Compared to our modern generation¹s jet trips to foreign countries for vacations, these four boys, by their generation¹s standards, were venturing afar. The Errickson Line, operating from its pier in Philadelphia under the shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge had schedule trips down the Delaware River, through the canal that connected the Delaware River to the Chesapeake Bay, then across the Bay to Baltimore, Maryland.

By mid afternoon Saturday, the boys were embarked on the excursion boat heading south on the river.  They were practically the only passengers on the trip.

Their little staterooms in the ship¹s hold were very uncomfortable as the weather was hot and humid.  Riding down the river proved to be a sight-seeing trip, as there were constantly different scenes on both shores and the huge freighters coming into and leaving the port of Philadelphia were fun to watch.

The excursion boat made a brief stop at Wilmington to unload cargo, and soon after the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was reached. The canal was more narrow than it is now and both shores were close to the boat as it steamed through the countryside.

The ride down the bay to Baltimore was an all night affair that began at dusk. It proved to be a hot, calm night.

The cabins were too hot to sleep in, so the open deck was a salvation. The deckhands on the lower deck, where the cargo was stacked, played mouth-organs and a banjo to accompany their songs for much of the night.

It was an unusual way to spend a night and it all seemed to be a part of a movie. At daylight, the boat was still on open water but by midmorning Baltimore was reached and a bus was taken for the 40 mile ride to the Capitol.

After a tour of the city, reservations were sought at a hotel within sight of the Capitol building. The desk clerk, after inquiring if accommodations were seriously desired, placed the boys in a room adjacent the lobby, that was large enough for four people.

Monday morning, Labor Day, we learned that there was a firemen¹s convention in town and that a parade was scheduled. The boys found a good vantage point to watch and after a time the Mount Holly firemen marched by carrying a banner proclaiming that they were the oldest volunteer fire fighting company in the United States.

The boys yelled to them, "How about Haddonfield!" for at the time the argument still prevailed as to which town did have the oldest company, Haddonfield or Mount Holly.

The steam train ride home in the evening was enjoyable, but a steam locomotive was not a novelty in those days. The boat ride was, however, was really something unique.

A month later, Walter Winchell remarked in his column that J. David Stern, owner of the Philadelphia Record and the Evening Courier and a staunch friend of President Franklin Roosevelt, was seen lunching with the President at the Mayflower Hotel. The boys had patronized that same hotel on their trip and then they realized its prestige and why the desk clerk had asked if they were serious about reservations there.