Jordena Flood Green - Part 3

O.K., where did we leave off yesterday? Jordena Flood, born in 1911 in the small mining town of Globe Arizona, of apparently humble parentage, is suddenly jet-setting around the world and staying at the world's finest 5-star hotels.

Image of Globe, Arizona courtesy of epodunk.com

She is single and in her twenties. It would appear that her mother gave birth to her and her brother out of wedlock, but later married a man who worked as a house painter and became their stepfather. Oh, and look what I found:

So, Jordena's father was a railroad conductor! That and being born in a town called Globe must have predestined her to become a world traveler. Since this ruins my theory about her rich father and a trust fund though, the source of her traveling funds remains a mystery.

If Jordena had taken a job as a maid or a waitress it would have made sense given the circumstances, but for her to be suddenly spending money like an heiress is very odd. Jordena's family had moved to Los Angeles by the time she was 9 years old. Did she make a fortune acting in movies? If so, it was under a different name. 

The ships' registers indicate that her travels between the ages of 24 and 30 were always first class, and generally for months at a time.  At the age of 29, she moved from Los Angeles to San Francisco. At the age of 30, she married Martin I. Green, a doctor at Green's Eye Hospital. Here's a picture of Green's Eye Hospital.

 

The hospital later became the San Francisco Eye and Ear Hospital and then Cathedral Hill Medical Center. After this point, it's hard to know if Jordena's travels were financed with her husband's money or hers. Their first trip appears to be in January, 1941, and included visits to Australia and Hawaii. Unfortunately, Jordena's husband died within four years, at the age of 46.  As far as I can tell, they didn't have any children and she didn't remarry. She did continue to travel though.

Jordena also moved a lot and I'm not sure why. Back in the 30s, 40s, 50s and even 60s, people didn't move nearly as much as they do today. Jordena was an exception. While her addresses were always decent ones--on Nob Hill or in Pacific Heights--they were never exceptional or particularly elite. Perhaps it was because she focused on travel.

Here are some of her San Francisco addresses. I think there are a few more.

536 Stockton Street
485 California Street (which seems to be very much in the Financial District)
1201 California Street
1801 Bush Street
1750 Vallejo Street
630 Mason Street, #1201
1400 Geary Blvd, Apt# 2001 (This appears to be an assisted living facility)

There is also an address listed for San Clemente, California and Laguna Woods, California (Leisure World.) I have the sense that she went there to retire, but decided that she missed San Francisco and returned.

Jordena Flood Green died on April 21, 2001 in San Francisco. She must have had so many stories to tell. I'm sorry I never met her and had a chance to hear about her trip to Libya and her stay at the famous Hotel Casinò Uaddan or the trips to Italy, Spain, Singapore, or Egypt.

All the same, I am thankful to her for the suitcases, which document her travels and after all of these years still smell of her perfume.

The Mysterious Life of Jordena F. Green - Part 2

Happy Birthday, Jordena.
Yesterday, I posted some pictures of Jordena Greens' suitcases and a little of what I found out about her travels.  But who was Jordena, and how did she afford this lifestyle of luxury travel to Europe, Africa and the Orient?

I thought there might be a hint in her maiden name. Jordena was born Jordena Flood on December 20, 1911. I immediately thought of the wealthy Flood family, the family that owned these two mansions in San Francisco.

Photos: seesdifferent.wordpress.com

But then I saw that Jordena was born in Globe, Arizona, an old mining town that currently has a population of under 8,000. That seemed strange until I was reminded that the Flood family made their fortune in mining. Still, wouldn't the society wives of rich influential men stay at home in the city rather than roughing it in a dusty mining town? Wouldn't they prefer to give birth to their children in a city hospital with all the amenities?

Whatever the case, I could not find a definitive link between Jordena and the James. L. Flood of the white mansion above. James L. married twice and had two children, James and Mary Emma (born in 1900 and 1908.)

