Evening star., 1936-12-05
By Lucy Salamanca.

~ says America, "a-trailing,
~ but by no means a-gypsy-
ing. We won't give up our
hot and cold running water, our cook
stoves, our heaters, our comfortable
beds, our refrigerators. We want to see
the world, but we refuse to relinquish
the comforts of life. We want to be as
convenient on wheels as We can be
In Long Island or Ashtabula."
"Righto!" said 300 manufacturers,
alive to the potential profits of an in
dustry so new it walked right in their
front doors, its own blueprints in
hand. And they set about achieving
the impossible, as American manu-
facturers have way of doing, launch
ing thereby thousands of families on
wheels along the highways North,
South, East and West, literally start
ing something" that no individual
manufacturer was quite sure he could
finish.
Like a wind sweeping prairie, the
idea rippled and surged across the
country. Grandmothers and grand
fathers pored over magazine pictures
depicting the joys of the open road;
mothers and fathers spent hours bent
above highway maps and bank ac-
counts, while little boys and girls
went wild with ecstasy at the thought
Of going places and staying home at
the same time Everybody. it seemed,
wanted to possess trailer.
None of your ancient, homemade
contraptions with canvas sides let
down to form a bed, and Tapping
curtains; none of your roughing II
with pals of water carried from the
nearest stream or huddling about
camp fires for warmth of an Autumn
evening. Not for the modern Ameri-
can family. Specifications began pour
ing into those concerns that tenta-
lively and half-heartedly had laid a
commercial finger on the national
pulse and found themselves confused
and unprepared for the prevalent
fever.
7 TITLE garages where men had
labored to turn out with patience
and care an occasional handmade
model Of trailer put up additions and
extended their floor space and forces
grew by leaps and bounds. Automobile
factories that had chuckled at the
mere thought Of Americans wanting
to drag their houses around be-
hind their cars, lost no time in apollo
gtdng for the error, but added q
branch industry. Entirely new con-
Germs sprang up, financed by far.
sighted industrialistS. Houses which
had devoted their time and energies
to making coach bodies, engaged STATS
of engineers to figure out factors OF
safety, speed and comfort with re-
spect to mobile homes. Old estab-
lished firms became desirous of pio-
neering the new industry and lent
their names to miniature ambulatine
apartments.
Heretofore the American people had
been torn between two deep-seated
characteristics-an inherently nomadis
tendency and q high regard for ths
eonveniences and luxuries of life
Moved though they were, at each re-
ourring season, by their native wander.
lust, consideration Of the discomfortl
and inconyeniences attendant upoI
transporting family Of vigorous Httl'
citizens from place to place servet
effectively to curb or moderate 9TH
gypsy" in them. just about then !,
hunter who had difficulty with hi
tent flaps in the rain came along will
the idea for q trailer. Behold tn
Tesultsl
Lets take trip down to the Wash
hgton Tourist Camp, for example
at this time Of year. which may b.
considered the "off season" for knight
Of the road.
Dropping in casually. we find tina
Soday's trailer contingent down Their
along the Potomac consists of on
evangelist, touring the country u
spread the gospel and put bread int
the mouths Of his many offspring
one animal show" consisting of
pony and his trainer in q gaudil.
painted vehicle Of the trailer type;
troupe Of Hawaiian radio and stag
singers, whose gay trailer is embla
Boned with the information that with
In may be had not only the lates
vocal selections but strings for you
banjo, ukulele or guitar; one com
fortably equipped trailer home occu
pied by . retired couple who hav
lived tn It for three years, North Il
Summer, Florida in Winter; one mo
bile home Of an itfnerant chef an,
his good-natured little wife; . luxuri
ously-equipped trailer, en- route t
Staunton, Va, where a well-to-do pro
Sessional man and his wife will visit
young son, student at the Militar
Academy: and about six other traile
homes of families ranging from tw
members to six, en- route to Florida.
THAT is today's quota. Tomorrow
as many as 100 Of these intriguin
vehicles may pull up In line at tn
tourist camp along the Potomac
plugging their switches into the sock
cts that are strung in Q row there, an
settling down to the business Of put