Found a 1930s train ticket tucked inside a library copy of 'The Grapes of Wrath'

I was helping my aunt clean out her garage last weekend and pulled a box of old books from a damp corner. One was a beat-up copy of Steinbeck's book, and when I flipped it open, this super fragile, yellowed train ticket fell into my lap. It was for a trip from Chicago to St. Louis, dated October 12, 1938, and cost $4.75. The spine of the book was cracked right at the chapter about the Joad family traveling west, which felt weirdly perfect. I spent the next hour just looking at it, thinking about who bought it and why they never used it as a bookmark again. The whole thing made me want to check every old book in the house. Has anyone else found something that felt like a direct line to a stranger's specific moment in time like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowanharris1mo ago

That's such a cool find, makes you wonder about their story, right?

reese_nelson1mo ago

My buddy found a grocery list from the 70s in a thrift store cookbook. It had stuff like "TV dinner" and "cigarettes" on it, which felt like a whole mood. He still talks about that scrap of paper more than the actual book.

the_alice1mo ago

Four seventy five for a train ticket in 1938 is wild to think about. That was serious money back then. It really makes you picture someone saving up for that trip, maybe for a job or to see family. Finding it right at the travel chapter is the kind of coincidence that gives you chills.