A Visit to the RV Hall of Fame
by Todd Kimmell
[Reprinted from the gorgeous ‘Lost Highways’ quarterly. $24/4 issues-dues. POB 43737, Phila, PA 19106.]
Yes folks, there is such a place. Kristin and I bumped into it quite by accident about a year and a half back. We’re blessed with being able to travel long distance together from time to time. We were stopped overnight in Indiana and I was involved in one of my favorite pastimes, perus ing the yellow pages. Any trailer dealer or park that seems like it’s been around for 30 years or more gets a little telephone inquiry about old RV or mobile home junk.
Usually people tell me that I “should have called last month,” they “just heaved all that stuff into the dumpster”. Imagine the deadpan shock when one old timer told me matter of factly that he’d given all that kinda thing to the RV/Mobile Home Hall of Fame. Woohoo! We were there in the wink of an eye.
The Hall of Fame is located in Elkhart, Indiana, a town that is to trailers what Detroit is to cars. It’s housed in a rather stoic airplane hangerish new building in a not particularly notable part of town. Inside, everything is divided up into three parts: the museum, the Hall of Fame, and the library.
Stop there to see the museum. Even though there are absolutely no exhibits, just being in the presence of the ten or so classic trailers parked on the concrete in perfect condition will make your heart skip a beat. There are as many again across the hall awaiting restoration.
The Hall of Fame is really just the lobby of the place, lined with framed photos honoring folks who’ve been movers and shak ers in the RV/MH universe. The well known are here like Wally Byam of Airstream and John Crean of Fleetwood. Many others are less well known to the public, but whose sto ries and reminiscence are very important to future issues of Lost Highways.
Finally, the library. A repository of excellent historical material from the industry, but a dia mond in the rough, completely disorganized.
My most recent visit is a surreal yarn worth a quick spin. I agreed to make a journey to Chicago with my nutty artist friend, Chuck Tisa, just so I could stop in Elkhart to do a little research (hopefully on teardrops). I called ahead and found that the old director/librari an was gone and a new fund-raiser/tempo rary director was in.
The new guy, Carl Ehry, was as accommo dating as the old guy was secretive. Getting help or info out of the former director was like trying to pry the secrets of the entrance of the Temple of Kufu out of the High Priestess’s death grip. Carl, on the other hand was so accommodating I became alarmed.
Anyway, we get there late –4:30 PM and I was afraid we’d get bounced right back out. Not at all, assured Carl. It seems that in an effort to keep the Hall of Fame’s head above water, Carl rented out most of it to a revival church. The trailers in the museum are parted like the red sea with huge curtains up block ing them out of view. Hundreds of seats. Two Hammond B3 type church organs with a sound affect board and various large gilt and plush accouterments.
Two lads warmed up the organs while we dove into the research materials. One of them played spiritual sounds, the other played Star Wars war noise. It sounded like The Lord’s Arcade. A genuine thunderstorm arrived and sent a bolt of lightning down just outside the window. All the alarms went off and I jumped up like a sky rocket. Chuck read his book patiently.
The revival started around 9 PM. It was an old time religion style, whoopin’ an’ hollerin’, talkin’ in tongues type hoe down. The Reverend kept zoomin in and out of where we were researchin’, because half the library had been sectioned off for his dressing room, holy raiment hanging off old bound copies of Trailer Life.
We went out to eat and came back to find the revival still going full tilt. Carl had returned and had joined in. We wrapped it up and waited for the show to end to thank Mr. Ehry. He was sitting halfway down the aisle and since the seats were only about 20% filled, we were hesitant to disturb things. It went on until one in the morning, much to Chuck’s dis may and my delight. I used that time to Xerox a lotta gems.
Carl Ehry seems focused on fundraising. Lets wish him all the luck in the world. With a little capitol they can hire a director/librarian to put the Hall of Fame on track. They should sell the building to the Reverend and find an older building in town, something with character, easy to find, park, and visit.
The Hall of Fame is very much a Lost Highways kind of place, and I feel very pro tective and paternal towards its current broken wing condition. I recommend a visit to the museum and the Hall of Fame, but I strongly suggest we oll steer clear of the library for now. A lot of well intentioned, but misguided casual researchers could do a lot more harm there than good. Bon Chance, Hall of Fame!
