Which year did you start?
In ’23-24, I worked for the Park Service. The first year I just drove truck and all the crews around the road jobs and what have you, and then the second year they bought a new Reo Speedwagon, and boy, was I flying high with that. I spent most of my time hauling supplies from Medford. I’d make a trip twice a week. One week I made three trips down one day and back the next. It was an all-day job going from Medford to Crater Lake over the old dusty roads. No paved roads. I might add that my wages, the second year, were 90 dollars a month, board and room. I saved all my money and when I came down, I bought a new car. It too all of it.
How much would a car be?
I paid 600 dollars for a ’24 Model Chevrolet.
How many places would there have been for a tourist to stop during that time? Would there have been hotels along the way for them to stay, or would most of them had camped? Would they camp at, say, Union Creek, or spend the whole day getting up to Crater Lake and camp there?
I don’t remember any camps along the road at that time. They ran a stage line, not, I don’t believe it was a permanent stage line, but my older brother at that time drove stage up there occasionally. A man in Medford had the Cadillac agency. He’d drive one of them Cadillac’s and take people up to the hotel. I don’t remember any campgrounds.
I know Union Creek was developed about 1922 or so. That’s the only one I can think of that would have been in that period. I know Prospect would have had a hotel.
I used to stop at Prospect for dinner. I’d make it from Medford to Prospect and then go the rest of the way.
