Day 55, Saturday mornings, a vitage trailer show and a dozen donuts

I don’t know what it is about Saturday mornings, but there is little that can match the feeling of peace, serenity and utter contentment, that I get on a Saturday mornings as I lay in bed and I watch the earth wake up. The cats were curled up on the bed next to my feet (after a hard night of mouse-ing). The windows were open letting a nice morning breeze blow through the house. The quail were starting to rustle in the tree outside my window and the deer were having breakfast of windfall apples, daylilies and willow tree.

Through the orchard and past the pumpkin patch, I could see the chickens were starting to ster. I had promised them, or myself actually, that I’d let them out all day and that was the first thing on my list of things to do this morning - let the chickens out. I put on a pair of old shorts, a “Detroit” t-shirt, my “Arvest Bank” cap from Oklahoma, slipped on some shoes from the garage and grabbed a big bucket of chicken feed and headed to the coop.

The chickens were all up and awake and very excited to see me and the three slices of Wonder bread that I grabbed from the freezer. The Wonder bread is the bread that I won at the car show in Terrebonne, back in August. I have kept it in the freezer and decided the chickens would enjoy it more than I do. With the coop door open, out they flew in a flurry of multi colored feathers. They didn’t even give me a second glance as they charged by and I didn’t even get to feed them the bread.

I gathered 5 eggs which I assumed were from Friday and grabbed the water bucket to re-fill. I put the eggs in the refrigerator, washed out the water bucket and now the girls wanted to know what the three slices of white stuff was in my hand. They devoured the bread and with a full bucket of water I went back to the coop, with all the chickens in tow. They seemed to be fascinated with me as I work around the coop, but most of all I think they are just looking for another handout.

After a morning of my usual chores of cleaning, laundry and chicken duty I was ready to go checkout the trailer show in Camp Sherman. I had called my Dad earlier to see if would want to go and he did, so I was going to go pick him up and we'd make the 35 minute drive to Camp Sherman. There is something very special about this area and it seems like time has stood still here since the 1940's. It has an overwhelming feel of nostalgia, in look, feel and the amenities.  You immediately feel you have stepped into a different time and perhaps you'll see Norman Rockwell getting reading to do a sketch for his next issue of the Post.

1946 Curtis Wright


I drove right to the event location, which was surprising, since I didn’t exactly know where the rally was being held. I figured it shouldn’t be too hard to find and I could always ask for directions at the general store. I parked the car and we started to walk the loop of the camp, to see all the great trailers that had gathered. The first trailer we came to, was a 1946 Curtis Wright. They had cards posted at each trailer indicating the year, make and owner. I recognized the name on this trailer as the family who runs a vintage trailer restoration shop in Bend and I was eager to meet them. I said hello and immediately started asking questions about their trailer, my trailer and all the great trailers that were there. It was just really nice to put a face with a name.



1950's Cardinal

 Their trailer was spectacular and my Dad and I were able to peak in and look around. What I liked most about it was it still had some character marks and yet it was still a beautiful trailer.

The camp was a big oval, so my Dad and I just started around the loop to see what was there. There was a fantastic 50’s Cardinal that was really well done, both inside and out.  We were able to poke our head in and look at the interior. It was very nicely done, I’d even say flawless.  This little trailer had been painstakingly redone by the owner and is now a piece of rolling history.



1954? Boles-Aero

 Next to them was another 50’s canned ham, and I want to say it was 54, but it could be older, Boles Aero. I should have written all the names and years down, because I now can’t keep them all straight. The guy who owned the Boles, was sitting outside and again he had done the restoration himself along with a bunch of other trailers. What I would learn later on our walking tour, is that he is the local “Master” of Spartanette tandem trailers, which is one of my favorite vintage trailers. I got his first name and he said he lives in Powell Butte, so I hope I can track him down again and maybe I can pick his brain about Spartan’s. Who knows maybe someday I’ll have one.  Anyway, his Boles-Aero was absolutely beautiful.



