Thursday, September 10, 2015

Salt Lake City


We want to give a huge shout out to our supporters- thanks so much Jerry Peppers of New York City; Muriel and Mark Clark of Sutherland NE; Eileen McGrath Winsand of Virginia; Elizabeth Rassiga of Austin NV; Pat Geraghty of Altoona WI; Kathy Peterson of Eau Claire WI; Brad Glassel, American Family, Lake Mills, WI. You've all been with us in spirit on this amazing trip!

On our way to Salt Lake City we stopped at a great Mexican diner in Bonneville Flats where they have had quite the races across the salt flats. A number of photos were taken of actors and movies produced in this part of the state. Anita would have been excited to be a part of these races and productions I'm sure!!

We arrived in Salt Lake City late at night so missed seeing the beautiful city!! Can't even imagine the loneliness Anita felt traveling through such remote yet amazingly beautiful parts of our country! We hope that she was able to enjoy the beauty as much as we have been!




Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Arrival in Reno, NV




 


Itinerary that we are even finding to be a challenge!

When our Aunt Anita made this trip, she had many challenges with her itinerary, her car, weather conditions, the roads. . .

We met up yesterday after noon in San Francisco after each of our flights and began our adventure. Our challenges began with trying to figure out how to start the keyless car, the air conditioner, cell phones not working, lack of internet access, finding information centers and museums closed due to different circumstances. . .




After spending Monday night in Reno NV at the scary Circus Circus with clowns and an interesting conglomeration of attendees of the annual Burning Man celebration. Heather said that they reminded her of folks who live in Homer AK.

We ate breakfast at the familiar Denny's restaurant and shared Anita's story with an interested server who in turn shared a story from his family. His great great great grandmother was the daughter of the Hawaiian king - Kamehameha and one the family's servants.

Her itinerary included San Francisco, Sacramento, Truckee, Reno,
Fallon, Austin, Ely, Fish Springs, Salt Lake City, Green River,
Rawlins, Laramie, Kimball, North Platte, Grand Island, Omaha,
Boone, Cedar Rapids, Dixon, Chicago, Valparaiso, South Bend,
Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Delphos, Lima, Dayton, Springfield, London,
Columbus, Zanesville, Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Greensburg, Bedford,
Chambersburg, Hanover, York, Columbia, Lancaster, Coatesville,
Westchester, Philadelphia, Camden, Trenton, Princeton,
New Brunswick, Elizabeth, and New York

While enroute she stopped at 100 Paramount Theatres
and spoke on the art filmmaking. 
Four days out, the "Queen of the Screen" was driving in masterly style and averaging
more than 100 miles a day. 
Then she hit Nevada... 
The New York Times quotes Miss King in their September 19th edition. 
"Leaving Reno on what is known as the Lovelock Road,
which is impassable in wet weather, ten miles from Lincoln Highway,
I got stuck in the mud. There had been a big cloudburst,
but I did not know it, and I worked from 9 o'clock in the morning
until 8 o'clock that night shoveling mud. 
I got the car out, drove fifty feet, and was stuck again.
It was impossible for me to go on, and I had no food with me
as I expected to make Fallon in four hours.
I was exhausted so I got blankets out to lie down. 
About midnight a mad coyote attacked me, and after a terrible struggle
I finally killed him, and knew nothing more until I was picked up by prospectors,
who heard the shots of my gun. This was 3:30 A.M.,
so I must have fought with the coyote for three hours. 
The prospectors took me eighteen miles to a station house and gave me food.
When I fully recovered I went back and got my car
and followed the prospectors to Lovelock. 
Then I continued on my journey. 
The roads were terrible, so hot and dusty, that it took me nine hours
to drive 80 and a half miles to Winnemucca."
 


Friday, September 4, 2015

Beginning of the Road


These are photos of the Palace of Transportation at the 1915 World's Fair in California. 
The diorama was constructed to show Anita's progress as she traveled along the Lincoln Highway.
I guess we're as ready as we can be to re-enact her historic journey.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Amazing Coverage of Anita's Story through the Associated Press

We are all so overwhelmed with all of the newspapers and other media that have been publishing the story or sharing the link to Eric Lindquist's article in last week's Eau Claire Leader Telegram. The most interesting site that we found a link was the Hindi Bollywood Movie webpage.

Here are just a few of them -

http://www.travelpulse.com/news/destinations/sisters-to-make-trip-across-us-in-support-of-anita-king-lincoln-highway.html

Madison Wisconsin State Journal, USA News, Washington Times, World News, News United, the Kansas City Star, The Merced Sun & Star, The News Tribune, Myrtle Beach Newspaper, The Olympian, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Macon Georgia paper, Tacoma Washington paper, the News & Observer. . .

We're getting quite excited about taking this journey!

