Trip to Europe, Part One

My grandfather Ed, husband of Leta's daughter Vivian, was chief electrician for Champion Spark Plugs, a Fortune 500 company based in Toledo, Ohio with several additional factories across the world. In 1989, after he retired, Champion was purchased by Cooper Industries and is currently a wholly owned brand of Federal-Mogul Corporation. The Toledo factory was shuttered. However, he worked there for about forty years.

In August and September of 1967, Ed and Vivian took an extended business trip/vacation to Western Europe, where in the midst of his surveying the equipment and processes of Champion’s European partners, they explored several countries.

While my dad, their oldest child, was with my mother raising their own family (I was 3-1/2), his siblings Larry and Linda, ages 16 and 14 respectively, lived with their parents. My great-grandmother Leta, whose eighth and last husband died in 1963, stayed with them while their parents were gone. My aunt remembered from this experience that Grandma Eckman had Pop-Tarts® and Ovaltine as her evening snack. And while a loving grandmother, she had strict rules, particularly that her grandchildren must be home before the streetlights came on.

During the European trip, Vivian kept a diary of her experiences and adventures. While I’m not sure yet how this trip and journal will figure into the novel, I have read my grandmother’s reflections on her experiences with great interest. She used a small spiral notebook as a site-by-site tour guide and photo reference record, as well as recording stories and observations of particular interest. She also wrote much about the food.

Their trip began on August 25 and ended abruptly on September 29. The prior day, they received a telegram informing them that Ed’s mother Ana had died. They started in Copenhagen, Denmark, and my grandmother notes in a coffee shop where they had lunch while waiting for their hotel room to be ready, “People push food on fork with knife. Children drink beer.” She also noted that the toilets were rather large: “I thought I was going in and my feet didn’t touch floor.” (She was about 5’1”.)

They visited (in order) Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Brussels (where there was a Champion plant), West Germany, Austria and England (where there was another Champion plant).  In each country, my grandmother’s references and stores enhance the experience and also provide insight to her and her interests.

As I was only 12 when she died unexpectedly in 1976, I have read and re-read this diary to fuel my memories of her. For instance although she drank beer, wine, and sometimes champagne, I believe her cocktail of choice was a whiskey sour. This I don’t think I would have ever known.

And there’s more of fun and interest to come.