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July 6, 2014

Willard Bishop's Model T Camper: 52 Ancestors

In the spring of 1929, Willard Bishop faced a dilemma. With an auto garage business and growing family in Garrettsville, Ohio, he liked to get away to go fishing whenever he could. A few years earlier, he’d bought a vacant lot on the hillside shore of Lake Milton, about 20 miles away. But where could he and his fishing buddies sleep when they wanted to spend the night there?

Lacking the resources to build a house, Willard fell back on what he knew best: automobiles. Born February 21, 1892, he had started tinkering with cars as a teenager, and landed a job as a mechanic by 1917.[1] Why not build a little cabin on wheels?

Willard enlisted the help of a friend, blacksmith Welty Rood. The lack of a blueprint didn’t discourage them. They cleared out a bay in Willard’s repair shop and got to work.

Willard Bishop's Chrysler-Plymouth garage and dealership, Garrettsville, Ohio

Starting with an old four-cylinder Model T Ford, they removed everything except the engine, windshield, and front seat. They constructed a box to fit over the bare chassis. Inside they built two sets of bunks, and installed an icebox and sink. A small table and chairs completed the setup. Willard wired it with electric lights and cut out windows. It was tight, but four people could sleep safe from the elements, wash up, and keep some food brought from home. 

There was just one problem. The contraption was too high to get out of the garage.

Their only recourse was to cut several inches off the top of the camper. Willard’s head nearly touched the ceiling of the new top. Even then, it wouldn’t clear the garage door. So they let the air out of all the tires, and with the help of a few other fellows, crept the motor home gingerly out of the garage.

Willard Bishop, left, and Welty Rood with their homemade Model T camper

With the tires re-inflated, Willard and Welty drove the homemade camper slowly over the winding road out of Garrettsville. They passed through the town of Newton Falls, continuing down narrow County Line Road to Lake Milton. There was no hurry; it would be her only voyage.

Positioned proudly on the lot, the camper reigned over the lake below. With the addition of an outhouse and fire ring, Willard and his buddies could fish, eat, and sleep in comfort all summer. After a long winter, it sat there waiting to welcome them back.

Soon Willard’s kids were clamoring to go to Lake Milton, too. He started taking his three boys fishing and boating with him. The shack, as they called it, was too crude to suit his wife, Annah, and their daughter. Willard eventually bought a factory-made motor home for the ladies and himself, leaving the shack to the boys. The new one even came with a kitchen.

Willard and his daughter with the store-bought camper, about 1937

Willard's son, Bob, showing off his catch 

In 1940, Willard sold his property and purchased two nearby lots, one of which held a small 1928 cottage. While the cottage still required use of an outhouse, it felt luxuriously spacious compared to the campers. Now the family could enjoy quiet mornings overlooking glass-still water, hot afternoons of swimming, and lingering twilights all summer. Willard usually stayed in Garrettsville to work during the week, joining them on weekends.

The old Model T shack made the move, too. Its hand-cranked engine sprang to life even after years of disuse. Willard kept it for storage for a few years, finally taking it away during World War II. Although it would be forgotten until the discovery of a photo decades later, its legacy was firmly established. Willard’s son and his wife, their children and grandchildren still gather at the lake for a family reunion every summer. And while a bathroom was installed in 1983, the place is no bigger than before. Leading to another dilemma: where does everyone sleep?


Ah, what Willard would have given for one of these modern beauties, with their slide-out sitting rooms, full kitchens and baths, and queen-size beds.

Then again, maybe not.


--Shelley

© Shelley Ballenger Bishop 2014

The blog series “52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks” is coordinated by Amy Johnson Crow, CG, author of No Story Too Small.






[1] “U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918,” database and digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com: accessed 1 July 2014), card for Willard Hiram Bishop (Portage County, Ohio); imaged from Family History Library microfilm 1,851,082, citing NARA microfilm publication M1509.

16 comments:

  1. Great Story. Loved the hand built motor coach.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Charlie. Thanks for reading!

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  2. Oh my gosh, what a treat to read this, Shelley! I remember garages like Willard's, and Garrettsville, Newton Falls, and Lake Milton are almost like home to me. I wrote a post a while ago about spending summers at Lake Milton, though we never owned a camper like Willard's. Though it was small, I can imagine the delight of having it for use in the summers.

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    1. How neat that we share a connection to these places, Nancy! Would love to compare notes and see if we share some of the same names, too. This story has captivated me for a long time, and I'm glad to know it resonated with you.

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  3. Look at little Papa with his fish!!!

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  4. This is such a neat story! How lucky you are to have the photos that you do.

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    1. Thanks, Amy. The photos were "lost" for a long time--I'm just glad we found them in time to learn the story behind them. Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!

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    2. BTW, you might want to take a look at the new column I have on the Ancestry blog. I featured this story :-) http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2014/07/11/what-we-are-reading-july-11-edition/

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    3. Thanks so much for the mention in your new column, Amy. I'm honored and delighted!

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  5. I love the way you write about your ancestors! What an interesting post --

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    1. Thanks for reading, Elise, and taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it.

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  6. Shelley -- I'm late to the party but enjoyed the story. In addition, "Garrettsville" seized my attention as Willard would have been contemporary with another local storekeeper, Jethro Potter, who was the main character in my June 2013 NGSQ article. I think he may have kept a grocery, but I am not sure. -- Harold

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  7. Harold, your article makes excellent reading for anyone interested in seeing how to pull together a conclusion from conflicting and missing evidence. I hadn't thought about Jethro Potter and Willard Bishop being contemporaries, though. We definitely should explore the Garrettsville connection further.

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  8. Thank you for sharing! This my two sons great great grandpa so it's nice to learn some of the biological history on the Bishop side. Their Grandpa Marty passed away when they were both young so I never got the full story about the shop. I had been told it was passed down generation to generation but not sure why it closed completely.

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    1. Thanks for your comment! I'm glad this is helping you learn about the Bishops. The garage in Garrettsville never actually closed. Willard's sons Bob and Donald rented it out for years, then sold it a few years ago to a very nice couple who have a thriving auto repair and restoration business. They do a lot of work on vintage cars, and are proud of the history of the shop. I'd be happy to share more with you if you'd like to email me at sbishop@BuckeyeFamilyTrees.com. Welcome!

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