Chester Congdon’s Grand Pacific Tour
A man and his mustache go on an epic journey.
Anyone who has walked through the halls of Glensheen has seen the impact that travel played in the decoration and design of the estate. From vases to fabrics, Glensheen is filled with gifts bought by Chester Congdon from his worldly ventures. Chester, ever the businessman, was always striving for knowledge of agriculture and how it differed around the world. His trip would be heavy in this subject, as well as irrigation techniques, local cultures, and religion. This trip would take over four months and would include over seven countries. This trip was so long, and contained so much information and photos, it was hard to narrow everything down.
The above map shows the general route taken by Chester and his group in the early months of 1914. The trip would include many countries that are situated in southern and western areas of the pacific rim. This means that Chester would have to leave his estate on the shores of Lake Superior and travel to the west coast, luckily he had an estate there as well. Chester likely spent some time at the Congdon’s Yakima Valley property in Washington state, which would eventually be referred to as “Westhome” before traveling to San Francisco. Chester would meet his party there and sail to their first stop of Tahiti.
Along for the trip were William A. Dyche and J.L. Alabaster, both of Illinois. Alabaster would serve as the group’s photographer; because of this, Dyche is photographed most often with Chester for the duration of the journey. They departed from San Francisco on February 4th, 1914 and would not return until June. All photos from the trip contain the caption given to them in the Congdon family photo album.
While on board the S.S. Tahiti, Chester and his shipmates spent time conversing with new acquaintances and playing the occasional game of golf on the ship’s deck. Chester would often wake earlier than his companions and walk around the ship’s deck as a form of exercise. He also made it a habit of journaling along with the ship’s announcements of their placement in the open seas. Once they had arrived in Tahiti on February 16th, they spent some time taking in the landscapes and visiting shops. Twelve days had passed since they departed San Francisco on the S.S. Tahiti.
The group moved on to the island of Rarotonga, after spending only two days in Tahiti. Their stay in Rarotonga would also be brief. While on the island, the group visited with some missionaries and visited the mission run school. Chester would also make one of his first purchases here, which the group documented with photographs. They spent most of the day traveling around the island. After having dinner at the Grand Pacific Hotel, the group would return back to their ship. That night they would set sail for their next destination.
On February 27th the group landed in Wellington, New Zealand via the S.S. Tahiti. The city of Wellington was built on a a hill, much like Duluth. Chester made this comparison in the journal he kept while on his trip, although he would say the hills of Wellington were steeper than those of Duluth. During their first night in Wellington, the group would take in the play Aladdin at the Opera House. Chester and his party did not spend the next few days in Wellington however, they traveled around New Zealand taking in various sites. They spent time observing some passing ranches, lamenting on the poor soil condition, but the great condition of the farm animals. Chester also makes note that he had never seen so many playgrounds or tennis courts in one location, as he had in Wellington.
One day of their trip consisted of traveling to the New Zealand mountain ranges, and meeting some of the Maorie people. Chester and his group found themselves enraptured with the culture of the people, enjoying music and entertainment. The group would travel further the next day thanks to automobile. After stopping for lunch they would take a group photo with the local school children standing around their car. Once immersed in the countryside they would make several more purchases.
During this time, Chester had been working with his own apple orchards in Yakima Valley for several years. Chester spent much of his time in New Zealand visiting orchards. He did the same thing at the next stop of Tasmania. Here he observed several different apple orchards, as well as several other types of orchards and farms. He wrote in his journal how his, as well as other orchards in Washington, had nothing to fear in terms of competition from these foreign orchards.
On March 22nd, the group landed in Melbourne, Australia. The first thing the group did was attend a church service. This leg of the trip also consisted of several orchards, as well as viewing irrigation systems. Chester had spent several years working with the irrigation system for his Yakima Valley orchards. Chester was not impressed with the irrigation systems that he observed here (or really, anywhere). He also took interest in the politics of the region, especially in terms of how it affected agriculture. He made several notes in his journal involving hardships between workers and unions. Chester would make political observations throughout the entirety of the trip.
On April 4th, the group moved on to Surabaja, Java, they would arrive there on April 18th. The journey to Java included several stops for loading and unloading of cargo, but did not afford for any time to explore the cities. Since the journey was quite long they were more than eager to begin exploring once they arrived. While venturing through the mountains they stopped at a temple called Borobudur. This temple was built between 780 to 840 A.D. It was, and has continued to be, the largest Buddhist monument in the world. Borobudur, over the centuries, had become encased in volcanic ash and was eventually freed completely from this case in 1835. The first phase of large scale restoration was completed in 1911. Although the pictures from the photo album were taken three years after this date, people can still be seen working at the bottom of the temple. Several restoration projects continued over the decades, and today the temple is registered as a World Heritage Site.
