THE ADVENTURES OF FOUR BOYS

by: DAVID

Introduction by Sheldon:

Dave, Lawrence (Dig), Lyle and Maurice (Mo) were cousins, each carrying the surname of Helle. They traveled extensively together during the 1950's. At the time of their trip their ages were:

David, son of Lloyd and Opal.... 18 yrs

Lawrence, son of Delbert and Nellie     18 yrs.

Lyle, son of Sheldon and Hazel17 yrs.

Maurice, son of Delbert and Nellie     16 yrs.

These four boys saved for a long time to have money for a trip out west. To make the trip as inexpensive as possible, they camped along the way and cooked their meals over open fires.

They had always gotten along well and (I think) planned for this trip for over a year. The boys were very mature for their ages. We, as parents, were not the least concerned as we were confident they would be o.k.

They traveled over 7,000 miles on narrow, winding roads, as this was before the large modern highways in interstates. Most of the time they traveled at a speed comparable of ours today.marriages and the untimely death of our oldest son, Lyle, broke up a great friendship. Even though Lawrence and Mo were brothers, they were all four at one time as close as any brothers could be.

Sheldon

P.S. The 1939 Plymouth was fourteen years old in 1953 and mechanically sound. Empty, its weight was 3,400 pounds. Most boys named these Plymouths after the ship "Mayflower" that landed at Plymouth Rock with the pilgrims.

The following is a letter written to me from David in 1981. With David's permission I have used it in this book as Chapter Eight.

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THE ADVENTURES OF FOUR BOYS

by: David Helle

I am unable to find the log of our trip in 1953. Shirley says that I gave it to Lawrence so you might see if he still has it.   click for logbook

I will try to put on paper my memories of that trip. Many things stick in your mind through the years; things that were scarcely noticed at the time.

We started the trip at 2:00 in the afternoon of the last Saturday in June, 1953. Starting place: Sheldon's house in Savanna; vehicle; the old Mayflower (Lyle's

1939 Plymouth); she tipped the scales at 4,400 pounds loaded. Aunt Hazel gave us so many toll house cookies, we still had some to feed the bears in Yellowstone.

It was hot the day we left. We went up Route 52 to Route 16 in southern Minnesota. We drove all night and when morning came we were in a different world. We cooked breakfast in western S. Dakota. Then we saw the Badlands, Wall Drug Store, and the Black Hills. These were amazing sights to four boys from the prairies of Illinois. Of the four of us, only Lyle had been out west before.

We saw Mount Rushmore and then headed for the Big Horn Mountains. Near the Big Horn we first noticed the illusion of going downhill while the old Mayflower was in second gear pulling for all she was worth.

Probably the one thing I remember most about the first day was seeing great distance. We saw towns that took an hour to drive to. In Fulton County, Illinois you never see a town until you are in it, and then only the part you're in.

That evening we camped along the highway near the entrance to Yellowstone Park. I almost forgot to mention that while going over the Big Horn, Lawrence was sitting in the backseat, very nervous about going around the curves with shear drop-offs, when Lyle commented, "Digs got the dribbling."

When we woke up the next morning there was frost on our blankets, quite a difference from the hot summer weather we were used to. We did not waste any time building a fire. That day we saw the wonders of Yellowstone Park. Gas was 43 cents at Pahaska, Wyoming, an outrageous price at that time. From Yellowstone, we went into Montana, drove throughout the mountains all day, toward evening a brake hose broke near Missoula. We were only going about 30 mph on the level so we were lucky.

That night we went to a movie in Missoula, our first three D movie with the little glasses. Just as we walked in, an Indian threw a tomahawk and we all thought we had had it.

Then we went on to Coeur de Alene and Spokane, Washington and then down through the Columbia River Valley. We were disappointed in the Columbia, but probably because the weather was bad.

Seaside, Oregon is where we first saw the Pacific Ocean. We just stood and looked for a long time in silence. Then we started daring each other to see who would go in the deepest. Always willing to take a dare, some of us were soon running full speed into the waves over our heads.

