This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
On July 4, 1916, 24-year-old Augusta and 22-year-old Adeline Van Buren set off from New York for the Pacific coast on a pair of 1000cc Indian Powerplus motorcycles. It was big news.
The idea behind the daring trip was, in the main, political. The two sisters wanted to prove that women were up to the rigors of such a journey. With war raging in Europe, they hoped to prove that women could serve as military dispatch riders should America become involved.
There was also hope that a successful trip would strike another blow for suffrage, opening the way to voting rights for women.
Late in August, the Van Buren sisters reached Salt Lake City. What follows is how the local daily newspapers covered their record-breaking arrival.
The Salt Lake Tribune:
Aug. 23, 1916
"Augusta and Adeline Van Buren, two young women of New York, arrived in Salt Lake yesterday en route to the Pacific coast in their automobile. For both comfort and convenience they are traveling in male garb and say that it is the only way to meet the dust and discomforts of automobile travel. They report an excellent trip so far over very good roads. That are guests at the Newhouse."
The Deseret News
Aug. 22, 1916
"Traveling in Male Garb. The Misses Augusta and Adeline Van Buren of New York, traveling to the Pacific coast by automobile in male garb, registered at the Newhouse Hotel, declared this costumes are the only ones suitable for a coast to coast motoring trip."
The Salt Lake Telegram
Aug. 22, 1916
Excerpt: "The young women, attired in leather leggings, close fitting leather breeches, and leather coats, attracted some attention at the Newhouse hotel, where they are registered."
The Provo Herald
Aug. 23, 1916
"Believing he was to be resurrected, Mrs. Axel J. Zimmerman of Provo went to the cemetery and dug up her husband who died last spring. When he didn't come forth after considerable prayer, she covered …"
Wait. Scratch that last one. It has nothing to do with women wearing pants. Still, it's about as accurate as the other three stories. Gravedigging, or in this case "un-digging," was an unconventional gender issue in that it was something that pants-wearers normally did.
Nevermind. What's interesting here is that the focus of the news wasn't on what the women were trying to accomplish, but rather on which social convention they were violating.
The Tribune and the D-News were so absorbed in the pants taboo that they mistakenly reported the women were traveling by automobile instead of motorcycles.
Meanwhile, The Salt Lake Telegram, which apparently took the time to go down to the Newhouse Hotel for a quote (and presumably a gander), were told by the women that the roads through Utah were "unspeakable" rather than "excellent."
No mention was made of their accomplishment thus far, or the reason the Van Buren sisters were risking life and limb to make a political point. Nope. It was all about who was wearing pants.
Gussie and Addie were lucky in Utah. In a number of other places, they were arrested for wearing men's clothes. Nonetheless, they arrived in San Francisco on Sept. 2, 1916, having traveled approximately 6,000 miles.
While making history, the Van Buren sisters failed in convincing the establishment that their gender was of any real use beyond housework and childbearing. That would take a lot more time by a lot more women.
And we still aren't there yet.
Robert Kirby can be reached at rkirby@sltrib.com or facebook.com/stillnotpatbagley.