Category Archives: History

Americans Discover Vacation: We’ve All Got Wheels

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Ken Dowell

Nothing had as profound an impact on how Americans vacationed as when we all got wheels. Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: While Disparaging Tourists

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Ken Dowell

Our disdain for tourists turns out to be nothing new. In fact, it is as old as tourism itself. Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: With an Agency Itinerary and a Guidebook in Hand

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Ken Dowell

For more than a century, Americans used travel agencies and guidebooks to plan and book their vacations. Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: Under the Influence of PR

Posted on December 28, 2014 by Ken Dowell

As more Americans started to go on vacation there were more folks around ready to tell them where they should go. Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: As Well As Discrimination and Bigotry

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Ken Dowell

From the very beginning vacationland America was a reflection of the society of which it was a part. And for racial and religious minorities that meant discrimination and bigotry. Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: Finding the Time

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Ken Dowell

The history of American vacationing in the 19th and early 20th century is a story of gradual growth in the number of people who went on vacation and the places they choose to go.  But by well into the 20th … Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: Women on the Loose

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Ken Dowell

When a gas station attendant advised Katherine Hulme not to try to cross the Big Horns, she blew him a kiss and drove on. Continue reading →

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Americans Discover Vacation: Overcoming Our Heritage

Posted on November 30, 2014 by Ken Dowell

Since a good percentage of the American public with some disposable income in the 19th century was pretty Waspy, the whole idea of vacation took hold rather slowly here. Continue reading →

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On a Street Once Lined with Striking Silk Workers

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Ken Dowell

On a quiet residential street in Haledon, N.J., one house stands out from its neighbors. It is taller, more stately, and much older. And it is a national landmark because of its role in the history of the American labor … Continue reading →

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Take Exit 0 for America’s Oldest Seaside Resort

Posted on September 4, 2014 by Ken Dowell

Cape May As numerous comedians have pointed out, in New Jersey we often refer to where we live by our exit number (I’m 151). The Garden State Parkway runs the length of the state and if you hit Exit 0, … Continue reading →

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