Today we’ll take a look a cars around trailers, motor homes, and trailer parks. A short collection of images with some neat looking rides that offer glimpses of what life was like around these mobile homes.
I featured a similar gallery a few months ago, in case you missed it. Should you want to see what was to be found on that occasion, here’s the LINK.
The fourth photo down with the Oldsmobile and trailer reminds me of the first episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents entitled Revenge. The opening moments of the episode feature a stunningly beautiful shot of the front right corner of a 1950 Oldsmobile and a travel trailer. Whenever I watch this episode, I pause it on that frame because it is so lovely.
I spent my very early years from 1953-58 in “trailer parks,” but I don’t remember any of them looking like the ones in these pictures, as they are either retirement communities or campgrounds.
My dad was a lineman and “followed the work” thus we were quite mobile. We lived in a “house trailer” that was 8 feet wide and 35 feet long. He pulled it with a 1952 Chrysler Saratoga just like the one in this picture.
Here’s a picture from a somewhat scruffier trailer park – this one in Fairfax, Virginia. The picture’s actually from the mid 1980s, though it’s tough to tell:
For some context, here’s a shot of the trailer park from across the street:
Much respect to the hardy souls who manage the challenges of trailer towing. Crosswinds, limited visibility, bad electrical connections to brake lights, etc. It takes some skills to do it safely and well. A good friend of mine (still alive, thankfully) landed upside down in the median of the New York State Thruway with his–also upside down– vintage airstream along with about 100 feet of scattered camping supplies and clothing.
Me? I’ll rough it in a tent or spend the $$$ for a motel room in town.
In the next to the last photo, there is a girl in unfirm playing the bagpipes. My question is, “How long before she and her family were asked to leave the campgrounds?” Yours in mirth (and my girth), Tom
In the next to last shot, the girl appearing to plug her ears in front of the bagpiper is funny.
Or is she shouting out “No, you’re still too close. Move back another ten feet.”
In the mid 1960s Dad was looking at new double-wide’s thinking of a weekend get-away in the woods close to some fishing. It never happened but I was fascinated by these mobile homes. About 1971, Dad who was paying my college bills, insisted I leave Miami and go to his old college in NC. A total disaster that lasted one semester. I had two female roommate’s, we shared classes, and we did not want to live in dorms. So we rented a really nice mobile home and all was sweet for a few months. Then one night, up late studying for mid-terms, a fire started in a wall and the place was totally engulfed in ten minutes. We had just filled the 55 gallon heating oil tank and that blew leaving nothing but ashes. I did return to FL after that semester and I did not burn that trailer down just to get out of NC. And the owner of the trailer suggested the fire started because we were having a late-night birthday party (during mid-terms?) and somehow the candles on the cake started the fire. However multiple insurance companies did not buy that story and decided it was an electrical issue. Myself & roommate’s lost everything including our school art projects but our parents home owners insurance covered our clothing loses even though we were not living at home. In a fire, nothing left but ash, when filing an insurance claim try to remember how many socks or underware you had! I am sure modern mobile homes are much safer now and some mobile home retirement communities look sweet, but have become very expensive.
One last memory of that hot night in cold February. Somehow my bag with my car keys was tossed out the front door and I managed to move my 1970 Nova SS away from the side of the fire. It all happened so fast but the Nova was saved.