The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1923-08-21
AMERICANS TAKING TO
THE CONCRETE TRAILS
DAD AND MOTHER AND KIDS
GO "FLIVVERING" AND PITCH
CAMP AT NIGHTFALL.
BECOMING A NATION OF CIPSIES

Yield to the Lure of the Open Entire
Families Hit the High Road for
Brief Tour of Adventure and Rec
reation. Is Great Fun.
Americans are becoming nation OF
gipsies. The smooth. hard ribbons of
concrete criss-cross1ng the country are
the gypsy trails. The "fivver," or the
automobile of more pretentious de-
sign, is the gypsy conveyance.
The lure of the open places, the call
of the strange scenes, are causing the
American gypsy to bundle his brood
into the fivver, wrap a few utensils
in canvas tent, and hit the high
road for a brief tour of adventure,
rest and recreation.
Party Halted.
Statisticians say there is one auto
mobile to every nine persons in this
country. If one takes a place on a
prominent highway, for instance, and
observes the number of gipsies hit
ting that concrete trail he will get
the impression that half the machines
are being used by half the people of
the United States on their vacation
trips.
Newspapers recently recounted the
incident of vacation party-dad and
mother and the kids-hivvering west
through the state of Kansas. A heavy
rain washed out bridge on the high
way and the party was halted
II was dusk and there was nothing
to do but camp on the road side. Dad
ran the fivver into a field, detached
the tent from the side of the car I'M
rolled If and began making camp for
the night.
The party was hardly set before an
other band of gipsies came along and |
camped on the same field By the time
darkness had set in the field was dott
ed with tents. 1t simply gives an idea
of the number of vacationists on the |
open road this summer
Great Fun.
It's great fun Folks who never !
thought of taking a vacation trip sew
eral years ago are now being lured
to the high road of adventure in the
old gas buggy.
A night under the stars, the before
bed pipe at the tent entrance with the
breeze murmuring in the trees, the
music of nearby brook, the voices
of the night, the silence and peace of
it, away from the hectic life of cities
such is the exhilarating experience
of the camp at dusk by those thous
ands and hundreds of thousands of
gipsies. the twentieth century knights
of the open road whose steed is the
fivver, and who have bid adieu to
factory and office for a brief spell to
go adventuring.
Under the Stars.
There are some tourists who stay
at hotels during the night, but by far
the larger number have their tents
strapped TO the side of the machines.
Half the zest of adventuring- and
these fivver vacationists are all adj
venturers-is not to be governed by
any sort of schedule
There may be destination in view,
but there is no set time to get there.
| Wherever twilight finds them there
the camp is pitched. Or if not camp,
farmers hay loft will do just as
we'll. On a clear night, what's the use
of putting up the tent? Rolling them
selves Arab-like in blankets the sky is
their canopy
Tourists camps are everywhere A
city that has not camp on its out
skirts to offer the wayfarers is ac-
{ counted woefully behind the times
an inhospitable burg. AT these camps
are hreplaces with stove wood piled
conveniently near or readily picked
up, and fresh water for the making of
coffee or for the thermos bottle for
cool drink en- route.
Cities Not for Them.
Tourists Welcome" is the sign
that greets these wayfarers along the
road. The cities see the gipsies pass
ing through; they are known by the
dust on their machines, by the lug
gage strapped on the sides. The sitting
cities are not for them.