Since 2007, I've been on many journeys, making presentations and sharing my experiences with modern Airstreamers. I’ve gone from Texas to Maryland, and Wisconsin to Montana, with many a stop in between for a nice cold glass of milk.
Topics range from Wally Byam, the founder of the company, to the Wally Byam Caravan Club. But it seems like the hottest topic, no pun intended, will always be the famous 1959 Airstream African Caravan.
When it comes to that particular caravan, the most frequently asked question that always comes up is this: “The Caravanners traveling must have been very wealthy to afford the time and the money to travel for extended periods. How do they do it?”
I remember thinking about this one day on the way home from work, when I asked myself about the nature of wealth as it applied to Caravanners that I’ve known, and the one word that seemed to best sum things up was “entrepreneurship.”
Wally Byam, of course, was the first entrepreneur to come to mind. His monetary goals were fairly simple, and wealth, as a personal goal for him, was simply defined – make a reasonable livelihood. And he was able to do that by making an outstanding product. Wally’s pride in the Airstream product drove him to always present to the customer the best possible product that could be made.
There were other Caravanners, too, who I felt also fell under the umbrella of being entrepreneurial in their endeavors, and were dedicated to hard work, which therefore led to them being able to afford the caravanning life.
I remember two Caravanners who shared a common business in their climb up the ladder. With just a grade school education they both built trucking businesses, that during WWII established their transportation success, and built the capital to finance their travels.
And then there was the rancher from Nebraska. Now unless you fully understand the feast and famine nature of life that comes with ranching, it is difficult to judge just how hard this individual must have had to work in order to become successful enough to enjoy his time caravanning.
There was also the swimming pool contractor from Southern California who has started out his career as a simple ditch digger, and progressed onward from there.
I remember shaking the hand of a man that was rough, cracked and worn from many years spent working in his orchard. A lifetime spent pruning trees and harvesting fruit. Oh my, how my friend had earned his Airstream with his sweat and toil.
Then there was this photographer. If you’re unaware, making a living as a professional photographer is a hard row to hoe. You have to find clients with the financial means as well as the ability to recognize talent. And this particular photographer had the notoriety of being the first ever to shoot color photography during the second world war. Where, with that color film, he captured the horrors of Nazi concentration camps. My how he had earned his time off caravanning.
These are just a few of the many interesting people I’ve met during my years on the road with Airstream. Not sure if it’s a case of like-attracting-like, but all these individuals seemed to have a little bit of the entrepreneurial Wally Byam in them, and maybe, in the end, that’s what drew them to a trailer that only Wally Byam’s company could have built.
Dale “Pee Wee” Schwamborn has silver in his blood. His mother, Helen Byam Schwamborn, was the cousin of Airstream founder Wally Byam, and founded the Wally Byam Caravan Club. Each week, Pee Wee shares one of his many stories, including his experiences on the iconic Airstream Caravans, his time spent working in the Airstream factory, and the many Airstreamers he’s befriended, far and wide.
