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Minnie's Mate · 01-15-2009, 09:27 AM

Wow! Those letters were great...a real pre-internet travel blog. I just can't get over that they went to the International in PA from FL with only $28 for the trip! Times certainly have changed. I realize that they only had to pay for about 4 or 5 nights camp ground stays, (and back then that was probably only a couple of dollars per night) but they ate out a lot. Again, I know those meals were probably on the order of a couple of dollars per person, but still, $28 for 23 days. Those were the good ole days.

gypsygirl1 · 01-16-2009, 06:54 AM

Great Letters ! !

Thanks soooo much for sharing them with us. Your Dad wrote some great stories. Can't wait to read more......

rgesch · 03-31-2009, 09:47 PM

Thanks for the great photos! Nice to see the one in post 11 without the page split down the center... NEU flag and all.

While thinning out my Beatle collection this evening, I decided to actually READ the of rest the August 28, 1964 copy of Life Magazine when I ran across this pic. Never knew it was in there. No mention of Airstream, Wally, Caravans or WBCCI.

Ganglin · 04-01-2009, 12:08 PM

What a great piece of history - thanks for letting us see it! In letter 5, I believe it is, he describes the scene - 4,000 Airstreams - what a sight that must have been...

silverhawk · 04-01-2009, 03:37 PM

I picked up a copy of that Life mag last Saturday at a local flea mrkt for a dollar. It is in pretty good shape too.

DEITZ645 · 04-20-2009, 12:24 PM

I was poking around today and found a web site that sells old / vintage post cards and I found three post cards with an aerial photo of the 1970 International rally at Hershey, PA. Two of the cards have messages and one is blank. Once states there were 3,224 trailers there and the other states there were 3,400 trailers. Any way you slice it, that's a lot of trailers. It is also comical to see the one writer marked their trailer's location and the location of the activities and then commented about how far away they are

.

Here is a look where you can see all three cards and then look at each one individually...

wally byam

munimula · 04-20-2009, 12:55 PM

Barry Heckenswiler will be choosing the WBCCI's site for the 2012 International Rally. As Barry lives in PA, it would be way cool if he was able to secure Hershey as a site for that years International.

streamer23 · 04-20-2009, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DEITZ645

Two of the cards have messages and one is blank. Once states there were 3,224 trailers there and the other states there were 3,400 trailers.

The official count for the 1970 rally in Hershey PA was 3402 trailers

DEITZ645 · 04-20-2009, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by munimula

Barry Heckenswiler will be choosing the WBCCI's site for the 2012 International Rally. As Barry lives in PA, it would be way cool if he was able to secure Hershey as a site for that years International.

That would be great as Hershey is only about an hour away!

It is amusing to look at the post cards and then look at a satellite view from Google Maps and note that the parking lot hasn't changed all tha much since the 1970s.

hershey park - Google Maps

airstreamhobo · 04-20-2009, 03:13 PM

I understand they tried to book Hershey a couple years ago. Hershey said no to the Giant Stadium rental for 3 weeks, no way would they give up all those bookings for concerts. So I guess as long as WBCCI wants to book for 3 weeks some sites are difficult to book. They WBCCI wants offfice space and indoor seating for 5-10,000 people in their requirement for a Rally Site. as well as electric source. But with 1,000 Airstreams a year lately , we could easily go to Alot of fairgrounds in Penna. Lebanon,York,Bloomsburg,State College, Reading, and numerous College grounds. AirstreamHobo

Aage · 04-20-2009, 10:03 PM

Another time, and another world... How many rallies do you see today where the men all wear white shirts and ties? Or have 10 kids?

jessiet · 04-30-2009, 03:17 AM

Awesome pictures, waiting for more updates.

pageclot · 04-30-2009, 05:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nvestysly

My mother and father had an Airstream for years and they attended this rally. My father wrote a letter to home every day while they were on the caravan, at the International, and then on the return trip home. For this 1970 rally/trip there are 23 letters.

Lucius

These are amazing letters. So detailed, and descriptive, and filled with a sense of adventure. They make my own travel journals pale by comparison, but they do inspire me. I loved the tour of the stove factory, the meeting of strangers, the random encounters with people, the visiting.

And not a sentence about their weight distributing hitch, or anti-sway bars.

-----
Kevin

enduroryda · 06-22-2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rgesch

Thanks for the great photos! Nice to see the one in post 11 without the page split down the center... NEU flag and all.

Very impressive spot!!

I'm amazed at the amount of trailers in these photos. Very cool.

nvestysly · 05-06-2014, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nvestysly

Thank you for posting the letters Forrest. I will try to upload others in the future. Your directions will be helpful.

A footnote for those who are interested - my mother and father owned various Airstreams since the late 1950's but the 1970 Hershey rally was their first International. As you can see they were quite impressed with the fanfare. Almost every year they took an extended summer vacation, sometimes lasting as long as 8 weeks, to attend the International, caravan with friends, enjoy the sights. They were truly seeing more, doing more and living more!

Lucius

If you enjoyed the letters from the 1970 Hershey rally you may enjoy reading the daily journal from the 1979 Las Cruces rally. Here's a link to the new thread: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...go-119505.html

Flying Gypsies · 05-07-2014, 06:56 AM

Wow- this is really GREAT STUFF! They set out on 6/25/70 and on 7/17/70, he makes mention that the $28 that they started the trip with was getting kind of low......please post more-- I am left hanging in Commerce, Georgia on their way home and can hardly wait to hear the final leg of their trip-- how BUSY these folks were each day! Thank you so very much for a view into history and simpler times!

MarkE · 05-07-2014, 10:30 AM

I love seeing these old photos! Thanks for posting them.
I really liked the one in post #11. It really is inspiring, and just notice how few of those beautiful Airstreams have AC units on their roofs. Today, it would be rare to see such a picture with ANY Airstream sans a hulking AC unit perched atop.
Thanks again; great thread!