1937 Pierce Arrow and 1931 Model A pickup

 After the Boles-Aero, was the 37 Pierce-Arrow and 31 Model pickup that had been at the Redmond Swap meet. This time I looked to see where they had rescued the trailer from and it was Toledo, Oregon, which is over by the coast just east of Newport.  It was fun to show my Dad this trailer and we were invited to step in and take a look. It was about as cool as they come, not 100% vintage, but extremely well done.  This trailer had obviously fallen into good hands and the restoration was amazing.



1947 Westwood

 There were a lot of trailers to look at and one that was very well done and overly accessorized, was an awesome 1947 Westwood, from Washington.  This trailer was beautifully restored. It had big whitewall tires, fender skirts, an awesome art-deco porch light and other cool things. The inside had a rich, amber in color, birch paneled interior and vintage furnishings.  We spent a while here just looking at the detail and quality of the work. It was fun to hear the story about the trailer and this was its first outing.

We were almost back to where we had started when we came across a 1962, and I forget the name, park model style trailer, that had the most awesome front curved glass and just oozed of 60’s martini style, with pink and black accents. It had a fantastic story to go with it and again, the guy who owns her, restored her himself. He even had to track down the original owner to get title, which he did. The woman is still alive and had special ordered the trailer in 1962. Again, we were able to step inside and look around, it was awesome!

A really funny thing however, is that after having talked to the owner and telling him that I was working on a 1950 Traveleze, was that had read my blog. How funny was that, so he knew exactly what I was working with.


1946 Curtis Wright

 We made our way all the way around and were back at the Curtis Wright. I chatted a little more about my 50 Traveleze and what I need to do with it next. He had great suggestions and said he would even come take a look at it. My Dad strongly suggest that I get someone who knows what they are doing and can finish it off right. All these trailers were done so well and some of these guys really know what they are doing. I have all winter and hopefully by next spring my Traveleze will be able to join the ranks of these rolling jewels.

The people were all so nice and extremely knowledgeable about vintage trailers and the restoration process. I really enjoyed getting to talk with them and I hope to chat more so in the future,

My Dad and I had a great time and after looking at everything several times, we were ready to head home. Camp Sherman is about 14 miles north and west of Sisters, and Sisters is a great small, western themed town, but my favorite store in Sisters is the Sisters Bakery. It was now 4pm and I slowed way down as approached the bakery and they were still open, so I pulled over. One of the many things I inherited from my Dad is his sweet tooth. Our eyes both began to glaze over in a sugary delight as we stared at the tremendous selection of circular confections that lay before us. We were in heaven! We stepped outside to eat our first choice and then with our wonderful assortment of the world’s best donuts in hand, we were on our way home.

I arrived home to a small heard of 10 deer grazing around the pond in the front yard. The chickens were scattered about the yard and the cats were sprawled out on the deck, life looked good. I still needed to mow my lawn and to do some light yard work, so this was the perfect time to jump on the mower. 



Bird on the ceiling fan

 It was at about this moment that my cat Harris started meowing up a storm in the living room, something he does not do.  To my surprise up on the ceiling fan was a bird.  Now I'm not sure, but I'm pretty sure Harris had caught this little guy and brought him in to show me his achievement. Now my challenge was to figure out how to get the little guy out.  The poor little bird had exhausted himself trying to get out the skylight in the kitchen, so he didn't have much of a fight left.  I was able to use a duster on a long stick and get him away from the skylight and he flew to a window and got caught in the blinds.  I was able to grab him and let him go outside and the frase "happy as a lark came to mind" Just how happy are Larks anyway?  He was one lucky bird, Harris tends to eat what he catches.  Harris was not happy that I did nt hand him over.

The day really was about as perfect as one gets. The temperature was in the high 80’s, with clean air and blue skies. I had a wonderful leisurely morning puttering around the house; I spent time with my Dad looking at awesome trailers, in an area that can only be described as a little slice of Americana and I have donuts sitting in my kitchen. The lawn was freshly mowed and all was right with my little piece of the world.

It was a wonderful night and I have some reading to do before church tomorrow.

What a great day!