Travelogue Project

Leonard Rhone, who named the farm property ‘Rhoneymeade’ and whose farm mansion is the centerpiece of the property, had two daughters, May & Florence. They served their father and his interests in the Grange organization at the local, county, state, and national levels until his death in 1917.

By 1919, and in their 50’s, they both married and eventually traveled to different parts of the world. Their first major trip was in 1927 through Europe. Florence wrote letters steadily to Centre Hall’s newspaper at the time, the Centre Reporter, and sent postcards to friends.

In 2019, students of PSU’s community writing class, ENGL 421, helped us with oral history projects to help preserve the living legacy of Rhoneymeade.

Moriah Stanton & Gabby Logsdon ambitiously transcribed Florence’s 1927 trip letters and created a travelogue for their project. We express gratitude to Ted Wagner, grandson of one of Florence’s friends, for the postcards accompanying the writing.

During this time of isolation and diminished travel, please enjoy these travel letters by Florence Rhone, who grew up on the relatively isolated and rural Rhoneymeade farm, and went on to travel the world by car, bus, steamship, and train.

-James Lesher