We then drove down the coast on Highway 101 into California and the coast Redwood trees. We had thought the Douglas Fir trees were big, but we hadn't seen anything yet! We took a picture of the Mayflower as it came through the tree with the road through it.

That evening we camped on the beach near Uklah, California, and during the night the wind came and threw sand all over us.

On down Highway 101 and over the Golden Gate Bridge, we looked close to see Alcatraz Island; on down the coast to LA where we sneaked into the Universal International Studios. We didn't get far until a guard spotted us and out we went.

We went to a movie that night, a drive-in, I think. After the show we couldn't find our way out of town, so we slept in the Mayflower in an alley.

We went on down to San Diego and into Mexico at Tijuana. We enjoyed Tijuana; we bought some trinkets and walked around town. I remember one little boy eating an ear of corn. He was as short as a ten month baby would be back home but he ran around the yard like he was three or four years old. Many of the Mexican girls were very beautiful but the older women seemed to age quickly.

We came back across the border - swiped some oranges from a grove and headed for Las Vegas. It was real hot going to Nevada and we stopped at a country gas station and went in and drank about fifteen bottles of pop - gave the Mayflower a drink and took off. Las Vegas didn't impress me much. From there we went down to Boulder or Hoover Dam. We stopped along the road to cook supper that evening and as I ran down the hill with a roll of paper, I jumped over a rattlesnake. I called the boys and they came down and looked at it. Then I took a rock and hit it right in the head the first throw. We cut off the rattles and brought them home.

I think Hoover Dam was the most impressive man-made thing we saw on the trip. From there we went to the Grand Canyon. It was an overcast day so the colors didn't show up as much as they would on a sunny day.

Next, we went up to Kanab, Utah, where we heard about a desert movie being filmed nearby. We drove about thirty miles and when we got there, everything was gone, but we saw some camel tracks. Pod Cameron and Joanne Dru were in the show. I saw it a couple years later.

As we drove on, we saw cliff dwellings. If I remember right, that night we hit several jackrabbits with the Mayflower. Being impressed with the size of their ears, we cut them off and threw them in the trunk. The next morning we had a trunk full of ticks - out went the ears.

We went on up through Provo to Salt Lake City where we saw the Mormon Temple and Tabernacle. From there we went east on highway 40 into Colorado. We stopped and ate in a park in Steamboat Springs. We realized later that Lawrence had left his leather jacket there on a bench with about three rolls of film in the pockets, so most of the pictures of the trip were lost.

Having decided in San Diego to drive day and night until we got home; we went on through Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa till we arrived back in Savanna. I don't remember the day we got back but it seems like we were gone twelve days altogether. I think our total expense was $226.00. I personally returned with a love and a fascination for the west that is with me yet.

We were four happy boys on a trip with little thought of what life had in store for us.

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REFLECTIONS

by: Maurice Helle

The following is a letter from Maurice received by Hazel and Sheldon twenty-five years after the death of their son, Lyle. Maurice has given permission to re-print the letter here:

This is to share with you a thought which I have not shared with anyone else. However, the event, which occurred 25 years ago, has been a source of strength and inspiration for me on many occasions.

An impromptu trip by Lyle, David and myself resulted in a few days excursion to Arkansas, the south and eventually the nation's capitol. In the days spent together, we enjoyed great fellowship, much laughter, and good times. It was, for me, a tremendous sense of belonging and the comradeship I knew then has not been equaled to this day.

Though we shared many travels and great weekends together, this trip had special meaning. For unknown to myself and Dave, it was to be our last together.

Lyle was aware that he must soon relinquish the freedom necessary for such spontaneity and address himself to the responsibility of marriage and parenthood.

He did not inform us of this until the trip was nearly concluded. The lesson I deemed appropriate from this was to use Lyle's attitude as an example. In later years when there were times I felt reasons to be out of sorts or of a mind to rain on someone else's parade, or burden someone with my problems, I remember how Lyle had chosen to display that positive, joyful spirit in order to share good times with those he cared about. When the festivities are over, there is a proper time to seriously accept responsibility; just as there is a time to rejoice and enjoy the friendship of others.

Looking back, I have always been thankful that I had such a friend who, at such a young age, knew there was a proper time and place for everything.

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