On January 1,1965 Colonel John Glenn retired from the United States Marine Corp. 

On January 1,1965 E. Hadden and Bobbie Smith, along with their three sons Hadden, Kevin and Warren began selling Nimrod camping trailers on the front lawn of their Pennsylvania home. 

E. Hadden Smith worked for many years at Westinghouse, one of Pennsylvania’s largest companies, and also was a home builder. 

Colonel Glenn went on to build new careers as a successful businessman and a United States Senator. 

The Smith family went on and develop one of the most successful RV dealerships in Pennsylvania, Media Camping Center. 

The seeds to success in the RV industry were planted during the earlier family experiences in a rented Nimrod camping trailer. 

The oldest son, Hadden, joined the company full-time in 1967 and worked with Bobbie and E. Hadden to start building the new RV business. 

RV Industry Heritage
Eugene Vesely
Tent Trailer
Innovator

Eugene Vesely Tent Trailer Innovator In the mid 1950s, a Lapeer, Michigan, construction worker and his wife began to plan a camping vacation. His wife decided that, while she was enthusiastic about an outdoor living experience, she really did not wish to sleep directly on the ground and asked him to find a solution to her reluctance. He found that the only affordable tent trailer available at that time was one built as a one wheeled-bolt to the rear bumper, model which he did not like. In order to solve their dilemma, Gene Vesely designed a platform to set on a boat trailer frame so that his tent could be set up off the ground. He had a local tent maker help him in rigging a tent on the platform. Thus the Vesely Manufacturing Company, builder of the Apache Camping Trailer was born. Eugene Vesely had only an eighth grade formal education but was an astute businessman and very clearly understood that what the camping consumer wanted was good serviceability and a good price.

Workhorse Leads RV Activity;
Blue Ox and Featherlite also maximize exposure with NASCAR

Tony Monda, director of marketing at Workhorse Custom Chassis, noted, "Although some of our invited guests could not attend due to the end of month and end of quarter sales activity, we’ve filled the suite with great representation from many sectors of the RV industry. This event is special to many RV executives who are also NASCAR enthusiasts and are also involved in this sport in many other ways. We believe this event, and Workhorse’s involvement at this track, provides us yet another opportunity to speak directly with the people who are purchasing new coaches on a Workhorse platform.