In June of 1936, 19-year-old Frederick "Fritz" Bangerter left his home in St. Joseph, Missouri and headed for California, hoping to find work. It was the later years of the Great Depression, and work was scarce in his hometown. He spent time in Los Angeles and San Diego without luck, and was just about to give up and head back to Missouri when an interesting opportunity presented itself - the Pacific Queen, a historic sailing ship, was taking on young crewmembers for an expedition to Mexico and back. It wasn't a steady job, but the promise of adventure was just too much for Fritz to turn down!
My grandfather was not big on saving things, as my grandmother was. Luckily, this time in his life was something he always treasured, and there is a small scrapbook chronicling his experience. On these pages you will find letters and telegrams sent before, during and after his trip, as well as a few articles from San Diego newspapers about the voyage. They are mostly in the same order as they are in the scrapbook, but I have moved pictures and articles around when needed to make sense in the timeline.
For more information on the history of the Pacific Queen (which was used in the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty" in 1935, and is now called Balclutha and sits in San Francisco Harbor), please visit its page on the National Park Service site .
Click on the letter thumbnails to bring up a full-size version.
Heading West
Fritz traveled by car, but never mentions the name of the person with him. These are letters he wrote on the trip. (Note: He wasn't the best speller.)
These photographs were taken the day Fritz left. There is no date on them, but it was early in June of 1936. His mother mailed the pictures to him after he reached Los Angeles.
Mother Emma, Fritz, older sister Mildred, father Otto
Emma, younger sister Bertha (Sue), Fritz, Otto
Fritz and "sloppy" older brother Harry (Emma obviously did not appreciate his lack of tie and shoes!)
Describing LA - must have been quite a culture shock! Tells an amusing story about Bette Davis.
June 14 - Las Vegas
Los Angeles
While in LA, Fritz stayed with a family friend, Paul McCann. The house was in the Bunker Hill section - you can find some nice pictures of how it looked at that time, here.
From the Home Folks
June 23
His mother misses him! "...if you don't get work... come home and don't wander around."
In June of 1936, 19-year-old Frederick "Fritz" Bangerter left his home in St. Joseph, Missouri and headed for California, hoping to find work. It was the later years of the Great Depression, and work was scarce in his hometown. He spent time in Los Angeles and San Diego without luck, and was just about to give up and head back to Missouri when an interesting opportunity presented itself - the Pacific Queen, a historic sailing ship, was taking on young crewmembers for an expedition to Mexico and back. It wasn't a steady job, but the promise of adventure was just too much for Fritz to turn down! 
