1950 S Retro

Home of the Week: Traveling in retro-cowgirl style

There was quite a scene outside the Then … & Again Antiques and Collectibles Mall on West Street last week. It looked like someone's childhood dreams from the 1950s were arrayed across several of the shop's blacktop parking spots. Folks pulled into nearby spots, got out and gawked at what looked like an old-time Western movie set.

Owner Beverly Rossetti seemed quite amused, even though her store stocks "dreams" from the Victorian era to modern times. Her Chihuahua, Carmela, wandered around, sporting a red bandana neckerchief that was larger than she.

Shop employee and Homewood resident Kris Dillard-Woody and her equally bemused husband, Harold Woody, were showing folks around the interior and exterior of Kris' tiny, vintage park trailer. The canned ham-shaped trailer, a 10-foot 1970 Fleetwing Wren, was built by Fleetwing Mobile Homes Inc. 1970 was the final year this type of casual camping model was constructed.

"I would sell my house before I'd sell my trailer," Kris declared. "It's got everything I need." (Everything, that is, except a bathroom.)

Kris is a member of a group of women, now numbering nearly 2,000 nationwide, called Sisters on the Fly ( www.sistersonthefly.com ). In 1999, the group was founded by two siblings - Maurrie Sussman of Phoenix and Becky Clarke of McCall, Idaho, who call themselves, respectively, Sister No. 1 and Sister No. 2. The Sisters on the Fly - SOTF - share a common affection for being Western cowgirls who go fly-fishing, antiquing, restore vintage trailers and decorate them with cowgirl "kitsch" themes, and have truckloads of fun caravanning to campground get-togethers. Guys are welcome, but outnumbered.

The group's motto is "We have more fun than anyone!"

Kris is Sister No. 30. She read about the sisterhood in a 2002 issue of County Living magazine. "I saw goose bumps on her arms and she said 'This is me!'" said Harold. "She flew out west two weeks later and bought a trailer. She was hooked."

Harold is a "Mister Sister," but the retired CSX railroad worker is better known as the facilities maintenance manager for the Anne Arundel County Courthouse.

While most of SOTF's planned trips take place out west, a solid sub-group has established an East Coast base. "Every time we go out, we come back with new sisters," Kris said. "We go about four times a year, even if it's local. If we could, we'd go every month." Though she loves fly-fishing in Montana, Kris is looking forward to a SOTF event near Blacksburg in late August.

1950's Retro Southern California wedding: Dominique + Ron, part 1 ...

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