Tues. morn. 5:30 We are now at Corcoran, 272 miles S.E. of city. Arrived at Bakersfield at 7:30. Got coffee & peanut butter there. Reached Mojave at 11:10, on time. Mojave is situated right in midst of the Mojave Desert in Calif.
Sept.10th-7 P.M. Now at Barstow, the changing point for Los Angeles, the fire country. We have just left Needles, Calif. the last station in Calif. where we stop for anything to eat 8 AM.
One-hundred eighteen years and four generations ago seems like a long time. Some of the railroad lines Jesse writes about no longer exist. Their 1901 clothing seems more formal to us, especially on the beach when the men wear wool suits and bowlers, and the ladies wear layers, hats, and gloves. The old Cliff House and Winchester Hotel have burned down. These guys cannot grasp a world war, atomic bombs, or the internet. Bikinis would shock them. In spite of that, through this little pinhole in time, we still recognize coffee and peanut butter.
Jesse writes that they got coffee and peanut butter in Bakersfield. Our modern experience makes it sound like Jesse bought these staples from a convenience store, in a can and a jar, but what did he really mean? The Harvey House, a.k.a. Bakersfield Eating House, in the Bakersfield Santa Fe Train Station was not open until 1902. Was there another restaurant or cafe in or near the station, or a food cart? Did they drink the coffee on site, not having disposable cups? Did they have a flask or canteen and take it on the train with them, like a travel mug or a box of Starbucks? The vacuum flask Thermos was not available until 1904. It is less likely they bought ground coffee and made it themselves on the train. Instant coffee was just introduced to the world at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, only a few days before.
Krema Nut Company is the oldest company still making peanut butter today. Jesse could have bought commercial peanut butter from a jar to eat while they traveled (hopefully on crackers or bread and not with fingers!), but they could also have bought some made onsite from a food vendor.
