Did you know that you can take your old photographic slides and convert them into digital images? A few years ago my family converted all our old 35 mm slides into digital files. Digital images are much easier to store (you can upload them to a free cloud storage service like Dropbox for example) and you don’t have to worry about losing slides or having the image quality get worse over time.
Yolanda took old slides of her family’s camping trips and uploaded them to the photo-sharing site Flickr. You’ll get a glimpse into the camping life of 1960s and 70s Canada.
Her family camped with the Oshawa Mugups, part of the now-defunct NCHA (National Campers & Hikers Association).
Large meet-ups like this were common back then.
Gathering for a meal in autumn, 1971.
Representing the Oshawa Mugups and Canada at the 1972 NCHA convention in Indiana.
Roasting hotdogs in the early 70s, with a Pepsi in hand.
“Only if you sit…”
Yolanda’s dad turned this delivery truck into a homemade RV in 1970.
Yolanda said,
My father turned an old delivery truck into this RV and we had a ball with it for a few years and put a lot of miles on it.
And the camper was still in use five years later in 1975 (although the kids have grown up).
1969 camping get together. Looks like a semi-official meeting, don’t forget your vest!
“Put on your earmuffs son.”
Campground birthday party in August, 1969.
Group photo of the kids earlier that summer. Who remembers those black inner tubes in the background?
Passing of a trophy at the 1971 NCHA Convention.
Now that’s a bonfire.
I’d eat what he’s making.
The best way to get around the campground.
And when it’s time to leave, there’s always the accordion to sing your camping blues away.
Seeing photos like these make me think of all the fun times my family has had camping. I wonder what it will feel like to look back thirty years from now at photos taken today?
Learn more about the history of the NCHA and the current FCRV.
