How the SNU relationship with pink flamingos got started
It all came about accidentally during a discussion at an SNU rally in 2004. The topic was the old WBCCI tradition of decorating gopher holes. Before all the environmental concerns, Airstreamers dug a hole to drain gray water tanks. The hole was known as a gopher hole. There used to be contests at rallies to determine the best decorated gopher hole. Bryan Harrison, Bryan and Diane Leipper's grandfather named one of his gopher holes Loon Lake. At the SNU rally we were considering the idea of decorating the rear of our Airstreams near the holding tanks. Although we can no longer dig a hole to drain the tank, we thought it would be fun to pay homage to this old tradition. Well, one thing led to another and although we didn't get around to decorating the rear of our Airstreams, we eventually morphed into decorating with flamingos. At the very next rally, Ann and Fred Hersey brought a flamingo disguised as a gopher. Very appropriate. For a while there was quite a contest going to see who could come up with the most unique flamingo. Roy Douglas and Jerry Thornburg were neck and neck in the beginning. Ann and Fred started picking up pink flamingos at garage sales and soon had quite a collection. We soon learned that pink flamingos and trailers have a long tradition, although exactly how that came to be is not clear. The SNU continues adding flamingos to it's flock to this day. New members usually have at least one flamingo by their second rally. It is always fun to see who shows up with the next unique pink flamingo. There seems to be no indication that the pink flamingo fad will fade anytime soon. That means finding that next amazing bird is just a matter of keeping your eyes open and THINK PINK.