Here's where it gets interesting. Jordena could have been born into an unrelated Flood family, but it would have to be a Flood family with a fair amount of money to afford her lavish lifestyle. The most interesting tidbit of information comes from the 1920 US census, which shows Jordena (age 9) living in Los Angeles with her mother Jennie Kaleb, her stepfather John Kaleb, and her brother, Richard. A. Flood, age 10.  John Kaleb's occupation is listed as 'house painter.' Hmm. Just imagine how many houses John Kaleb would have had to paint to finance his stepdaughter's travels.

Here's one possibility, although it is pure speculation. Jordena's mother Jennie was a waitress or a secretary working in Globe, Arizona. Perhaps James L. Flood was there and took a shine to her. She bore two of his children, but they certainly couldn't get married, because he was already married.  And besides that, she probably was not a society girl. Although James L. Flood had mentioned another illegitimate daughter to his wife, a child who actually lived with them, it is unlikely that he would want to mention the existence of two more.

The illegitimate daughter who lived with the Flood family, Constance May, filed a paternity suit after James L. Flood's death to gain her share of the inheritance. I don't think Jordena did anything like that, but she may have had a trust fund set up in her name, perhaps one that she could access once she reached the age of 21. We may never know, but the money had to come from somewhere.

All this from a set of luggage! If she hadn't left an address label on the case, and a tag inside, I would never have guessed what the initials J.F.G. stood for.

The story isn't quite over. Come back tomorrow to find out about Jordena's marriage.

The Travels of Jordena F. Green - Part I

If Jordena Green were alive, she would be celebrating her 100th birthday tomorrow. She might have celebrated by taking a first-class trip around the world--but only if she bought some new suitcases. That's because I bought her old, well-traveled suitcases about 25 years ago when I lived in San Francisco. Jordena also lived in San Francisco and she did not travel light. One suitcase is almost large enough to fit a grown person. Another one is just a little larger than a normal modern suitcase. And then there's the special vanity case. I suspect there was also a wardrobe case that ended up somewhere else.

All the cases are covered with hotel labels from her various travels. Jordena traveled frequently and only stayed at the finest hotels.

Although I missed the opportunity to call Jordena when she was still alive, the internet provides an amazing amount of information (including her former phone number!) In this case, some of the most useful records are the ships' registers on Ancestry.com. These records let me know what ships she sailed on, which class (always first!), her age, whether or not she was married, and sometimes how long she would be traveling (often more than two months at a time), and a street address. Jordena's home address changed very frequently, which is no surprise, because she seems to have been traveling most of the time.

Jordena stayed at the world's finest hotels, including Frank Lloyd Wright's Imperial Hotel.

She also stayed at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Most of the hotels where she stayed still exist in all their finery. The Hotel Ritz in Madrid looks well maintained and offers rooms from $421 to $5,964 per night. The Hotel Quisana Capri also offers rooms starting at about $430 per night.

It appears that Jordena began her travels in the 1930s when she was single and in her 20s, although the trips continued after she married. That's when she bought these monogrammed Hartmann Skymate suitcases with the pink satin lining.  Even after all of these years, the scent of her perfume in the suitcases is quite strong, but very pleasant. A friend assured me that the scent is White Shoulders, but I certainly wouldn't know.

On August 17th 1935, she boarded the SS Malolo, bound for Hawaii. She returned home to Los Angeles on the SS Lurline on October 5th. A nice long trip. Two months later, she sailed back to Hawaii on the SS Mariposa and didn't return until the end of February, 1936.  It appears that she also made trips by airplane, as evidenced by airline stickers on the cases form Iberia Airlines, British European Airways, and Pacific Northern Airlines. It's clear from the labels that she visited several cities numerous times, staying in different luxury hotels.

Here are some additional images of the suitcase labels.

I never met Jordena. I guess I probably assumed that she had died and that's why the suitcases were for sale.  It turns out that she didn't die until 2001. If only I had done this research a little earlier, I could have just called her up and asked her about her travels and her (ahem) family history.  I'm not sure why it is that I've become curious enough to research it now, but I can tell you that there's something a little odd here, an intriguing mystery to say the least. Tune in tomorrow for more details on the mysterious life of Jordena F. Green.