Happy Anniversary to a Canadian shelter staple, recognizable all over North America!

Invented in 1968, these domed “eggs” were originally the brainchild of a young Winnipeg farm boy named Ray Olecko. Built primarily using lightweight fiberglass the original models could sleep up to 4 people. This was the vanguard age of plastics and new manufacturing technology, which heavily influenced design and production of the boler. _[1]  In a country renowned for it’s wide-open spaces and sprawling wilderness, boler trailers were the perfect way to camp or travel cross country without having to erect a tent every night. In fact, you could say that boler trailer owners were some of the very first “glampers“!

Source: CBC

Here’s a picture of Ray Olecko and his family with the original model!

While the 4-person egg may look like a tight fit to us today, once upon a time, bolers were also occasionally used as more permanent shelter; they would populate trailer parks the same way RVs do now! A new boler was a blank canvas that occupents retrofitted and upgraded to suit their needs and lifestyles. In fact, boler owners go to all lengths to trick out their trailers! _[2]

Take a look at “Buttercup”!

In 1968, the original bolers cost just $1,400 – an affordable mode of vacation transportation and shelter for the average middle class family. But since they stopped being made in 1988 – edged out of the market by more popular ‘pop-up trailers’ and ‘motorhomes’ – the rare-to-find boler trailer will often sell for over $10,000!

To mark the half century celebration, boler trailer owners from all over are convening in the place of it’s birth: Winnipeg!

Do you have fond family memories of boler trailers? I do! After all, they were just a camping convenience; these trailers garner so much nostalgia becasue they colour a specific time in Canadian history, and represent quality time spent with family and friends!

Happy Anniversary, Boler!!

~ Posted by Steven Fudge, the purveyor of canadianrealestatehousingandhome.ca and proprietor of Urbaneer.com, a division of Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage.

Sources: [1] Global News [2] The CBC [3] CTV News