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Today when we think of camping, it's the large Diesel powered motor homes filled with toys all the way down to the hot tub! RV'ing is a lifestyle all in its own. They come in all shapes and sizes but even the most basic of units are filled with the comforts of home. Campgrounds have cable TV, WI-FI, pools, mini golf, arcades, exercise rooms, and more! Traveling down the road, kids play video games, watch movies, or listen to their iPods, while mom and dad conduct business left over from the work week on their smart phones!

In the old days, camping was very different. Campgrounds were small, family run operations, located on ponds, creeks, or rivers. They were few and far between. For the most part, people stayed at parks or in parking lots. On the way people would play road games, like "I Spy" or sing "99 Bottles of Beer," as they rolled on enjoying the American scenery.

In the 1960's, Bremen resident Lou Frick decided he wanted to build his family a camper, so he mulled it over and worked hard to save his money. In 1964 He Bought a bright red Oldsmobile, and decided this was the car he wanted his family to see the country in. Louie was a very handy person and was well know for being able to fix anything, so he started looking for materials.

He started with the axle from a 1936 dodge car; he then found some square tubing and went on from there. Over the winter of 64-65 He spent many evenings tinkering until finally it was complete. He had built his family a pop up camper. It had canvas sides, beds on either end, a counter to prepare food on, a Coleman cooler mounted permanently for cold storage, and a table.

Spring came and it was time to test it out. Several weekend trips later, Louie and his wife, Carolyn, decided it was time to take their three kids on a long trip. So after much discussion, they decided to head for Florida.

Carolyn's mother, who was not a camper, decided to tag along. They piled in the Oldsmobile, filled it with gas, and they left Bremen for Florida. They all had a great time, except Caroline's mother, who upon her return, decided she had had enough of camping.

The Frick Family took the camper on many trips, including a trip to Yellow stone and many more. The camper was modified over the years to accommodate the growing family and, in the late 1970's, the Oldsmobile was in a crash, then parked. New cars and campers came along. The children grew up. Then the old pop up ended up buried and forgotten in the barn with the Oldsmobile.

Then in 2000, Louie decided to pull out the Oldsmobile and restore it. Many years of sitting had taken its toll. There was now over 120,000 miles on the old V-8 and it was tired. The interior was mildewed and rotten. The bright red paint had faded, and then there was the serious damage from the crash.

With Carolyn's help, he stripped out the interior and had a new one made! Then Louie tracked down all the parts to fix the body, rebuilt the drive train and, many hours later the car was better than new.

So it set Louie to thinking about the old pop up. The metal needed to be replaced and painted. The canvas sides had gone bad. But in no time it was back to as good as new. So on 8-15-2010, they loaded up the Oldsmobile and the camper then headed down to their favorite spot, Lakeview Campground in Rochester, and stayed the night!

The stay was great! The old car and trailer attracted many people to look.

Louie and Carolyn had a good time reminiscing, and telling stories to other campers about the long history of their unit. They are discussing donating the pop up to the RV History Museum in Elkhart so it will continue on being remembered and enjoyed!

The Fricks have been camping in every state except Oregon, and are planning a trip there this fall, but this time it will be in the new motor home!