2005 – WBCCI Golden Anniversary Caravan
Note: Most of the comments and all of the pictures on this
page are from Charles Spiher's (WBCCI #3745 ) blog and used with
permission
Welcome to the Golden Caravan 2005, created
for your listening, reading, and dancing pleasure by Charlie (aka Dr.
C.), loyal dogs, Heinz and Kramer (aka ReWind and WrongWay), and
devoted wife, Lynn, who has never needed an alias.
The
background: in the swelter of summer, 1955, one hundred travel
trailers embarked on a nine week odyssey commencing from Sault Ste.
Marie, Mi. , divining their way eastward through six Canadian
provinces, finally terminating in northern Maine as autumn erupted in
its annual gestation, that quiet exhilaration of amber, yellow,and
red delirium. Yeah, yeah, so what ?, you must be thinking. Note:
during this caravan, the first and oldest travel trailer club, the
Wally Byam Caravan Club, was formed.
The foreground: in
less than one week, 105 airstream trailers, divided into three groups
of 35 each, will reenact this invasion of an unwary Canada,
attempting to replicate the fun, fellowship, and adventure of
five decades past. In a staggered start three days apart, this fleet
of aluminum tubes on axle will hopscotch, like children on a chalk
covered playground, our provincial neighbours to the north. In
mid-August, at a predetermined site in Kentville, Nova Scotia, the
three section caravan will reconvene, along with notable dignitaries
(an obvious redundancy), to commemorate the 1955 founding.
Above ground: those are the facts, now for the fluff. We
have never partcipated in a caravan before, were only allowed in by
virtue of winning a lottery for a space, one year ago, but are often
guided by quotation.....in this instance, The Pope, in 1727, "blessed
is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed".
Naturally we have some fear, trepidation, anxiety, apprehension, and
most of the scary adjectives in the dictionary I've never heard of,
but with the backing of His Holiness, what could go wrong? Of course
he wasn't married, didn't have two aging dogs, and never wore his
mitre in a cocoon shaped travel trailer for sixty three days.
Our group, averaging seventy years +, was co-operative, energetic,
inquisitive, and fun-loving in spite of advancing age. Did I mention
that they are getting along in years ? Genuinely nice older people
who melded together for two months to share in an unforgettable
experience of fun, fellowship, and adventure.
Click on image for larger view
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Today, August 17, 2005, nearly three hundred of the most loyal
members gathered together on the same lawn that Helen had
described in her 1955 diary. Led by James Hadaway, a former club
president and formidable prime mover for re-enacting this golden
caravan, the faithful watched as a plaque commemorating the
founding was unveiled.
The usual unfolded, the prayer,
dignitaries were introduced, some resplendent in colorful
blazers, berets, vests with pins, badges, and embroidered
patches, all one would assume signifying their importance, then
receiving the compulsory applause after offering platitudes to
the assembly. But the day belonged to Dale "PeeWee"
Schwamborn, Helen's son, and Caroline McNamara Zimmer, both
survivors of the 1955 caravan. Then at ages 16 and 12,
respectively, they recounted the visit to Kentville. For Dale and
all of us listening it was very emotional as he had lost his
mother only recently, in the summer of 2004 at the age of 99.
Links: Pee
Wee (Dale) Schwamborn's WBCCI and Airstream History -|-
The
founding of WBCCI and an overview of the early days -|-
Pee
Wee's presentation notes for the Kentville Dedication
Ceremony -|- Photo
gallery of the 1955 Caravan
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The non-postcard feature of this stop was a visit with Mike
Orchard, club member #32083 from Bridgewater, NS. If you are
familiar with the British fascination for 'train-spotting', the
hobby of documenting every engine and railroad car you may have
seen, then Mike is the penultimate Airstream spotter. Since the
age of six, he has kept a detailed account of every numbered A/S
and accurately compiled cross-indicies by (hold on to your
Thetford) state, license number, unit and where he saw each
trailer. It is a passion so thorough that it now comprises four
large notebooks. He IS an A/S encyclopedia and a very pleasant
young man, too. Hopefully his lifetime of work will someday be
published. To date, he is over 13,000 and still counting. Chances
are, if you have numbers on your trailer, he has been stalking
you in a non-perverse way.
Mike's
report from the Kentville Dedication Ceremonies
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Charles
Spiher's blog – Charles and his wife Lynn
participated in one of the special WBCCI caravans traveling to
Kentville Nova Scotia for the Dedication Ceremonies. His blog on
the Caravan is fascinating reading and really brings the Caravan
to life. - Diane
In the Soo, 6600 miles, 66 days, four tired puppies complete
the circuit.
I once read in the NY Times Book Review that odyssey is
defined as a trip or adventure that must begin AND end in the
same place. We therefore felt compelled, bound by literary
accuracy, to return to the Chippewa campground, Sault Ste. Marie,
Mi. where we had convened nearly ten weeks before.
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More comments from Charles blog on the
Caravan, the ceremonies, and special guests
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A final thought about the difference and similarity of 1955 to
2005. Fifty years ago the sight of 100 travel trailers, equipped with
modern conveniences of home was a true curiosity, a novelty similar
to the circus coming to town. With few private campgrounds, they
relied on public parks, vacant exhibition grounds, & private
farmland for space, and were fortunate to have water on occasion and
rarely three amps of electricity. Comfy,lightweight, towed by V-8
Cadillacs, Buicks, and Ford station wagons, they were perceived as
the modern day version of the previous century's small covered
Conestogas. Fast forward to 2005 where we spent all but seven nights
in private campgrounds, most with full electric, water, and sewage
facilities. Fully self-contained, our immediate interests were
satellite TV reception, availability of wi-fi internet access, &
location of the nearest Wal-Mart. Studio apartments on wheels. RVs
are now as ubiquitous on the highways as cars and semis. Other
organized groups of motorhomes, banded together in scheduled travel
'tracks', crossed our path several times. Impostors. - Charles Spiher
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