They would move on from Surabaja to Djokjarta. While they were in Djokjarta they visited several places, including the Sultan’s Palace. At the Palace, Chester and his group enjoyed a guided tour. The Palace included several stunning rooms, including a music room and the “Portico.” The “Portico” or porch is not a typical porch that we think of in the Midwest. The Portico contained several pieces of art and sculpture. After the tour, Chester would venture into the city to visit several vendors and purchase several gifts for his family.
Chester was particularly taken with Batik. The process of making a Batik can be quite long depending on the design. The first step of the process is to apply a wax to the fabric that is dye resistant. Once this wax is applied, the piece of fabric can be dyed a certain color. After this has been done, all the wax or part of the wax can be removed and the piece can be dyed again. This process can be repeated several times to acquire the desired look or design. Chester included several pictures of the workers and their pieces in the photo album.
Chester and his group spent some time visiting the agriculture countryside. They visited rice farms where they watched workers sowing and transplanting rice. They also observed water buffalo clearing out more fields for the expansion of the farms. Chester was impressed with the various water carrying methods used for irrigation, as well as how much water could be moved through them. Another stop along their motor trip included a tea farm. While there, they visited the factory where the tea was processed and packaged for transportation and sale. Chester would journal the entire process of tea making, including the different processes for different types of tea. He would also buy several pounds of tea to send back to Duluth.
The group made a small visit to Singapore on their way to China. Chester spent much of his time visiting some sites of his favorite topics: Agriculture, Religion, and Mining. He visited a Rubber plantation, a Hindu Temple, and a Tin Mine. He found the Rubber plantation quite interesting and wrote extensively of the process in his journal. He also commented on the hand tools used in the Tin Mine, and their short comings in terms of production.
One of the group’s lasts days in the region were spent visiting the Sultan Abu Bakar’s Mosque in Jahon. The Mosque was completed in 1900, and was built at the top of bluffs overlooking the water. Some of the most stunning images were of the Sultan’s Banquet Hall and the Council Chambers. Although most people would be overwhelmed by the beauty of these rooms, Chester would write that the Banquet Hall was too gaudy and not as expensive or good as his own Dining room at Glensheen. Chester and his group would spend the rest of the day riding around the city in rickshaws, but did not do much else due to the high heat.
On May 7th the group left Singapore for their next destination of Hong Kong. Five days later, on May 12th, they would arrive at their destination. They spent some time taking in the harbor and the surrounding city. They visited Canton, which today is called Guangzhou. Some of the sites they took in included several temples, including the Buddhist Temple of the 500 Genii, the Temple of Chin Shing, and the Ancestral Temple of the Chan Dynasty.
After spending one week in China the group departed from Hong Kong on May 19th, and landed at Nagasaki, Japan the next day. Japan would be one of Chester’s favorite stops on the trip. They spent much of their time taking in the sites, including museums, dining, and shopping. Chester would make several purchases here, including one of the most well known pieces that now sits in Glensheen’s Living room.
For many of Glensheen’s sharp eyed visitors, there is a familiar piece in the photo above. The piece, in the upper right hand corner, now sits in Glensheen’s Living Room. It is called The Waterfall of Mino and is a favorite of the many visitors. The real life Waterfall of Mino is located near Osaka, Japan. The Waterfall was on display in Sozayemon Nishimura’s showroom. Although it was in the showroom, it was not his personal creation. Nishimura’s embroideries typically contained tigers as a favorite theme. This piece was created by an artist named Yozo Nagara, and took twenty months to create. Chester purchased this piece for $175.oo, which today would be over $4,100 with inflation. The photo below shows The Waterfall of Mino as it is today. It hangs to the left of the fireplace in Glensheen’s Living room.
The last photo in the album is an interesting one. Titled only “The Arrest” it gives no explanation of what is happening. The answer to this question can be found in Chester’s Journal. As Chester was riding along by rickshaw, a man under arrest began to flee from the police officer. The ensuing scuffle even included Chester’s rickshaw driver, who assisted the officer in subduing the man. This is the last picture in the album because soon Alabaster and Dyche would depart for the U.S., leaving Chester to travel to Tokyo on his own. Chester spent much of his time in Tokyo with a guide and traveled by rickshaw. He took in many sites and temples in the last few days of his journey.
Chester would eventually sail for the United States beginning on June 6th on the Empress of India. He wouldn't reach Victoria, Canada until June 18th; that same day he would sail on to Seattle. He spent much of his trip back to the U.S. reflecting and journaling his thoughts about his trip. The weather on the trip back was unlike that of when they began their trip. The weather on the southern route was sunny and calm. The trip back was much further to the north, this resulted in a very cold and foggy voyage. Chester was very fond of numbers and made several calculations from his trips. He tallied up the total cost of his trip, while also breaking down what was spent each day and even the exact item it was spent on. In 1914, the amount of money Chester spent on purchases (books, gifts, clothing) totaled around $2,075. Today that total would be over $48,000. After spending the night of June 18th in Seattle, Chester took a train to Yakima. On June 22nd Chester and his son Walter would leave Yakima for Duluth. After two days of driving they arrived back at Glensheen.
