Wally Byam

Wallace Merle "Wally" Byam (1896–1962) was an American inventor, engineer, developer and entrepreneur most famous as one of the pioneer manufacturers of the travel trailer. He founded the company, Airstream Inc. From the 1930s until his death in 1962, Byam was a leader in developing both a romance and enthusiasm associated with the automobile and recreational vehicle culture, as well as product features as the United States became increasingly focused on highways and automobile travel.

Early years Byam was born on July 4, 1896, in Baker City, Oregon and as a young child he traveled extensively with his grandfather, who led a mule train in Oregon. By the time he was three, his parents divorced and his mother married David Davis, a butcher. By 1910, the family had moved to Astoria, OR and Byam had taken the name of his stepfather, Davis. In these early years, he also joined tugboats as an ablebodied seaman during summers on Astoria to Alaska trips which fostered his independence and love of travel.

By the time Byam ended high school both his mother and stepfather had died leaving him orphaned and with not much money he turned to college. By August 1954, the first Ohio-made Airstream rolled off the production line, and the California factory was moved to larger facilities in Santa Fe Springs. Wally Byam was one of the first to attempt this sort of travel on a global scale. 1955 marker of the Wally Byam Caravan Club shows Alfred Letourneur towing a 1947 airstream trailer. In 1955, Wally travelled to Europe with his wife Stella, in a one-of-a-kind Airstream Bubble to scout the 1956 caravan. Then in 1956, he travelled to Europe in a white 26' trailer towed by a Cadillac. Byam's globetrotting adventures were the inspiration for the formation of the nonprofit club, Wally Byam Caravan Club International, to promote the use of Airstreams to travel as much as possible. Founded in Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1955, the club is still in existence today, with more than 6,000 member families. In 2007, the club held more than 1400 rallies and caravans.

Wally Byam Death On July 22, 1962, Wally Byam died at the age of 66 of a brain tumor. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, CA in the Columbarium Garden of Honor.

Caravans Byam famously led caravans worldwide as publicity exercises for the Airstream brand. The Wally Byam Caravan Club's 50th International Rally took place in Perry, GA June 23-July 4, 2007. His most notable caravan was a 1959 excursion from Cape Town, South Africa, to Nairobi, Kenya. A recreation of Byam's legendary Cape Town to Nairobi caravan was scheduled to take place in 2009. However, the planned tour was canceled due to safety and political concerns, and the prohibitive insurance costs.