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Check out the newspaper articles in
Michigan's Flint Journal! Thank you Kim.
And a fine time was had by all! We had close to 50 Apache's there and at least 120 people. There were so many great folks there it just blew me away. There were Apache popups as far as the eye could see. It was simply amazing. And to top it off, the weather was magnificent the entire time.
There was a nice big welcome sign in front of Paul's camper. Folks were there from all over North America, from Canada to Colorado, Kansas, to Massachusetts. Many folks showed up from the old Vesely company with some amazing stories about the company, Apaches, and the people who designed, made, and sold them. I learned more about Apaches in 3 days than I have in the past 3 years! Thanks for stopping by Owen, Bill, Frank, Elmer, and a host of others.
Tiffany Schaefer gave a number of great ABS repair demos, and repaired a number of cracks on various folks' Apaches too! Tim Schaefer gave a helpful gearbox maintenance demo as well. The two of them even replaced some living hinge for an attendee. Las Ferris gave a wheel & bearing tutorial. Paul Drescher was making Apache Roundup t-shirts late into the night. The kids all received an iron-on on their shirt with their site number on it in case they got lost, and a few of us lucky adults got shirts too!
Ole' Elmer showed up twice and shared handshakes, smiles, & stories. Les Ferris gave a touching speech about Ole' Elmer and presented him with a beautiful gift; a milk-wagon horse weight like Elmer use to use while driving the Knapp Dairy wagon on door to door deliveries around Lapeer in the 1940's 50's.
Frank & Elmer graciously opened Apache Sales Corp for a few hours on Saturday, and I don't think that place has ever had that many folks inside at once. Frank shared some great tips on Apache maintenance and some interesting old stories to boot.
Canadian singer Jim Hopkins performed the Apache song and we all learned the words before the Roundup was over. Jim's music was a welcome addition to the evening fires. Luke performed the Apache Jig on his hammer dulcimer and we all got to shout "Hey Apache!" throughout the jig. It was wonderful to hear dulcimer music echoing through the campground in the late morning. The campfire sing-a-longs each night sure were a blast.
The potluck contained an amazing bounty of incredible food. There was more roasted (& boiled) corn than you could shake a stick at, and the upside-down pineapple Dutch-oven cake from the Lockards was sooo scrumptious! Every dish was well prepared and a treat to behold. As always, there was no room for pudgie-pies Saturday night!
Lucky Jim Lockard not only met and spoke with Vesely's niece, he got to purchase her near-mint condition '62 Chief! It certainly found the right owner.
The whole event was over too quickly. The folks attending were so nice and a real pleasure to meet and speak with. There were so many Apaches to explore and admire and learn about. The mood remained jovial and even giddy at times throughout the entire event. The kids all played together nicely and played hard 'till they passed out! Everyone had such nice things to say about the web site and Apaches and, well, it was a real pleasure spending the weekend with such a fabulous group of folks in such a nice place with all our Apaches. Thank you all for coming and opening your Apaches and hearts and sharing your kindness and stories. It sure made me proud to be part of such a fine group of folks!
Thanks again everybody - keep campin' on!!! :]
-Doug
What a perfect extended week end. Warm days and cool nights made
for a great time for all. Even the rain held off for the whole time. Many thanks
for the help from many people who stepped in when plans were changed. Imagine
turning around to find some one just doing what needed to be done without even
being asked. This made my work very easy.
The children had a blast, between bikes and the beach they were ready for bed
early. Some adults went blueberry picking, and one went camper shopping (Vesley's
daughter's (or niece's) chief). We had quite a few Apache (Vesely) workers show
up and tell their stories. Fascinating doesn't come close to describing their
stories. One person (name withheld) said that this is the first time he has
talked about (Vesley) the man and the company since he left. WHAT a story. I
felt like a trekkie but didn't care. I got manuals and service books for the CD.
I took some stereo scope pictures and will compile them soon so let me know if
you have a viewer.
I definitely want to do this again! I would rather not do it every year for fear of killing the regional round ups. Things this size need time to get rolling. Consider that we really could FILL the south campground, all 125 sites. How about 2004 or 2005? How about a full week Thursday through the next Sunday so we have 2 weekends that would help people who can't make one week end? - Paul
Howdy all
Just a short little letter on 2002 Roundup in Lapeer. Me and my wife had a great
time. I really enjoyed meeting all of you, and listening to the stories and
singing the songs. We also made up our mind when we sell our Mesa that we are
going to look for a bigger Apache so we can come back next year (wife no longer
wants a fifth wheel)... Have a great day and maybe will see you all in Sept in Ontario
if you all get together then.
GUY HAGGARD - WAYNE MI
You're invited to view my album, Apache Roundup, on MSN Photos! Hi Doug we got back to Canada ok, we enjoyed the Roundup very much, here are some photo's I took. Regards Ron & Angela
Doug, I was most surprised to see the
article in the Flint Journal about the Vesley Company.
I was a former Vesley Employee, in the late 1960s.
I worked there for several years. My Mother also worked there, her name
is Helen Guinther, she was a Union Stewart, and was one of the persons
responsible for the Union stepping into the Plant.
The plant in which we worked, was located in Lapeer Michigan. Employees had a quite different perspective, then management. Although, I do believe we were all very proud of our Product, the Apache Trailers. We maintained Pride in building the Apaches. when we worked there, women made less money then the men, working the same jobs, you see women did work in the factory, not only in the sewing room. I believe that was the start of the Union, and the first civil rights case, in years, as I recall.
All and all, we were a good group of employees, I do wish you had a email list of employees, that we could all find each other, at least those of us who are still living. We could tell you stories of making those apaches, and how difficult it was. Nothing was easy back then, the canvas was hard to work with and had to be stretched very tight on the ceilings of the units. Oh well, time does go on, and I do appreciate the article.
Sincerely, Mary (Guinther) Wood Former Vesley Employee
After reading the story about the Apache campers in the Flint Journal Sunday 8-18-02 it brought back memories of when I worked there off and on from 1970 to 1972. It was a good time working there, and I loved the turkeys they handed out at Thanks Giving! It was nice to hear that so many folks are still using some of the campers I worked on and how much they like them! I don't own one but I do like camping partly brought on by working there many years ago! I am glad I found this site and will be checking back to watch things going on here.
Thanks again -Jim Gray
