Charles Burchfield, Journals, June 8, 1948

June 8 (Tues) – June 14 (Mon)

Trip to Cambridge & Clinton.

June 8 – Did not get off until 10:20 – (last night it was impossible for either of us to concentrate on packing, and this morning we did it only thru some sort of desperation)

Cloudy & cool. – There seems to be little to record of our trip to Sally’s. We arrived there in the evening, visited a bit, then drove on, as we wanted to shorten the next day’s drive to Boston.

After about 50 miles, we saw some attractive cabins set in among some high rolling hills. Several were still available; we chose one, & unloaded our luggage. By now it was late twilight – low in the west, above a hill, was a thin crescent moon, and Venus, with a fantastic maple to one sight. It seemed like a good omen, romantic.

Our bed was not too comfortable but we managed to sleep pretty well. Up early – at first clear and with a bright sunrise, then later dense fogs appeared. We made coffee in the cabin & ate cereal there then resumed our way.

The fogs were not too dense and gradually disappeared. At one village we called up Cathie. She was O.K. but had not yet heard from Art.

Beyond a seven mile stretch of rough road near Sloansville, the trip to Massachusetts was uneventful. As we went eastward, the clouds increased and soon we ran into rainy weather, that in the Berkshires culminated in a violent thunderstorm and almost a cloud. This made driving on the narrow hilly road difficult, and also prevented our seeing much of the mountains. We lunched in a diner at Pittsfield.

In Springfield we had a slight accident – coming up to a boulevard stop, our attention was divided by looking for our route which we had lost, and I did not stop quick enough, & crashed into the car ahead, locking on bumpers, and as it seemed, breaking part of the other car’s bumper. The driver of the other car was the belligerent type who believes the thing to do is to start shouting at the other driver putting all of the blame on him. “What do you guys from New York think – do you own the whole road.” As in this case the fault was all mine, I soothed him by telling him I assumed full responsibility, which seemed to disappoint him somewhat.
A closer inspection of the broken bumper showed that the edges of the crack were quite rusty, suggesting a former break. However, I said nothing knowing it would be a waste of time. We spent some moments in futile attempts to extricate ourselves in the heavy downpour of rain. Eventually another motorist supplied a bumper jack, and we got apart. After an exchange of names, etc. we went on our way.

We arrived on the outskirts of Boston by 5:00. By now the rain had stopped – our first objective – Somerville, to look up Red’s family. The map showed it to be beyond Cambridge, so we picked Route 16 to take us to the latter place. We got to Cambridge all right, at Harvard Square, but the road to Somerville, was accomplished only by innumerable questionings along the way. A more confusing street system does not seem to exist anywhere. Eventually, we did get there. We were favorably impressed by Red’s folks and spent a pleasant hour with them. Besides Mrs. Ferris, there were at home, Mary his sister, & two brothers Bill & Al, one with fiery red hair, the other with black hair.

It was almost as difficult to find our way nack to Cambridge. Once at Harvard Square, we had no idea where Berkeley Place was. Curiously enough when I parked our car, in order to ask our way of a taxi driver, we were exactly opposite our street!

Edmunds had written before, that we had met at Root’s many years ago, but even when I saw them, I could not recall the meeting. An embarrassing feature of our visit was that I did not realize that he was the Walter D. Edmunds who wrote “Drums Along the Mohawk,” “Rome Haul” etc. Cathie has suggested it before we left, but I had not thought so. It only dawned on me gradually & eventually on the second day there, I had to bring it out in the open. Then followed explanations & apologies; but Edmunds did not really seem to mind. All in all, we got along famously and enjoyed our stay with them.

They have a lovely home, beautifully furnished in faultless taste. Their living room was dominated, (but not too much so) by a fine painting by Esther Williams, hanging over the fire place – A night scene, a circus subject, white horses under a light, with a pale moon behind some dark trees. I fell in love with this picture.
Our first evening spent in chatting. They have three children, a boy away at school, a daughter teen age whom we met briefly, and a younger daughter about 8 or 9, both well-trained. A beautiful golden retriever (female) – a friendly dog, well-trained & beautifully kept. She had one of Pal’s little tricks – that of putting up a paw for more petting.

Altho this home is in the “heart” of Cambridge, its situation on a blind court, resulted in absolute quiet. The country could not be as quiet. We had a good night’s sleep." Charles E. Burchfield, June 8, 1948