Crazy bus in Petaluma

I have started seeing this bus around town often. EP left a Bus City handout on their windshield. One can only hope they show up!

Vintage Tuesday! - Early Army Bug on the tarmac.

Early Army bug on the tarmac.

VW bus as... a spare room.

Seriously. Well done. He's either single or has a very understanding wife. Or is single as a result of this. The guys in New York are nuts!

Hall of Shame: VW "trip" t-shirt

My "Hall of Shame" posts are becoming more like, "why don't people still make this?" posts. So, why don't people make this? I'd wear this t-shirt. I'd really wear this t-shirt if I were listening to Zep in my basement surrounded by dark paneling covered by black light posters. But still, I'd wear it.

Bob Waldmire - One of the last great VW vagabonds

Bob Waldmire.

I first became familiar with Bob Waldmire through Static sending me the postcard below. We thought it was Peter Ashwanden who illustrated the How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive book for John Muir. It wasn't. It was the work of Bob Waldmire, a vagabond, rich-guy's son who saw the need to preserve the parts of America that he loved - specifically Route 66.

The postcard Static sent me.

Chad Arendt, a member of the Facebook fan page for Big Blue said, "VW people... are the salt of the earth." Well, though I never met Bob , I thought of Waldmire when I read that. I'm not sure Bob would have considered himself a VW guy, but he was. His mission to preserve Route 66 - the "Mother Road" that goes from Chicago to LA, brought him and his 1972 VW bus many miles together. And what's most telling is what he left behind.

Bob's bus.

We ran into Bob's work last year when staying at the Wigwam Motel on Route 66 in Rialto, CA. In the gift shop, they had plenty of Waldmire's art. One thing Bob did was design (read: hand-draw) postcards for the businesses that would let him. For the Wigwam Motel, he also designed a t-shirt which I have and wear still (I sent my parents the postcard). The owners of the Wigwam knew Bob well. They said that he occasionally just stopped in to make sure they had everything they needed.


Other followers re-tell encounters with the legend, many recognizing him by his yellow hightop VW bus, but most stories are now eulogies. Bob passed away on December 16th of last year. Another one of the classic VW guys gone. For his last art show (held at Cozy Dog Drive-In in Springfield, IL - an icon his father started on Route 66 ) the invite said, "Come as you are - Leave Different", which is pretty fitting.


Below are some more images I pulled from the web of his bus. Not a bad looking ride. Wonder what happened to it (I sent an email to Cozy Dog - I'll let you know if I hear anything [UPDATE: 8:00 AM, 3-11, Sue Waldmire emailed back to let me know that the bus is still with the family. Eventually, the bus will go to the Route 66 Alliance). Note the custom side table added on so he could sell his art...



The most VW-related story about Bob was his involvement in the film Cars - a film that went right along with Waldmire's ideas of saving Route 66. Bob was the inspiration for Fillmore, the old VW Hippie bus. He was involved up to the point of actually lending his name to the film. I read somewhere that Waldmire - a vegetarian - was fearful that he would see his name selling Happy Meals. I got to say, I dig it.



Above and below are more of Bob's art. Hand drawn. Awesome. I was told by John Muir's wife that she knew Bob, and that Bob had said he was a fan of Peter Ashwanden's illustration style. You can see it a little in Bob's work. But Bob was loose, less likely to conform. His work is most recognized but the tiny hand-written notes that surrounded - even invaded - his subject. Good stuff.

I'll sum up by saying thanks to Bob Waldmire. It's guys like him that make me happy to be part of the ACVW nation. While he may not have been a crazy VW-guy, we'll be happy to claim him. Let's hope his ideas of preservation carry on...

April 19th, 1946 to December 16, 2009 - the best parts spent in a VW bus.

http://www.bobwaldmire.com/