Gilmer's map of St. Louis. He highlighted his routes in red and his mother's in green.
Dr Pepper
While Dr Pepper was created in 1885 in Waco, Texas, the 1904 World's Fair was the setting for its major debut, with the drink introduced to almost 20 million people. [28]
Automobiles
Gilmer wrote, “Today I had my first ride in a motor vehicle. I had never been in an automobile. In fact, I had scarcely seen any – or at least never sat near one – they were exceedingly rare, and I believe there was not yet one in NC. The first one to come into NC was a Cadillac owned by Mr. WT Brown, Pres. Of Union Guano Co.”
Ice Cream Cone
At the World's Fair, a concessions vendor, Ernest Hamwi, created a new way to quickly allow customers to sample ice cream without utensils. He curled a waffle cookie and the ice cream cone was born. [29]
Ben-Hur
Polly Alice wrote to Gilmer that she the great theatrical spectacle “Ben Hur.” Gilmer saw it for himself on November 12, 1904.
Xray
The x-ray machine was one of the scientific achievements shown off at the World's Fair in 1904. [30]