Evelyn Mildred Webb Carpenter, a Vermont native, was born on May 5, 1907 to Dr. Reuel Weston Webb II and Iona Willis Webb (later Kierstead). She attended Bates College in Lewistown, Maine, where her mother was director of residences until retiring in 1940. Evelyn graduated in 1929 as a Phi Beta Kappa with honors in Latin. She began her career as a Latin and French instructor at Thetford Academy in Thetford Center, Vermont, where she also was supervisor of girls' dormitories. She then taught in the high schools of Lancaster, Vermont, and Hanover, New Hampshire. In the summer of 1936, Carpenter, along with her mother Iona Webb Keirstead, Angie Taylor, and Ruth Whitney, took an automobile trip from Vermont to California and back. Their route included stops at Niagara Falls, Yellowstone National Park, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Evelyn married Dr. Parker Carpenter on July 3, 1937, in the Bates College Chapel. A member of the Altrurian Club and the Hospital Auxiliary, Evelyn Webb Carpenter died on June 26, 1996 in Springfield, Vermont.
The Evelyn Webb Carpenter diary documents a cross-country trip from Vermont to California taken by a group of women in 1936. Members of the party included Carpenter and her mother, Iona Willis Webb Keirstead, as well as Angie Taylor, and Ruth Whitney. The diary begins with the party's departure from Lancaster, Vermont, on June 22, 1936. Their route west took them to Niagara Falls, New York; Chicago, Illinois; and Mitchell, South Dakota, where they paused for car repairs. The women then pushed on to Rapid City, South Dakota; Buffalo, Wyoming; and Yellowstone National Park, where they stayed at the Upper Geyser Basin, the area which includes Old Faithful Geyser. The trip finished with a lengthy route through southern Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada, before their arrival in Long Beach, California. The return trip took them to Seattle, Washington, across Montana, and then through Ontario, Canada, before they arrived back in Vermont in late July. Carpenter's entry on Yellowstone is brief, and mentions seeing the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, the geysers, and bears on the road. Other information recorded are her impressions of the countryside, her critique of the various hotels, and some information on her fellow travelers. The diary also includes financial notations on trip expenses from June 22 to June 28.
This collection is open for research.
Travel diary created by Evelyn Webb Carpenter was purchased by Special Collections from Bookbaker.com, an eBay vendor in Marina del Rey, California, on June 22, 2009.
This collection was processed 2009 June 30
[Creator Name], [Date of Creation], [Brief Description of Object], Folder [#], Box [#], [Collection Name], [Collection #], Montana State University (MSU) Library, Bozeman, MT