VAC GATHERING AT THE 39th ANNUAL HOBO RALLYPhotographs © 1999 Tom & Corinne Reed
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 | It was Monday February 8th around noon as we arrived at the Colorado River Fair grounds in Blythe, California. The weather was perfect, about 75 degrees. As we turned into the parking area we spotted five Vintage Airstreams who had arrived earlier that morning. Ray Leedam, the parking chairman for the rally had reserved the front row for VAC parking, so the first thing people saw when they pulled in was a line up of beautifully restored Vintage Airstreams. |
On Tuesday as more vintage trailers arrived the weather began to change. The wind began to pick up and flags and awnings had to be taken down. | |
| The fairgrounds became a beehive of activity with seminars, car tours and games to participate in. That night we were treated to some of the best entertainment I have seen at a rally. They called themselves Keith and Dave, two guitarist who played lead guitar for the Grand Old Opry and Barbara Mandrel, they entertained for two and one half hours and received a standing ovation at the end of the show. |
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| On Wednesday the winds continued to blow. I was becoming concerned that a lot of people had not shown up. Checking the weather service, I found that the winds in the mountain passes were blowing seventy to ninety miles per hour and some of the passes were closed completely to traffic. | |
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| On Thursday the winds died down and the trailers started arriving again. | |
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Friday afternoon the VAC hosted a happy hour for all the Vintage Club members and we were pleased to have Officers of the WBCCI join us. Ed Elmer, incoming President of the WBCCI and his wife Irene, Ted Tunstall incoming President of Region 12 and his wife Barbara , Rick Sharp incoming 1st Vice president of Region 12 and his wife Margaret and Wilson Yerk incoming President of Region 2 and his wife Cindy all joined us and had an opportunity to meet members of the VAC.
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 1st Vice President and his wife Irene |
| We ended up with twenty vintage trailers and for ten of those it was their first time to any kind of event. | |
 - Woodside, California |
The diversity of the vintage trailers (and an Argosy Motorhome) couldn't have been better. They ranged from a 1950 18ft Cutter to two completely polished 31ft Sovereign's''. There were also Bambi's, Globetrotter's, Bubble's, Safari's, International's, a Tradewind, a Caravanner, and a Wanderer. I wish there was space to give credit to each of the owners and tell more about each trailer because there was incredible workmanship and detail put into practically all of the rigs. I hope they will come to the International because they are all potential "Concours" winners. |
| Saturday was the Vintage Club Open House. This was a first for the Hobo Rally and the reception was overwhelming. The open House started at 11:00 and people were still coming to see the trailers and motorhome at 3:00. The scheduling worked out well because it coincided with the Hobo parade, at 1:00, entries for the King and Queen of the Hobo Rally marched past the Vintage Row. |
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It was hard to tell who enjoyed the Open House more, the spectators or the Vintage Club members. This was especially true for the people that were first timers at a rally, they couldn't believe that their trailers would be so appreciated and admired by others. That evening at the entertainment show the Vintage Club received an ovation from approximately three hundred people for putting on the Open house. Thank You to all of you that helped make the Hobo Rally such a great success, I'm sure the word will spread about the fun we had and next year we will see even more Vintage Airstreamers.
The next scheduled event for the VAC on the West Coast will be in October at the Region 12 Rally. It will be held in Mariposa County California, which is in Gold Rush country and on the door step to Yosemite National Park. We are also planning a Vintage Club Caravan in the areas around the Gold Rush country after the Rally, so stay tuned for updates.
Tom Reed |
 - La Quinta, California
- Bakersfield, California
- Mountain Center, California
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 - Danville, California |
 - San Rafael, California |
 - Las Vegas, Nevada |
 - Goleta, California |
 - Yorba Linda, California |
 - Fresno, California |
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