"Hitchhiking" to India
Around 1926, Ed Kelly's family moved from Cleveland to Chicago becuase his father changed jobs. Since Ed had been educated in a Jesuit high school and studied at John Carroll University in Cleveland, he transferred to Loyola University in Chicago. In 1926, Ed took a trip to Europe, likely working his way over by ship. He visited Venice, and he may have taken the SS France, a luxury ocean liner, to get there. However, few records remain to confirm details from this trip, other than references and a promotional pamphlet for the France.
After one year at Loyola, Ed and fellow Phi Mu Chi fraternity member Paul J. Tambornino decided to set off on a grand adventure to India with only $75 apiece. The two took a semester off during Ed's junior year and Paul's senior year. On June 10, 1927, they left Chicago and began hitchhiking towards New York City. They made it there in three days, but they had trouble finding passage to India. They spent a month searching for a ship willing to take them. They even met with New York Governor Al Smith to ask for help, although there was nothing the governor could do for them. Smith became the Democrat Party's candidate for President the next year.
They finally secured free passage on the British freighter City of Madras, which was operated by Ellerman's Hall Line. Their journey to India took 53 days. They spent a month in Calcutta before taking a 472-mile train ride to Kurseong and Darjeeling, towns in the far northeast corner of India near the Nepal border. To secure cheaper train tickets, Ed and Paul joined a group of Indian boy scouts who were traveling the same way. Once they arrived at their destination, they assisted a group of Jesuit missionaries conducting social welfare activities in the region. The Jesuits maintain a presence in Darjeeling to this day, with a province formed in 1997.
1922 Map of the Northeast Corner of India (Calcutta and Darjeeling Marked by Red Points)
Credit: David Rumsey Map Collection
Chicago Tribune, March 11, 1928, "Young Globe Trotters"
Credit: Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
After three months in Darjeeling and Kurseong, Ed and Paul decided to make their way back home. They found jobs as firemen (someone who tends the fire of a boiler in a coal-burning steamship) on the SS Algic. The Algic was an 8,800 ton cargo carrier made for the United States Shipping Board in 1919 and operated by the United States Line on an India route during the 1920s. During the trip back to the US, Algic carried a cargo of jute and castor beans. According to passenger and crew lists for ships arriving in New York City, they made it back to New York on December 26, 1927.
Passenger and Crew List for the SS Algic - December 26, 1927
Credit: National Archives and Records Administration (via Ancestry online database)
Chicago Daily Journal Article About Kelly's Trip to India
Credit: Loyola University Chicago Archives & Special Collections
When they returned to Chicago, Ed discovered that his parents had moved to Detroit during his absence due to his father's job change. Newspapers were captivated by the story of the boys' journey to India on only $75. Ed and Paul soon became well-known across Loyola's campus.