The 1959 Styleline Story

This is the trailer that gave me the bug.

At 55 I am beyond blessed to have my grandma Mert. Not only is she my grandma, but she is also my best friend. She lives 1000 miles away from me in a cabin by her 92yr old self out in the Mojave Desert. I randomly show up on her doorstep to take her on adventures. Last year it was the wildflower bloom in Death Valley.

The year before we did a “Calender Girls” style photo shoot in the wildflowers out in front of her cabin. That blue straw hat is famous now

Today I was telling her about our work on the Aljo. When I was a kid I remember that they had a tiny trailer that seemed like a little doll house on wheels to me. Sometimes, we went camping in it! Those were the best times. Tonight I asked her about it.

She's sharp as a tack

They bought the little blue and white 59 Styleline brand new for $900. Grandpa worked at Lockheed and Grandma drove a school bus. (Grandma says it was 12ft, but with a little research I think it was actually 14ft.)

The Styleline had a kitchenette with a three burner stove and an ice box, a bed in the back. It had a little propane light, and no bathroom.

“There was a coffee can under the sink for the ladies and the guys had the great outdoors.”

The big trip outside of local camping for the Styleline was the Alaska trip.

In 1966 they drove from Sierra Madre, CA (Our tiny town north of Pasadena) up the Al-Can and all around Alaska from June to August. They went through NINE tires. There was a sign on the back that said “The Wandering Waites”. Friends that lived there and friends of friends would call or ham radio back home when they saw it to let family back home know they were safe.

Next time I go down to Grandma's I'll get some photos of the trip pictures and add them to this post. Grandma can work a tablet pretty well but photo transfering is a little past her.

There were several more trailers over the years, after the Styleline, but none as sentimental.

This last autumn I went up on the ferry and retraced some of their path in an SUV. The Al-Can now is a fast moving paved highway. Next to it in spots, is the old gravel highway. It gave me a real feel for what they went though on that trip.

Hers is the new Alaska-Canada highway. Off to the right you can see the old gravel highway going up and over a little hill.



Maybe now I will find my own little Styleline, rehab it myself. (I'm not going to commit even to the good Al-Can!)

Happy Trailers,
Ginger