Poor Bernice-parts for sale

Well the time has come to bid Bernice farewell. We are going to part Bernice out and Joel has some auctions going on ebay. I was so hoping we could restore the ole gal. But we figured she would get neglected anyway since Ruth is our main gal.
If you want to head over and see what's up for auction, so far, the direct  link is
here , it will open a new window for you. If there are any parts you don't see and are interested in, leave a message here and Joel will get back to you. All of Bernice is going, bit by bit! She is a 59' Shasta  Airflyte.
Joel & Deb

State Parks in MN might close

ahhh, sad day when they have to close the state parks. It just makes Joel and I sick that this might happen. We are big fans of State Parks and do all we can to help support them. An annual Park sticker is $25. $25 a night for a site with electric. We buy fire wood, maps, field guides all from the State. Before we had Ruth, we were tenters and always stayed at a State Park. We also always got an electric site to plug in the heater and for the air pump for the air bed! Regardless of State, we support/supported State Parks. We have to wait it out for about another 1 1/2 weeks to find out what will happen. In the mean time, we have our fingers crossed that Ruth will beable to stay at a State Park.

This list of Minnesota state parks contains the 68 State Parks, seven state recreation areas, eight state waysides, and 22 state trails in the Minnesota state park system, totaling approximately 267,000 acres.  A Minnesota state park is an area of land in the U.S.State of Minnesota preserved by the state for its natural, historic, or other resources. Each was created by an act of the Minnesota Legislature and is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Minnesota Historical Society operates sites within some of them. The park system began in 1891 with Itasca State Park when a state law was adopted to "maintain intact, forever, a limited quantity of the domain of this commonwealth...in a state of nature." Minnesota's state park system is the second oldest in the United States, after New York's.
Joel & Debbie

Ruth's Popped Lid back on!

We were leaving when Ruth popped her lid. We were loaded, dog in the truck and heading out through the neighbors driveway. After hearing the clunking, asking Joel what that noise was...him finding Ruth's lid in the garden, Joel got to work. The adjusters popped out of the vent hood. They are machine pressed onto the hood. After TRYING for about 10 minutes to pop them back in, with no luck..called the son in law Alex to come over. They took the adjusters, (I know that is not the name for them) and filed off the little knob at the end, used the drill press to drill out, to put a bolt to hold it in place. Went to the hardware store so Alex could find a bolt with deep threads. Worked like a charm and much sturdier now than before. It pays to have a Mechanical Engineer in the family! The total cost for fixing Ruth's lid....$1.24! And off we went!
Alex went home so they could finish getting ready to go camping with us. We tried a few different private camp grounds this time but ended back at Forestville and got the last two spaces available for the busy weekend. It was "Take a kid fishing" weekend and the park was packed. So many activities going on at the park. Learning about Bats, Owls, fossil hunting, hiking. My grandson is quit the fisherman and this weekend Papa Joel taught him how to trout fish. Little guy did darn good! His first trout! Cooked it right up on the fire.

 Joel & Debbie

Oh, You ask...What's that?

Ruth's upper bunk vent!

Long story very short, moving Ruth out of the back yard, the vent caught on the telephone wire. Ripped that baby right off.

Poor Ruth

Joel & Deb

Our Family

We live in town and don't have a real big yard. In fact, the neighbors garage is partly on our property. We are on a hill...there is quit a slope behind Bernice. Along with HUGE Lilac bushes, trees, garden and Honeysuckle. Not to mention the vegetable garden! This is our back yard!!

Bernice's Door

Joel worked on the door this weekend. Trying to get it water proofed before we get rain. The door wasn't closing real tight. He rebuilt part of the frame and he worked on the metal frame straightening and patching the tears in it. He finished the door and looks great with a tight seal now. Here are a few pics....

Joel & Debbie

Curious...

Has anyone ever made a rock guard for the front window? Joel is online now, searching. He did find one about a Hurricane panel along with some pretty good directions. Most of the hardware is still intact for attaching the rock guard on Bernice.
Joel & Debbie

Bernice's BirthStamp!

Had Joel take a pic of the side of the sink with her Birthdate and the plate on the outside where she was made. Bernice has a birthday coming up! She will be 52! Joel and I are still older than she is!

Joel & Debbie

Ewwww...wanna see her at her worst!!

Mattress is out, cushions are out, drawers are out! Found 3 bumper jacks under the back bed and a VW jack. Mouses got the dog food off of one of the traps. Over one billion mouse terds removed. Other than that, no real surprises. Here is the inside before anything was removed today...and found the date on the side of the sink June 24th, 1959!

Joel & Debbie

Bernice's Trip Home

Home Sweet Home!!

