Boler pilgrimage: Caravans head to Winnipeg as colourful egg-on-wheels turns 50

They're coming and they're bringing their colourful wheeled eggs with them.

Six caravans of Bolers, the lightweight Fiberglas camping trailer that has developed an almost fanatical following since it was first produced in Winnipeg in 1968, are making their way across the continentin a pilgrimageto their birthplace.

In honour of the compact trailer's 50th anniversary, a massive gathering of Bolerowners is planned forAug. 15-19 at Red River Exhibition Parkon the western outskirts of Winnipeg.

• Boler50thanniversary event schedule

It will feature live music, a beer and wine garden, a merchandise shop, workshops, food trucks, yoga sessions, ukulele lessons, a scavenger huntand showcase of contemporary trailers inspired by the Boler, including one produced on a3D-printer.

And in pure Manitoba fashion, there will bea social.

"It's going to be so much fun," saidorganizerIanGiles, who says attendees are driving in from as far west asVancouverIsland, as far east as Newfoundland and as far south as Tennessee, Georgia, New Mexico, southern Californiaand Texas.

There hasn't been a Boler trailer manufactured in 30 years, but their popularity continues toendure with an estimated 1,000 enthusiasts and500 trailers from across North America expected to attend,says Giles, who became involved in theBolercommunity after buying his trailer eight years ago.

He cites the simplicity of thetrailersthe ease of setting them up and moving them around as one key to their appeal.

"But first and foremost I think it'sthe cute factor," he said. "They are so recognizable, these little, round eggs on wheels."

Many Boler events are named on that theme: The Prairie Egg Gathering in Watrous or the AlbertaOmelette. Those gatherings also tend to look like an Easter celebration because ofthe colourful way Boler owners paint their trailers.

"I quite often comment that they're blank canvases when someone first gets them, and people go crazy decorating them," Giles said.

They also lovegiving them nicknames.

Glancing over his database of Boler owners, Gilesnotesnames likeSweet Pea, Miss Daisy and, playing off the egg shape, SunnysideUp.

"My own trailer is called Buttercup," he added.

'It's almost cult-like'

The anniversary gatheringwill be as much about making new friends who share the passion ascelebrating the trailer itself, Gilessays.

"The trailer brings you together and once you meet the people, it's those people you want to be around and meet and continue tosocializewith."

Giles wanted to be part of the communitybut jokingly notesyou might not always have a choice.

"When you buy a trailer,unbeknownst to you, you all the sudden join this group it's almost cult-like that absolutely loves them," he said.

"I refer to them as memory-makers because when you pull into a campground, I guarantee somebody is going to come to your campsite and start talking to you about thememories that they have about aBoler."

Planning for the anniversary gathering began four years ago, Giles says, when it occurred to him that manyBoler enthusiasts only know one another through social media and Internet forums.

"I thought 'what a wonderfulway to celebrate this iconic piece of Canadian history as well as give people the opportunity to meet their virtual friendsand seethetrailers,'"said Giles, who alsooperates a websiteproviding repair techniques, replacementparts for sale, and the story of the little trailer.

He says the purpose of the site, like the anniversary event, is"to keep theBoleralive so that they continue to produce memories for Canadians, people across North America and families."

Slingshots and septic tanks

The famous little egg-on-wheelscan trace itsrootsback to slingshots and septic tanks.

It is the brainchild of Ray Olecko, an avid outdoorsmanwho realized his family needed something more durable and comfortable when they were camping, according toTom McMahon, who has researched and written about the trailer's history.

Olecko's family used to go camping in an old canvas tent, and many nights were rained or snowed out.

At the time, in the mid-1960s, Oleckohad been working in the fibreglass industry, learning the possibilities of the material.

He had already created a unique Fibreglas resin slingshot, which he manufactured in his basement and sold through mail order magazines and newspaper ads. He called it the Boler Manufacturing Co.

• Ray Olecko's Boler Slingshot 1963 - 1967

According to McMahon, who interviewedOlecko'sdaughters, the name was a take onbolas, a Spanish hunting sling. He made and sold them for several years but when he switched over to trailers, he retained the name.

The roundedness of the trailer also reminded Oleckoof abowler hat, which helped convince him it was the correct name.

The idea for the trailer came to Oleckoin 1967, just after he had createda Fibreglasseptic tank for the company where he worked, StructuralGlass. It was designed so the parts were nested together for shipping, thenbolted together on site to create the container.

During one of those rainy camp outings, Oleckostarted re-imagining the septic tank with wheels and a door.

According to McMahon, Oleckospent countless hours working out the design and measurements for the trailer and how to incorporate his ideas fora folding dinner table that could double as a bed, and a couch that could be converted intobunk beds in order to sleep afamily of four.

He knew that if it was made of Fibreglas, thetrailer would be lightand affordable on gas to haul behind a car no need for a big truck.

Oleckotook his drawings to acolleague at Structural Glass,SandorDusa, and asked him to help create a mouldfor the 13-foot trailers, which came equipped with acountertop, fridge, stoveand closet.

