Yesterday, I mentioned to Jan that my Mom’s 1934 Dodge coupé had a rumble seat, an automotive feature new to Jan. It came up casually in conversation about how transportation’d changed since my Mom was a college student in the early 1930s and now.
Just the road to Chadron, the next town up, where the state normal college is, used to be a two hour ordeal over nasty dirt roads. In the open cars of the ear, it had to be a challenge to even think of driving there. Of course, back then they had the option of passenger trains, too, and that was a civilized way to go.
Anyway, one series of steep hills — either the Seven or the Five Sisters (I forget which) — were more than some cars of the time could handle in a forward gear: the driver had to BACK up the hills! LOL! Must have been a zoo, especially if you happened to be eating dirt in the rumble seat.
