[VAL] Homecoming Rally

[John Sellers <jsellers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Gang,

Just wanted to make a few brief comments on another great Homecoming Rally at 
Jackson Center.  Saw many VAC and VAList folks there.  I was going to name some 
names, but that wouldn't be fair to the people I overlooked, so I won't.  You 
all know who you are, anyhow.

One of the high points of the rally were the Airstream history presentations by 
Fred Coldwell.  Where better to present them than at the factory?!  After the 
first presentation, in which Fred described the transition between the 13-panel 
end shells and the 7-panel models, an Airstream retiree came up and said he'd 
been in the end shell department when that change took place.  There was a 
definite learning curve involved in getting into 7-panel shell production.  The 
retiree said there are a few trailers out there with some doglegs in the end 
shell panels!

We met Bob and Sharon Patterson at last years Homecoming rally, and so it was 
with a certain sense of awe that we learned from Fred that their (immaculately 
restored and modernized) 1953 Tradewind was the first trailer produced at 
Jackson Center.  Airstream really ought to buy it for their museum.  (Sharon 
said she would consider trading even for a new one. . . ) And we were parked 
just one space away from them!

This homecoming rally was the first time that Barb and I had ever actually seen 
another 1960 Pacer.  The interiors were practically identical, down to the 
original color scheme, but there were some other differences that only added to 
the Pacer mystery.  The other Pacer's serial number was about 20 units later 
than ours, but it had the old style spring axle, as opposed to the Dura Torque 
in ours.  Also, the other Pacer had no sign of ever having had a built-in step. 
    The belly skin appears to be original and unbroken at that point, and--no 
step!  Last but not least, it had built-in stabilizing legs like later trailers. 
  But I suspect they were added by a previous owner.

Some of this might be explained by a story we heard about the early days at 
Jackson Center.  Before the present large plant was built in 1971, they finished 
the larger trailers outdoors during the months when weather permitted, and then 
built the smaller trailers indoors during the winter.  The winter was their off 
season so they tended to use parts they had in inventory rather than buy more, 
resulting in some unique combinations of appointments in the smaller trailers. 
I have no idea whether this story is true, but it would account for a lot of 
peculiarities.

Dick Riegel, the president of Airstream, Inc. was out mingling with the crowd 
every day like last year, and was out serving coffee in the campground out of 
the back of a Gator one morning.  Now is that customer service, or what?!  His 
1953 Tradewind--which was damaged in last year's fire in the service 
department--has been restored, and looks like a million dollars.  He's pulling 
it with a period (1951?) Chevy pickup truck.

The open, honest, friendliness of the folks at Airstream and the people of 
Jackson Center really have to be experienced to be appreciated.  At the 
Homecoming Rally you get to meet and talk with employees from the president on 
down, and a lot of them aren't afraid to express their opinions!  Has anyone 
ever _heard_ of another company such as this?  I sure haven't.

Best regards,
John & Barbara Sellers
WBCCI/VAC #1587
1960 Pacer
Dayton, Ohio