Check out our video on our GoFundMe page -
http://www.gofundme.com/paramountgirl


Sunday, August 16, 2015

Road Trip Redux by Eric Lindquist

A huge thank you Eric Lindquist of the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram for this great article about our Centennial Celebration of one of our family stories!

http://www.leadertelegram.com/News/Front-Page/2015/08/16/Great-great-nieces-repeat-woman-s-historic-road-trip.html

Friday, August 14, 2015

Press Release for Our Re-Enactment of Anita's Feat




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A Story of a Woman’s Heroism Inspires Today - Happy Birthday Aunt Anita


Contact: Lucianne Boardman 
715/933-2510 or luciannefbd@gmail.com

In honor of Silent Screen Star Anita King’s first female solo drive across America, three sisters celebrate the Centennial of her
historic feat by retracing her trip this September.

Lucianne Boardman, Aleta Beckman Wilke and Heather Pancratz are following in the footsteps of their Great, Great Aunt Anita King by embarking on their own journey from San Francisco to New York City beginning on September 7 and ending one week later in New York. Although only personally known by Boardman, she is hoping her family story can be an inspiration to other young women by creating the story through their blog and photo journal of the event.

Ms. Anita King was born Anna Keppen in Michigan City, IN and orphaned at 16. She and her eight siblings were left to fend for themselves until she relocated to Chicago, seeking employment on the stage and reinventing herself as Anita King. Actress Lillian Russell encouraged Anita to try motion pictures in Hollywood, and soon Anita followed her dream to become a famous actress in Hollywood, starring in more than 19 silent movies, many of them directed by Cecil B DeMille.

Ms. Anita King movies include The Virginian in 1914, followed by The Man from Home (1914) and The Girl of the Golden West in 1915. She appeared in two Cecil B. DeMille films with the soprano, Geraldine Farrar, in the starring roles, Carmen and Temptation, followed by Snobs, directed by Oscar Apfel, and Chimmie Fadden, directed by DeMille (Drew, 2003). In order to sell her as a leading lady, publicists re-created her less than idyllic upbringing without realizing how her personal hardships would give her the strength to drive solo across the newly christened Lincoln Highway with little more than a six shooter and an aviator’s hat.

Because of her relationship with the famed silent film directors, King was challenged by Jesse Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille to be the first woman to drive the Lincoln Highway from San Francisco to New York. In 1915 she accepted their challenge, completing the solo journey without mechanic or security further demonstrating women's strength and courage at a time when women were treated as secondary citizens. In honor of her heroism, her great, great nieces decided to re-enact her journey this fall on the 100th anniversary of her voyage.
Ms. King’s cross country journey was a publicity gold mine for Paramount who dubbed her the Paramount Girl and established a rigorous itinerary for her to meet fans and conduct public events in cities along the way. Newspapers told stories of her defending herself against a coyote attack, changing tires, and completing general maintenance along the way. She began her voyage on September 1, and finished her journey 49 days later at a banquet at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City. Boardman and her sisters hope to finish their journey in fewer days.

As a result of her journey, Ms King used the publicity to start a shelter for runaway girls in Hollywood who found themselves friendless and victimized by the Hollywood machine. This cause was picked up by Constance Adams DeMille, director Cecil B DeMille's wife. “We seek to highlight the accomplishments of our great, great aunt and give her the recognition we believe she deserves,” says Lucianne Boardman coordinator for the trip and oldest of the three. “At this point, we are planning on leaving San Francisco on September 7 and arriving in New York 49 hours (seven days) later. We will make stops along the route at the locations of Aunt Anita’s historic itinerary and hope to increase awareness of her strength as a woman who stood up in a unique time of America's history.” Ms. Boardman remembers meeting her great, great aunt prior to her death in 1963, “She was an amazing woman with amazing stories. I only wish my sisters had a chance to know or meet her!” In the spirit of sharing Ms. King with her sisters, Boardman coordinated this trip and has maintained the energy for this trip for herself and two sisters, Aleta Beckman Wilke and Heather Pancratz, “I can’t believe it’s finally
going to happen! We’ve been talking about this for years and now it’s becoming a reality. I know my sisters and I will have a great time, seeing the heartland that our aunt did 100 years ago. We are going to use this experience to share her story -- a story of hope and strength for people to pursue and achieve their goals.” Anita's story, although obscured in an era of media image-making, can also create an inspiring story for young women today who are seeking to face obstacles in the modern world to make a difference in the world. The
sisters also invite local and national organizations to partner on their historic journey or follow along and hear their story as they share the courage and experiences of their great, great aunt, Anita King, as a woman of courage in their family story, a story worth sharing with others.

For more information view their blog at anitakingfilmstar.blogspot.com or contact Ms. Lucianne Boardman at 715/933-2510 or luciannefbd@gmail.com.

References
Drew, W. M. (2003). Anita King, The Paramount Girl Who Conquered a Continent. Retrieved from http://
www.welcometosilentmovies.com/features/king/anitaking.htm
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