Cliffside Youths Hitch-hike to Kansas

Cliffside, June 22—Gifton Jolley and Butler Pruette, who left here on May 28 on a hitch-hike journey, returned to their homes a few days ago. The two youths made their way by the modern form of tramping to Salina, Kansas, a distance of over 1300 miles and counting the return trip to total mileage is over 2,600, and yet they had to walk less than twenty miles of the distance. When they left each had about $25 in cash and their expenses did not amount to more than they had with them. They carried knapsacks until they got in Missouri and when they were obliged to walk about ten miles, they discarded them as being too heavy.

Go through Tennessee

It was bright and early Monday morning, May 28, when the two venturesome young men left here and on the first day they made their way nearly to Knoxville, Tennessee. Continuing the next morning they went to Nashville, from there to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and [???] this state. Reaching St. Louis the two youths found the people in Missouri were not quite as friendly and they experienced more difficulty there in catching rides. Indeed it was in this State they had to do practically all of their walking. Crossing into Kansas they went on and passed through Kansas City when the Republican Convention was being held there. The day after they left the scene of Herbert Hoover’s nomination they reached Topeka and in the capital of Kansas they spent a day sightseeing.

Spend Week in Salina

After leaving Topeka the two young men went to Salina, in the same state, and there they spent a week. On their return trip they made much better time, getting back in Cliffside in five days, taking the same route, and reaching their homes early Sunday morning, June 17. They were away just twenty days.

When seen Gifton Jolley said: “It was a wonderful trip and I am glad we took it; people were very good to us and we had no trouble at all until we reached Missouri; there was not the same spirit of kindliness and hospitality in that State and we had to walk a good deal.” How much? “Oh, about twenty miles in all”

This item was printed in The Sun on June 29, 1928.