When they decided to make a business out of it, they mortgaged their houses to get the start-up cash to open a 4,000-square-foot facilityon Higgins Avenue.

The first Bolerrolled out of the factoryin 1968 and sold for about $1,500.

Initially, the company encountered resistance from dealers whothought the price was a bit steep since aluminum trailers were only $895, according to McMahon.In response, Olecko simply picked up the hitch and pulled the trailer across the parking lot by himself, quickly convincing dealers thetrailer would be attractiveto owners of smaller cars, which were becoming popular as gas prices soared.

He was right and the Bolerwas an instant hit.

After only a year in the Higgins plant, the company movedto a larger building onDufferinAvenue and brought on another partner,ErwinKrieg, who had worked with the pair at Structural Glass.

The new plant employed 25 people and Boler tripled production, producingmore than 300 units a year, plus fibreglass truck camper roofs, according to BolerManufacturing History.

By the1970s, demand was so high that Oleckoset upfranchise manufacturersin other parts of Canada and the United States.

A report in theManitoba Business Journal of January 1972 noted sales of Bolershit $500,000 in 1971.

By 1972, 1,000 trailers per year were being built in the Winnipeg shop, with similar numbers at the other franchise sites, according to McMahon, who became aBolerenthusiast when he bought his camper in 2012.

Company sold

Olecko, Dusa and Krieg sold the company in 1973 to a Calgary company, Neonex.

Oleckocontinued to sellfranchises for the company for a brief time, and was a consultant to the new owners but he became disenchanted with the direction the company was taking when it decided to make a 17-foot version of the trailer.

Oleckodied of cancer in 2001 at age 71.

Dusa, who died in 2013,worked forseveral differentFibreglasmanufacturing companies in hispost-Bolerdays andmade, among other things, Ronald McDonald statues for the fast food restaurant chain, according to McMahon.

Erwinmoved to British Columbia and likeDusa, workedFibreglasmanufacturing before retiring in the1990s.

The Bolercontinued to be produced until 1988, when the last one is believed to have come out of an Ontario franchise plant,Midhurst Fibreglass.

No one really knows for sure how many were built in those two decades but the best guesstimate, Giles said, is about10,000.

He has no idea how many remain. If you can find one, they typically sellused for about $6,000 to $8,000.

Historic event

While there are annual Bolermeet-ups in many places, including the one in St. Malo Provincial Parksouth of Winnipeg, the anniversary event at Red River Exhibition Park will be the single largest gathering of the trailers in history, according to Giles.

It is also open to other models of Fiberglas trailers inspired by the Boler, such as Scamp, Trillium, Happier Camper, Armadillo Trailers and others.

Only those with valid passes will be allowed into the event on all days except for one. A public open house will be held Aug. 18 for people to tour the hundreds of trailers that have gathered at the site.

Devin and KeriLatimer, musicians who perform as Leaf Rapids, will be playing at the anniversary event as well as camping in the Robin's Egg blueBolerthey have owned for 15 years.

"We love it because its a classic Prairie camperit's light and so it tows easily behind the van and fits us just right," Devin said about the couple, their two kids and dog

"It's got adouble bed for us and bunks for the kids, just enough shelves and an awning makes it pretty cozy. The kids have grown up in it now and its pretty special to us."

Back in 2011, after returning from a tour with then-band Nathan, the couple found theirBolerhad been stolen from their yard in Winnipeg.

They eventually got it backbut not before Keri was inspired to channel her emotion for the loss into a song about the trailer.

Rosanne Bouvier is impatiently waiting for the anniversary, which she's going to with her husband and three children.
"As soon as the tickets came out, I bought my five, "she said.

They bought their 1979 Boler, in original colours and materials, just over a year ago and is already quite aware of the culture she bought into.

"When you meet people with a Boler, they will say, 'Call us.Let us know if you're coming to a part of the country, you can always stay with us,' " she said, adding she's looking forward to making more connections at the anniversary.

Kim and Chad Celaire own Bee2getherExcursions, a Winnipeg company that used to just rent tandem bikes until they expanded into Bolers.

It was prompted by the attention the trailers were getting. The couple park their yellow-and-black Bolers on-site at The Forks, Assiniboine Park, and Birds Hill Park and use them as offices when they are renting the other equipment.

They purchased four Bolers to rent almost five years ago and have never looked back. They say demand is very strong during summer, particularly for the Winnipeg Folk Festival.

"Every year we see growth in the business," Chad said."I think our company would be nothing without thoseguys who came together to invent the Boler camper."

The couple say they are looking forward to being in a place to celebrate the invention.

"When you have that many people who are in love with Bolersin one place, you hear a ton of stories," Chad said. "There should be a book written about Boler experiences."

"And we are interested to see the unique things that people have done to their Bolers," added Kim.

More information about the 50thanniversary isavailable on the event's website page.

The eventorganizers have also posted route maps and detailsabout where the caravans will be stopping, so others can join up.

Boler 50th anniversary bash

6 years ago

Duration 3:47

Hundreds of nostalgic boomers and hipster glampers have taken over exhibition grounds just outside Winnipeg to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Boler trailer.