Joel & Debbie

Bernice is Home

Bernice came home last night! Dragged the Son in law along, he is a mechanic, and between Alex and Joel, we had her on the road within 20 minutes! Don, the PO, pumped up the tires the night before for us, and they held air! There was some concerns about the hitch, being old and rusted, but we had ran out there earlier to make sure she was cleaned out and get the light fixtures down, and Alex and Joel did some oiling and greasing on the hitch so it would drop, and it did! There was a problem with the jack slipping but with some persistence, it did go up, and then down! I followed, I was the tail lights on the way home, driving behind,  and Joel said she was easier to pull than Ruth. She rode straight and smooth with no swaying. A bumper sticker on her read....Don't laugh, Its paid for! Alex thought that was great!
We backed her in to our back yard. We have to use the neighbors driveway to back in, we have to many trees to get around. She has a broken back window, so put the blue tarp over her, set mouse traps, and let off a bomb in her! Peeked in the windows this morning and no mice and not many flying critters either. There is a wasp nest in there, but I don't do creepy or crawly things, that's a job for Joel! She is in pretty rough shape. Poor old gal. Can't help but feel sorry for these old trailers. We haven't finished Ruth yet, she still needs some cosmetic surgery! I know people still look at Ruth on the outside and get that small wrinkle on their face, but once they see the inside their eyes open up and you see the smile! Neighbor came over last night about 10:30 and told us to help him find an old trailer to fix up! No problem, unless its a Shasta, I'll keep that one! I'll post some pics soon as I get them DL'd! Oh almost forgot, Bernice is a 59'! And along with Bernice, we got the original birth certificate! (title)!!! We about fell over when he had that in the trailer waiting for us!
Joel & Deb

Bernice 58'? or 59'?

Looking online at 58/59' Shasta's. We really aren't sure what year Bernice is? Anyone have an idea? Is there somewhere we can look? We have a 61' (Ruth) Shasta. The title came with Ruth so we knew what year she was created. But on the inside of the cupboard above the sink, the wood is stamped Feb. 22, 1962. Maybe she was started at the end of 61' and finished up in 62'?
If you have any idea's on where to look for a year, would love to know exactly how old Bernice is.
Thanks,
Joel & Deb

Meet Bernice!

We are now the proud owners of a 59' Shasta! There is a TON of work on her to be done, but she is really not in any worse wear than Ruth was when we got her. Although Bernice is sitting in a farmyard and hasn't had tabs since 1999! She has a flat tire that you can't see to good due to sitting in weeds up to my knees! She will be coming home maybe tomorrow or Thursday. Son in law is on vacation this week and has offered to lend a hand in getting her home. Hopefully he knows what he is getting into! Here are some pics of Bernice where she is parked now...Inside pics have a shadow due to taking pics through the windows!

Isn't she lovely!!! Her cost?? $225.oo!!!
Joel & Deb

Is this a Sickness?

Well what do most people do on Memorial Day? Picnic? Visit Relatives? Go Camping?? Not us!! Well the relative part...ya, we did visit. BUT...there was a mission behind it! We are driving around yesterday on all the back country roads. Went out of town to visit a few past relatives. We come to an old "farm", a good old junk farm, to be exact...and I yell...TRAILER!! Hubby yells SHASTA!! In the driveway we go.. Knock on the door and no one is home, we don't want to go snooping around without permission. Well..no one home, lets take a look! We looked in the window and I told Joel that "Bernice" has got to come home with us! Bernice is older than Ruth by about 2-3 years. She is in about the same shape as Ruth was when we got her. So we hung around for a bit waiting to see if anyone came home...nope..so we left. Today we headed North looking for trailers. Stopped at one that hubby thought was a Shasta out in the field, but ended up being a Forester and not for sale. Its a hunting trailer...and yes it looks like one on the inside. So since we couldn't get Bernice out of our head..we headed south, hoping someone would be around to ask about her. Again no one was home. My uncle use to be a rural postman so drove over to their house, no one home. Then drove by my cousins and they were outside, asked them if they knew who lived there, they didn't but the farm is considered by town folk..the "funny farm". Not good! Not good at all. Then we went over to my other cousins house to visit for awhile, and their son was watching tv...he came out to join us and I asked him if he knew who lived there by chance, He SURE DID!! he tried to get ahold of them but still no one home. So after we visited for a while, off we went, just driving by to see if anyone was home and lo and behold...there was a car there, well there is several cars there! But not in driving condition. So we walk up to the door, knock and explain to the kid about looking for a trailer and is it for sale, ya, we're moving and it is for sale. Asking price?? OMG can't beat it!! So just have to get ahold of his dad and figure out when we can haul it away. She might have to go out on a flat bed, we're not real sure yet. One flat tire. It has most everything original but a lot of water damage.  She looks like Ruth but with no bunk above the dining room table.
Wanna see a pic of her??? She is a doll!!! We are guessing the year to be about 58' or 59'. She has the wooden screen door. We'll keep you posted on if she is going to be haulable! LOL
Joel & Deb

Ruth's First Road Trip

Well the "ouie" healed, but took months! During the winter small things were done on the inside. Did a lot of searching for cushions and a couch for the back. Ended up with a klick klack sofa/bed, which is working out fine for now. So last weekend we took Ruth out for her first time. She handled like a dream. We only went about 50 miles from home, close enough where we could call the Son In Law to come get us if we needed him! Here are some pics of Ruth.

All the comforts of home, and even more!