On August 15, 1862, at twenty-four years old, a farmer named Loren Byam enlisted in the Union Army. He served until the war came to a close and was released in Brownsville, Texas almost three years later to the day.
The Byam family history is important: Loren, as the progenitor, had two sons whose two grandchildren affected the lives of today’s Airstreamers. Wally Byam was born in 1896 and his cousin, Helen Byam Schwamborn, was born in 1904. Without Wally and Helen, there would have been no Airstream and no Wally Byam Caravan Club.
In 1910, Loren received a Certificate of Membership in the Soldiers and Sailors Historical and Benevolent Society. With this membership, he received a booklet of military and personal history, containing a partial listing of all the campaigns he was a part of.
Loren wrote additional details in this book, making two entries: in one, he recounted leaving Little Rock, Arkansas in February 1865 and marching through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.
If you believe in fate, karma, divine providence, or that the domino effect exists, you’ll understand what happened to Loren next. Below is an excerpt:
Apr. 1, went scouting, captured two generals and a pistol – came near being captured myself
Apr. 2, heavy skirmishing all day
If Loren Byam had been captured, the lineage of my family and the events that followed may never have happened. Again, karma is a strange companion.
My own life is one with many trails that have been influenced by my connections to Airstream. On the African Caravan, I met the soon-to-be world renowned photographer Pete Turner. After graduation from the University of Oregon, I was inducted into the U.S. Army. After my training, my post was in Fort Dix, New Jersey. I rekindled my friendship with Pete Turner, who lived in New York, he introduced me to a pretty blonde college student at a party, I was discharged from the Army months later, she came with me to California, we married in 1967, and in 2015 Susan and I will celebrate our 48th wedding anniversary.
Sometimes we aren’t cognizant of these things as events unfold. Certainly, Loren escaping torture made our family history a possibility. Meeting Pete Turner led to him introducing me to Susan.
Just as my family’s story has many twists and turns, so do the many roads traveled by Airstreamers.
For me, it’s the camaraderie of sharing special moments with new friends or reconnecting with old ones. Or traveling down new highways and seeing something different like a special place in a hidden small town, a breath of fresh air in one of our country’s many forests, taking in a scenic view of a national monument for the first time, or just parking for the evening to watch the sun go down over a lake.
There is an Airstream Life that brings a wonderful and exciting world to the doorstep of your Airstream. When you open your door and see the grandeur of the world stretching beyond.
That is what it means to Airstream.
