- Jan 13, 2021
- 2 min read
HENRY HAS CHOP SUEY
Cloudy — freezing
Washed and did some
ironing to-night.
Henry went on Right of Way
work — He went out to
supper with the Cloride
salesmen, they had
chop suey.
Hank came home form
school sick with flu.
Orlo drawing buzz poles
from the woods.
Henry probably went out to dinner often with sales reps and other professionals while serving as a county commissioner. Chop Suey may have felt, as the Grand Rapids Historical Commission notes in a podcast about the first Chinese Restaurants in Grand Rapids, like a bit of a "novelty" to Henry and Edna. Thus, worth noting in her journal.
The podcast noted that the Pantlind Hotel in downtown Grand Rapids was home to one of the cities first Chinese restaurants. I found a picture of the American & Chinese Restaurant at the Pantlind which indicated it was from the 1940s but the cars in the picture make me think it was taken much earlier than 1940. It is possible, however, that is where Henry and the chloride salesmen ate their supper.
In 1941, spreading sodium chloride on icy roads was fairly new. Sodium Chloride was first applied to roads in 1938. "During the early 1940s, 5,000 tons of salt were spread on highways across the country (1)." Since that time, the use of salt has drastically increased.
Henry and his fellow road commissioners were just the people that the chloride salesmen would have wanted to wine and dine.
Today, sodium chloride is still used on roads in the winter months. While it has major benefits and contributes significantly to safer road travel and ultimately saving lives, it is also harmful to the environment.
A January 2021 article, Road Salt Can Hurt as Much as Help reviews the benefits and detriments and suggests ideas for better management and use of salt on roadways.*
*I felt it was important to note that this article provides a lot of interesting information but that it was authored by a company that sells systems to help companies and organizations manage stockpiles such as sodium chloride.
