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Air. iincl Mrs. Floyd Fo.snot lt;d-• MjiJllnesen.Early Drivers BakedPotatocs On Exhaust,Kept Revolver HandyPioneer motorists acre a hardy, er trunk will dp,” an expert sue-ingenious breed They baked pol:i- gosted. $toes in the engine '.‘xhimsl,andMich-siepl with six-shooters imdci pillows.I21 100-1, an aulomobile campersi rapped a big si earner IhmJc jo I lie back of his flimsy open car. fastened a large umbrella overthe driver's seal, cranked Yr. up, and took lo the woods. Few good roads existed.lint the brave few or i0 years ar/ Stalled a trend that lias mi-eli-roomed into an all-American pastime. In lfKtfj, more lhan 1 mil-1:°!. Americans went cam ping onAt bctlthne. the McMillin AutoI Yd con ve lie cl “your car into a Traveling Hotel. Though the contraption was slung under the roof,II was •‘not a hammock [ml a roomy, comfortable spring bed foi Iwu. Stows under the back seal in compact Mb. bundle.*1Campers needed more Ilian an j*uto Hed for lotal velaxalinn. One writer advised: “Kefore going loiteec! be sure to lock the maniiuilating devices on your automobile so that no one may appropriate Ibe carriage while you sleep. Yrmwheels, the Nalional Geographic might also place a six-shooter un-Soeiety says.Sale of “recreation vehicles” has tripled in the past five years. Those range from tents mounted on trailers to motorized ho n, e s complete with kitchen, bath, bed-roc-ni. and even patio.Four ^Cylinders, Six PotatoesThe fir.st auto earners never diearned of such luxury. At best, (hey lowed a two-whcelcd covcr-e«i trailer fitted with an ice box, stove, and table. A balloon silk tent was an added amenity.A few cars were equipped with ovens. This optional extra consisted of an asbeslos-lined (in box wiih the exhaust manifold passing through it. Potatoes baked in the box while the driver chugged n-long looking at the scenery.Food hampers were an essential accessory; the early -motorists didn’t Mint them.selves. “A wicker-basket the ike of a small sieam-(ler your pillow. You will sleep just as well, and it might come inhandy.”Denver Offered PlumbingIn. 15)10, the city of Denver opened a 160-acre auto camping sitewith running water and plumbing. Soon afterwards Los Angeles’ new gas stoves, shower baths, and laundry tubs with hot walor, Spartanoutdoor life was waninoIn 1920, morn than a million motorists went camping, and 200 cities welcomed I.he in to munici j\il camp .sites. Unwelcome were ••'I’in Can Tourist*,” members of an association of free spirits who sllomplort to travel without money. Their symbol was a tin van tied to the radiator cap.Appropriately, Henry Ford play-cd a major role in popularising motor camping. Between 1916 and 1923, Ford joined Thomas Edison and Harvey in a well
Newspaper Details
Emmetsburg Reporter
Emmetsburg, Iowa, US
Tue, Oct 10, 1967
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Mike K.
USA 29 May 2018
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