Diary Finding Aid: Travelogue of Marie Schroeter by Allie Moore
Overview of Document:
The travel diary of Marie Schroeter describes her trip to Germany in the summer of 1926
aboard the US Hamburg and various aspects of her travels within Germany. Marie Schroeter was
born April 26th, 1898 in Hammond, Indiana to Jacob and Johanna Schroeter, immigrants from
Germany. Marie and her father left Hammond on June 7th for New York City, left port on June
10th and arrived in Hamburg on June 20th, 1926. The Schroeters travelled around Germany for
five weeks, visiting family members and touring her father's birthplace. The passages about the
return voyage on the SS Hamburg are significantly shorter and Marie's entries mostly detail the
weather. The ship sailed from Hamburg on August 13th, 1926 and arrived back in New York
City on August 23rd.
Marie's diary offers an entertaining glimpse of what life was like for a single girl in the
Roaring Twenties. Numerous references are made to drinking, dancing and boys, despite
Prohibition and her father's close proximity. At some point early in the voyage, the ship crossed
an informal boundary in the ocean and the American decree of Prohibition ceased to take effect.
“'Enjoying a glass of lemonade' (which is all that is available- for the present.)”1 During a dance
on June 12th, Marie comments on dancing with a “good man” from South America and
consuming a large number of beers. In addition to this man, Marie also mentions “Albert,” a boy
with whom she had a date and decided the next day to give a cold shoulder to, and Mr. “Wernie”
Gutermann, whose attention results in jealousy between Marie and her friend Lucy.
1
Diary excerpt from June 9th
Description of Document:
The diary itself is commercially produced by the Samuel Ward Mfg Co. of Boston and is
titled “My Travels Abroad.” It is a small diary, measuring approximately 6.5'' x 4'' and is about
¾ of an inch thick. It only has entries about halfway through the diary with miscellaneous
information written in the back, including addresses and information about the German relatives
she meets. Each page of the diary was organized with the following headings: “Date,” “Place,”
“Weather,” “From,” “Via” and “Impressions.” The lines under “Impressions” only run for about
three-fourths a page and Marie complains about the formulaic nature of the journal and its
restriction on her ability to write freely. She ignored the prescribed line limitations by carrying
over her writing onto multiple pages. The journal contains a great deal of nautical information
that might be of interest to a traveller, including images of sailing flags, steamship funnels,
traveling distances, foreign currency rates, and descriptions of famous ships. There are also a few
pages dedicated for jotting down notes about specific points of interest on the traveler's trip,
including “Cathedrals Visited,” “Hotels Stopped At,” “Famous Cafes Visited.”2
Inside the cover there is an inscription indicating the diary was a gift to Marie at the start of her
trip from an “E.S.” This may refer to Marie's hometown friend Esther Schaeffer who also signed
the autograph page. The diary also includes autographs of the ship's captains and farewell notes
written in a mix of German and English by fellow passengers and relatives in Germany. Marie
included a brief list of travel costs for the trip and listed the price of the steamship fare ($315.00)
and various train rides within Germany ($57.00).
2
The word “Famous” has been crossed out so it reads as “Cafes Visited.”
Biographical Information:
Little information is available about Marie A. Schroeter after her trip. In the 1930 census,
she is listed as unmarried and still living with her parents in Hammond. Interestingly, her
occupation is listed as a statistician for the railroad. By December of 1942, an article of the
Hammond Times references “Marie A. Schroeter, NYCRR division chairman, LaSalle street
station...” in regards to a Christmas party thrown by the RBWA of Gibson, Indiana.3 Marie
Schroeter appears to have passed away on July, 3rd, 1977 in Hammond.4
Diary Excerpt:
June 15th...Had a good night's sleep. Today will forget the routine and talk about things in general,
= the boys for instance. Had a date with Albert last evening = but he's getting the cold shoulder
today, and Herr Gutermann ist heute an meine rechte seite.5 going to the dance tonite [sic] and
looking forward to same. So is Herr G. and Lucy. Its getting quite interesting for the “three” of
us. We had a nice stroll on deck after the dance. Was a nice warm evening. Killed three bottles of
Rheinwine [sic] during the evening. Mustn't forget the champaign [sic] we had yesterday, and the
Manhattan cocktails the evening before. This'll all sound so good when I get back to the states.
Have to rig up as costume for the hard time ball next Thursday. = Ain't we got fun. I'll say so.
3
NYCRR is likely the New York Central Railroad. The RBWA may refer to the Railway Business Women's
Association,an organization composed of female railroad employees to provide social and charitable support for
communities.
4
Finding biographical information on Marie Schroeter is challenging. A search of Ancestry.com yielded
information about her from the 1900 and 1930 census, but her named is spelled as “Schreter” in the 1920 census. A
copy of the passenger list of the SS Hamburg is available for her return trip in August, 1926 and states her date of
birth as April 26, 1898. A general search of the Hammond Public Library-Times Obituaries online index brings up a
record for Marie A. Schroeter (died July 3 rd, 1977) but there is no other information to verify that this is the correct
record. For further information on this obituary, you can send a request to the Hammond Public Library for a copy
for a small fee.
5
Roughly translated as “... Mr. Gutermann is now on my right side.”
What did you say in the third line of the second verse Esther?6 Really this book isn't large
enough, so must cut out something, so will keep somethings in my memory. Dad and I both
feeling fine, and Mr. Kliever too. Children's day yesterday = took some snaps of their program,
Can't use my curling iron so blew myself to shampoo + marcell7 today. All set for the dance
tonite [sic].
(later) had the usual good time. Wernie and I still pal around. Wernie is Mr. Guterman's
nickname. He is certainly a good scout and has some very fascinating characteristics. Found him
to be a perfect gentleman and his companionship, notwithstanding the general pleasant attitude
of all passengers, dad not to be forgotten, has added much to making this trip one that cannot be
excelled.
Keywords:
Prohibition
Roaring Twenties
Oceanic Travel
Germany
German-Americans
Hammond, Indiana
Tourism in Germany
Assuming “E.S.” the initials from the inscription at the beginning of the diary is Esther Schaeffer, the third line of
the second verse that Marie is referring to may be “Record in it [the diary] each little theme, when in the morning
you awaken each moon-light night and each love-scene.”
7
The Marcel wave was a popular 1920s hair style achieved by using heated curling irons. The name comes from its
French inventor Marcel Grateau.
6