Pastor to Preach Good Word on Camping on Cross-Country Tour

The Rev. David Woodworth, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Woodland Hills, preached his Sunday sermon, then bid goodby to his congregation for the summer, got in his 1928 Model A Ford Phaeton and began a 6,000-mile cross-country trip.

Behind his open touring car, he pulled a 1925 Zagelmeyer camping trailer, a fold-down wood-and-canvas trailer with sleeping accommodations for four.

“I have everything I need right here--a car, a bed and food,” Woodworth said.

Woodworth, 46, bills himself as “the only serious collector” of 1920s-era camping equipment in the country. Part of his collection is featured in a Smithsonian Institution exhibit called “At Home On the Road” running through Aug. 31 in Washington.

He said his mission for the next few weeks is to call attention to auto camping, a popular family activity of the 1910s and 1920s.

“Few people realize how prevalent auto camping was in the early part of this century,” Woodworth said.

The vintage camper behind his car can be converted into a tent by one person in about 10 minutes, Woodworth said. The camper includes a fold-down table, built-in mattresses and a roll-down window. On the car’s running board, Woodworth has a metal box that folds out to become a picnic table. A fold-out kitchen--with an icebox, two-burner stove and storage shelves and drawers--is fastened to the rear of the vehicle.

Also in the car with Woodworth is one of the first gas Coleman lanterns ever produced and a canvas cot that stretches between the car’s rear seat and the steering wheel.

“This camping gear is as good as what you can get today, sometimes better,” he said.

Woodworth’s interest in 1920s camping gear began in 1968, after he bought the car for $300 and restored it. Camping trips with his daughters, Sarah, 17, and Heather, 15, who will join him in Nashville, followed.

“I’m going to take them to see America,” Woodworth said. “I want this to be a trip the girls will remember.”

The trip is being sponsored by the Good Sam Club, a national organization of recreational vehicle owners, and Trailer Life magazine.

“I’ll be stopping at several cities to promote outdoor recreation,” Woodworth said. “Camping is a good father-daughter activity.

“I found it is a great way for family members to enjoy themselves together, as well as see some of the wonderful things our country has to offer. Adventures on the road sort of pull you together.”

His wife, Mary, will meet the family in the East in August. However, she will fly.

“My wife’s not a camping enthusiast,” Woodworth said.