My Father Was an Early Van Man

My Father Was an Early Van Man, 1971; Phoenix, Ariz., spring 1971.

My father loved to drive. In the early 1960s, before van conversions were popular, he bought this 1961 Chevrolet Corvair van.1 It was essentially a panel truck, but he had windows cut in the sides and a vent put in the top—which was wise because the air-cooled engine was in the back and the smell of gasoline was ever-present. Next he built plywood platforms to sleep on and my mother created foam rubber mattresses, for which she sewed covers.

If need be, all six of the members of my family could sleep in this van together. And so we camped from Phoenix to New York City for the 1964 World’s Fair and to Montreal for Expo ‘67. Each trip was roughly 5,000 miles (8,000 km). Yes, my parents had a thing about world’s fairs.

Once I obtained a driver’s license in 1970, I was occasionally permitted to drive the White Van (as we called it) to high school. This sparked rumors about sexual shenanigans in the back of the van. I did little to dispel them, although none were true.

Oh, and seatbelts? We didn’t need no stinkin’ seatbelts! On these long trips, my parents would start out very early. They’d put us kids—still sleeping—in the back of the van.

Let’s take a closer look…

• Camera Model - unknown 35mm film camera

• Film Stock - Kodak Tri-X film

• ASA 400

• Shutter speed unknown

• Scanned from the original 35 mm negative on December 16, 2007: 1799x1199 pixels.

© Copyright 1971 Jeremy Butler.