Part One of The Traveling Gardners

During much of the 20th century, newspapers had a Society page. The 1913 Quincy Daily Herald called their page, The Week In Society, with the slogan, Comings and Goings of Quincy People Whom We All Know. On this page, the reporters would follow the lives of socially prominent people, particularly their travels whether in the United States, Canada, Europe, or Asia. 

The John Willis Gardner family was frequently written about. In August 1913, they planned a trip to China accompanied by his widowed cousin, Dr. Tom Gardner. John W. wanted to introduce more of the Gardner company’s products to Asia, combining that with the pleasure of seeing several countries. At the end of the August 10 article, the paper included addresses of their various stops, thus allowing Quincyans to write to the family. The mail was addressed to them in care of Thomas Cook & Son. The company was a travel agency begun in 1841 in England, with offices in many countries. In later years, American Express would provide the same services.

Leaving Quincy, the Gardners stopped in St. Paul visiting family and arrived in Vancouver where they embarked on the Canadian-Pacific ship, The Empress of Asia, on September 10. The ship was new, and their voyage was only her second trip. The ship had a long career and was finally sunk by the Japanese in 1942 while serving as a troop ship. The Gardner’s trip to Yokohama, Japan, took ten days. They traveled through Japan and Korea by rail and by steamer, eventually arriving in China at Port Arthur. From there, they traveled south through China, stopping in various places, to Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Their trip home was just as interesting with stops in Manila in the Philippines, back to Japan, and then on to Hawaii. They landed in San Fransisco for Christmas with their daughter, Effie Neustadt. Their arrival in Quincy on New Year’s Day completed a trip of 48 days at sea on seven different steamships and 26,000 miles. 

John Willis Gardner, born in 1863, was son of Robert William Gardner who first traveled to this country from Scotland in 1849. Robert Gardner tried several different careers and eventually came to Quincy and apprenticed with Edward Turner to learn the trade of machinist. He bought the Turner shop, partnered with Henry Mitchell and later John Robertson. According to the History of Quincy and its Men of Mark, Gardner “passed through a career of unprecedented prosperity.” He invented “Gardner’s Improved Compensation Governor” to regulate steam as a power source. Gardner’s governor revolutionized transportation and industrial uses throughout the world.

Robert W. Gardner married Mary Blakesley with whom he had several children. John Willis Gardner was his oldest son and worked in his father’s company from the age of twenty. When his father died in 1907, John W. took charge of the company. In 1927, he managed the merger of Denver Rock Drilling Manufacturing Company with the Gardner Company. The company became the Gardner Denver Company of Quincy. His work involved much traveling both in the country and overseas, and he often combined business travel with leisure travel.

In November 1922, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner left Quincy for New York where they would embark on November 11 for their trip around the world. The November 4 Quincy Daily Herald, reported on the several farewell dinners and parties for the couple. Dr. Tom Gardner again accompanied them. They arrived home on April 15. Shortly after, Mr. Gardner gave an accounting of their trip to the Quincy Daily Herald. They traveled over 30,000 miles and, according to the paper, they “enjoyed perfect health during the entire time of their trip, … and judging from their appearance both were greatly benefitted by their journeyings in strange countries.”

The trip was long, and Gardner had outspoken opinions about every place they visited. They were only in Europe four days before leaving for Palestine, Egypt, India, Burma (now known as Myanmar), and the Malay states. Continuing the trip, they returned to the Philippines, China, and Japan, which they had visited in 1913. He complained that travel was slow and that commercial conditions were not promising, particularly in India and China due to their large populations and extreme poverty. He thought Jerusalem “to be the worse located city in the world.” Rocks and sand surrounded the city. He felt the Zionist movement of settling Jewish people there was ill-advised as there was no work or the chance of producing anything from the soil.

The travelers were asked two question almost everywhere they went during this 1922 trip. The first was why America had not joined the League of Nations, which was organized in 1920, promoted by Woodrow Wilson, and was part of the treaty to end World War I. The second question was what was prohibition like? Mr. Gardner mentioned bottle labels and prices he observed, saying American liquor seemed to be available just about everywhere.

Mr. Gardner continued to travel extensively for business and in 1924, he resigned as president of the City Planning Commission for “continuous absences from the city,” as reported in the March 26 Quincy Daily Herald.

In 1930, the J. W. Gardners had “a delightful trip to Europe” and the October 23, 1930, Quincy Herald-Whig article said the Gardners “had many trips abroad but always find new interests in foreign countries.” They traveled to Europe on the HMHS Britannica, a new ship of the White Star Line, describing the ocean as “unusually calm.” Their return trip on the SS Minnewaska was not smooth. They “motored” through Ireland. Other countries visited were England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and France. “Mrs. Gardner found Switzerland … the most entrancing and beautiful of all… .”

To historians today, it seems odd that the “traveling” Gardners would plan another trip to Europe in August of 1939 with Germany taking territory from other countries and the world on a war footing. But they did. That trip is chronicled in part two of this series.

Sources

“Foreigners Are Interested in Our Prohibition Law and Attitude on League.” Quincy Daily Herald, April 17, 1923, 14.

“Gardners Soon Off For China.” Quincy Daily Herald, August 10, 1913, 13.

“J. W. Gardner and Dr. Gardner Arrive From Trip Abroad.” Quincy Herald Whig, October 23, 1930, 4.

 W. Gardner Resigns.” Quincy Daily Herald, March 26, 1924, 12.

Redman, Pat H. History of Quincy and It’s Men of Mark. Quincy, IL: Heirs and Russell, 1869.

“Society.” Quincy Daily Herald, November 4, 1922, 4.

Wilcox, David F. Representative Men and Homes, Quincy, Illinois. Quincy, IL: D. F. Wilcox, 1899