dark spot in the center.  That was Coalinga!  I knew instantly that I was going to like it. As we drew nearer I could see it was a town.  The evening lights were just coming on and it made a beautiful picture. I shall never forget it. As you enter the town you suddenly leave the desert and are in the midst of a thickly populated town.  Whoever said this town was dry must have not been in it very much. The surroundings are very dry but the town itself has more trees and then any other town of it's  size that I know of.  Almost everyone has some green lawn and a few flowers and shrubs. The Main Street of the town runs north east and southwest. It sort of mixed me up at first but I finally got it straight.  We are on a straight street though so I don't feel whopper-jawed all the time.  Our house faces west and has an immense eucalyptus tree in front. My room is on the southeast corner.  It has two windows and three doors.  This is a very poor drawing but it was the best I could do with the knowledge I have of the house after less than 24 hours. For any further information I refer you to Betty McClain, 128 Pierce Street, Coalinga, California.
     I went to the Baptist church this morning. It is eight blocks (1/2 mile) from here. I enjoyed the walk because it went through the center of town.  They were very nice to me at the church. They don't have a pastor now but a possibility from Arlington spoke this morning. I thought he gave a  very good sermon this morning and I plan on going to hear him again this evening.
     My letter is very full of mistakes I know.  Maybe it's the heat.  There's plenty of it alright but it is more bearable than the heat of Oregon.  Though I'm sitting here sweating the air feels very breathable not so oppressive if you know what I mean. I think I'll be able to stand the heat very well but of course it's pretty early to tell yet.
     I may get a study desk and table later but for the present I am sitting on one end of the trunk with my typewriter on the other. 
     As I am too lazy to make copies of this letter you may show it to all my friends and relatives and tell them to write to me.
     I shall write again soon and tell you all about the school.  For now suffice it to say I am here and safe and happy tho' hot.
                         Love, 
                           Betty
PS. Does this sound like I'm getting California-itis? Well, maybe I am.