The 1956 European Caravan provided many eye-opening experiences. Imagine rows and rows of shiny aluminum Airstreams reflecting the pure blue of the sky. They lined up at campsites and dot-dashed all over the countryside.
The Caravan ultimately arrived in the Netherlands after having traveled through Germany, Luxembourg, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. There were headlines, crowds, and receptions. We saw cathedrals, castles, quaint and reserved cities, art galleries, tall mountains, and scenic seasides. We tasted wonderful culinary delights, fine wines, schnapps, and most importantly of all, formed new friendships.
Wally Byam hired an advance scout and interpreter named Ben Kemperman. He was a graduate of Nijmegen University in the Netherlands and spoke 5 or 6 different languages. Wally outfitted Ben with a VW Combe bus and a cargo trailer. Later on, Ben was hired and became part of the Airstream Way of Life department. He was a leader for the 1960 European Caravan, four years later. That same cargo trailer later went to Africa, where it was towed by Arthur Ruiz and his special camper truck.
Another eye-opening experience on the Caravan? The two-piece bikini that was worn by women on beaches throughout the 1950's. In the more conservative United States, the bikini wasn't widely worn until the 1960's.
American moviegoers were popeyed in 1956 when Brigitte Bartot and her bikini hit the silver screen in the Roger Vadim film And God Created Women.
There's no doubt in my mind that Caravanners' eyes were open wide when they reached the French Riviera. Ben Kemperman met a beautiful young French woman and invited her to visit the Airstream camp in St. Tropez. She came unabashedly in a bikini - an opportunity for Caravanners to use their newly-purchased Leica cameras. In the photo, she's posing in the doorway of Wally and Stella's Airstream.
In the 1960's, American movies celebrated the bikini with "Beach Blanket Movies" like Beach Blanket Bingo and Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. If you turned on your Top 40's station, you might also hear Brian Hyland singing "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini."
While the bikini of the 1950's and 1960's has changed by leaps and bounds from then to now, Airstream has remained largely the same. Sure, we've added amenities on the inside and a design change here and there, but it's still the same iconic trailer it was back then. Airstream has never sacrificed its ancestry.
The Airstream legend moves ahead and is now represented globally by dealerships in nations from Europe to Asia and Australia.
