$50 In My Pocket
I'm Off To See America
by
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In 1916, at the age of 23, Haldor (Hal) leaves Copenhagen, Denmark to sail off on his dreamed of American adventure. All he has in his possession is the required $50.00 in his pocket (to get through Ellis Island) and a piece of paper with one man’s name as a contact. He has no family and no friends to rely on or advise him in this new country. Haldor speaks a little English but does not read or write English. As he follows his dream, he finds that he is sometimes amazed, sometimes apprehensive and more homesick than he thought he would be, but most of the time, he is curious and excited at what he might expect, as each day passes. His first job is a farmer in Upstate New York. The farmer knows he will never be a farmer but because he likes Hal and trusts him, he helps him secure another job with a wealthy gentleman in a nearby town. The man wants, or rather his wife wants an automobile. Haldor then becomes their chauffeur. He meets many people both immigrants, like himself, and famous people like Teddy Roosevelt. He travels to Bermuda with the horses he is to handle and groom. Automobiles are not allowed to be brought into Bermuda. World War I is escalating and he worries if they will get back to America as ships are being fired upon. Sometimes, the adventure is much more than he bargained for; including a trip from New York to Asheville N. C. and on to Florida, He is driving a 1916 Owens-Magnetic automobile, an early hybrid, over wagon trails, fording creeks and following in ruts made by carts pulled by oxen and mules. The road is steep and narrow over the mountain and he holds his breath as he inches along over ice and snow. No interstate highways on this trip. In fact, there are no roads to speak of. There are beautiful mountains to see and endless roads of mud, snow, ice and more mud. Then tragedy strikes - His parents and sisters are devastated when they receive a telegram and letters from a Mr. Carlton Winkler and the Danish Embassy. The letters have taken several weeks to arrive. The telegram reads: “Son Haldor dying in hospital, what are your wishes regarding body?” Assuming Haldor has died since no other word has come to them, sadly, the family writes Haldor’s obituary for their local paper and they reply to the sender. Did your father, mother, uncle or grandfather pass through Ellis Island? Reading this book gives you a true sense of what it was like to be an immigrant in America.
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About the Book
Take a trip with a Danish immigrant as he arrives in New York in 1916 with his $50.00 needed to pass through Ellis Island. Read Haldor’s (Hal's) reaction to seeing the City of New York with the skyscrapers that he had never envisioned. He is amazed at seeing the first Negro people he has ever seen. Travel with him to upstate New York as he tries his hand at farming and then the owner of the farm sees that he is not a farmer. Mr. Ogden likes him enough to get him a better job as a chauffeur for a wealthy politician in the nearby town of Chatham. He is hired to drive a new car called an Owens-Magnetic and he has to travel back and forth to New York both to learn to fix it and eventually drive it. He meets interesting and influential people through the Hon. Louis F. Payn, his boss. He has the opportunity to travel to Bermuda and work at landscaping and tending the horses for Mr. Payn. Read what it was like to live in America in the early 1900’s. Experience riding with Hal in a car from New York to Florida - when there were little to no paved roads south of Washington, D.C. Experience his excitement and his loneliness and then pray for him, as he lies near death from contracting Spanish Influenza. This was a deadly flu that was killing thousands of young people around him.
About the Author
The writer of all the letters, Haldor Marius Ingemann Baarvig (Hal), was born August 19, 1892 in Slangerup, Denmark. He was the son of Lauritz and Marie Baarvig. Haldor’s father was a school teacher in the small town of Kvinderup. He was a good student but very restless. Having been born with a curious mind, his wish was to see the world starting with America. His father was not happy about his wish to go to America as he wanted him to go to Germany to study Engineering. Despite his father’s objections, he sailed on June 2, 1916 for New York to start his adventure. He had never been more than 50 miles from his home prior to this undertaking so he was naturally a little bit apprehensive. He was a prolific letter writer and wrote diligently to his family. He wanted them to be able to live his adventure through these letters. He was well aware that they would not be able to come to America. All of the letters were written in Danish. His mother and father kept every letter that was sent to them. Lis Clark is the author who encouraged Hal to translate them into English. This he did, after he retired. More years passed and finally they are in the form that you are seeing and reading today. I have added some additional historical information that I hope you find interesting.