Guide to the Martha Schellhaas Dickoff Travel Diary
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© Copyright 2020 Special Collections & Archives. All rights reserved.
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Martha Schellhaas Dickoff Travel Diary
Creator:
Schellhaas Dickoff, Martha
Identifier/Call Number: SC.MSD
Physical Description:
.02 linear feet
Date: 1939
Abstract: The Martha
Schellhaas Dickoff Travel Diary documents the journey of a Swiss-born American woman to
visit family in her hometown in Switzerland. She describes traveling on train across the
United States, on the Queen Mary to Paris, her train journey to Switzerland, and her return
trip via Italy. During her return she notes signs of militarization and the migration of
those leaving Europe on the eve of World War II.
Language of Material:
English.
Martha Schellhaas was born in Switzerland on November 14, 1898. In 1923 she married Angelo
Dickoff, who was born in Greece on May 15, 1890. The couple immigrated to the US in 1925,
and settled in Lodi, CA, where they owned a grocery store. Martha passed away on April 15,
1988, shortly after Angelo passed away on February 17, 1988. They are both buried at
Cherokee Memorial Park, Lodi, San Joaquin County, California.
Martha Dickoff's travel diary documents a trip to visit her homeland and family beginning
on May 5, 1939 as she boards a train in Stockton, California, with stops in Nevada, Utah,
through the Rocky Mountains, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and finally New York. On May 10,
she boarded the Queen Mary at the Port of New York, landing at Cherbourg, France on May 14,
from which she travelled to Paris, and then by train to Switzerland, passing through Basel
and Zürich before arriving at her sister's home in Wädenswil. The diary describes the
beautiful countryside she passed through, the excitement of boarding the Queen Mary, the
parties, a short bout of food poisoning, and war on the horizon. The last few pages of the
diary include an address book.
The collection is open for research use.
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has not been transferred to California State University, Northridge.
Copyright status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials
protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires
the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was purchased with endowed funds donated by Jack and Florence Ferman,
2018.
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or see the
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guide.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Ephemera