The RV/MH Hall of Fame Museum and Library

From Milwaukee our two rigs traveled on to Elkhart, Indiana for four nights. Elkhart is the RV Capital of the world, but because of the U.S. financial crisis, most of the factories are shut down or in bankruptcy. We first toured the RV-MH Hall of Fame Museum and Library. There we found many wonderful vintage travel trailers and camping vans from yesteryear. RVs first began making their appearances around 1915.

Airstream was well represented in the museum, because its parent company, Thor Industries, donated $1 million toward the beautiful new building, which is only two years old. Also present was the rear-door Bowlus, build by the company purchsed in 1935 by Wally Byam. It provided the design Airstream would use in manufacting its famous 1936 Clipper and same basic technology used today. The museum holds special memories for us. We were tent campers in Europe and across the USA from 1958 to 1961. On rainy days, we confess to having been envious of the few campers of that era who enjoyed RVs, many of which were homemade.

Our first tent camper RV, a Coleman Apache Eagle, was purchased in 1962. That October we towed it to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas for a few weeks with a little Renault Dauphine. On our way from Ohio to Texas, the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred, and we had no radio. Every 100 miles, we stopped along the way to see whether or not we were engaged in nuclear war with the USSR. We were most relieved when the Russians backed off; JFK handled the situation well. Along with daughters Robin and Andrea, we enjoyed our first RV experience. We had never been to Texas, and little did the young parents know that one day they would be Lone Star State residents in an RV community. Regrettably, there were no Coleman Campers at the RV-MH Hall of Fame Museum.

In 1964 Jerry’s Army course at Ft. Sam was scheduled in February. By then, Stephanie and Mark, both born in 1963, were a part of our family. We knew that we needed an enclosed travel trailer in order for all of us to travel to Texas during the winter. Gloria proclaimed, “OK, if you can find a self-contained trailer for $800, go for it. We cannot afford more than that.” Jerry’s optimistic search began with the assistance of fervent prayers. Within a week, unbelievably, there it was--an ad for a 16-foot Aristocrat Hi-Liner (strangely named) travel trailer for only $800. We hurriedly drove about 20 miles from our Marysville, Ohio home to what appeared to be a mobile home “graveyard.” The sad, 16-foot, forsaken, black and white trailer, with its overhanging top-front bunk bed, looked forlorn among the bigger, dilapidated mobile homes. It had a big hole in the front aluminum panel, the curtains and rods were a mess, the ice box door hung by only one hinge, the mattresses were stained and torn, and it was filthy. Our theory was that migrant workers might have owned it. Jerry offered $700 cash and accepted the $750 “rock bottom” price. Amazingly, we were the owners of a “handyman” special, and Jerry had never claimed to be a handyman. That notwithstanding, with Gloria’s sewing and cleaning skills, the help of her father, and Jerry’s elbow grease, sanding and refinishing, we were proud of our spiffy little trailer pulled by a new 1963 Plymouth station wagon. On a cold February morning, the six of us departed Ohio for Fort Sam Houston. Mark, age six weeks, in his detached buggy bed, rode in the front seat with his dad ensuring that the little guy’s bottle was in his mouth. Gloria sat in the second seat pacifying Stephanie, while Robin and Andrea read and watched the trailer from the third seat. With four pre-schoolers, we camped in a trailer with no bathroom, furnace, or hot water heater. It did have a 30-gallon water tank pressurized by a tire pump, lots of storage space, an upper double bunk bed, and two couches, which converted into beds. A louvered vent cover now hid what had been a hole in the front panel. We did not see an Aristocrat Hi-Liner at the RV museum, but the green and white one shown left looks a little like it.

A few of our favorite vintage coaches at the museum were the Pace Arrow, which resembles an old street car. Another was the sleek silver Hunt Housecar, built in the 1930s and designed by Roy Hunt, a Hollywood movie producer. The green 1933 Ford Kamp Car was customized by a home builder and made winter trips to Florida from 1933 to 1947. It was the first housecar to be powered by a V-8 engine.