First Motor Home Campout in U.S.

A small number of families discovered the fun of traveling in vehicles called "house cars." These vehicles attracted the attention of curious spectators they met at gas stations or along roadways. Most of these vehicles had originally served as school buses, transit buses, or intercity vans. After months and sometimes years of brainstorming, sweat, and plain old ingenuity by their owners, these vehicles were transformed into impressive homes on wheels. A few folks at the time were lucky enough to purchase vehicles already designed for life on the road.

Perhaps the story really begins in the spring of 1962, when Bill Christensen, F28, of Winona, Minnesota, wrote to 40 or 50 fellow house car owners and attempted to schedule a meeting to discuss forming an organization. Although he is said to have received favorable responses, no immediate action was taken.

In February 1963, Bob and Jean Richter, L1, house car owners from Hanson, Massachusetts, learned that a solar eclipse would take place on July 20 and be visible in Maine. The Richters decided that this event was a good enough reason to plan a party of sorts -- a gathering of their fellow coach owners to view the eclipse together. In April 1963, the Richters circulated a letter to 11 families, inviting them to attend the gathering and asking them to pass on the word to any other families who might be interested.

In the meantime, Ted Austin of Owosso, Michigan, and Dennis McGuire of Alma, Michigan, arranged a meeting of fellow coach owners in Corunna, Michigan. Held on June 2, 1963, it is believed to be the first meeting of any coach owners to take place in the United States, and families in attendance later formed the Michigan Knights of the Highway chapter. Shortly thereafter, the Richters learned of this informal meeting and invited these folks to Hinckley.

The resulting assemblage of 26 coach-owning families gathered on the grounds of the Hinckley School in Hinckley, Maine, on July 20, 1963. Indeed, these families viewed the eclipse and, in the course of that weekend, reached for the stars in other ways, too.

Howard and Genny Jennings of Owosso converted an old school bus and joined the Family Motor Coach Association in 1964.

Family Motor Coach Association formed.

During that weekend in Hinckley, the house car owners exchanged information, anecdotes, and technical tips about their vehicles. They also discussed at length the merits of forming some sort of club that centered around travel by house car. Wouldn't it be great to belong to an organization devoted to sharing information about these types of vehicles, one that also promoted friendships and fun activities?

Eighteen families at the Hinckley gathering decided to form a nonprofit association. An organizational committee was selected, with Bob Richter at the helm. On July 21, 1963, after several names were presented for consideration, "Family Motor Coach Association" was chosen as the official name of the group. This suggestion came from J. Raymond Fritz, L4, who would later become the association's second president.

A committee was appointed to draft a constitution for the new association. By December 15 of that year, the constitution had been written, circulated among the membership, and ratified.

As of January 27, 1964, a total of 233 charter members, one associate member, and five commercial members were listed on the membership roster of the Family Motor Coach Association. In an article published in the inaugural issue of Family Motor Coaching magazine in February 1964 it was noted, "A careful estimate of the average investment of each member of FMCA in their coach is $9,450. Thus, the FMCA is currently composed of owners of coaches worth nearly $2,000,000. The affairs of this organization are becoming serious business!"