Remembering Vic And Vi
We recently read the August 2013 article about Vic and Vi White online at www.familyrvingmag.com. We met up with the couple several times with our VW Westfalia camper in Europe and in Morocco while we were traveling in 1967 and 1968. They stayed with us at our place in Haliburton, Ontario, shortly after their disastrous experience near Havelock. And we took them to their first post-fire FMCA convention, where members generously donated clothes and camping supplies to help them get restarted.
Many years later, we visited with them in Madras, Oregon, on their last trip to North America. They had been en route to visit us in Ontario when Vi was suddenly hospitalized in Madras. So, they returned to Australia shortly thereafter.
They were an amazing couple. And in view of our 40-year age difference, we felt that they were like “surrogate parents”!
We were never FMCA members, but my parents, J.W. “Joe” and Dorothy Koehler, joined when they bought their first Winnebago in 1970. They lived in Weston, Ontario. As I recall, they had a four-digit FMCA number, and they went on an FMCA caravan tour to Mexico in 1971.
— Ken Koehler
Haliburton, Ontario
Editor’s note: Vic and Vi White were FMCA members from Melbourne, Australia, who roamed the world for two decades and often shared tales of their travels in FMCA’s magazine. In 1976 while the Whites were in Havelock, Ontario, on the way to visit friends, a stone flew up from the road and struck the propane tank on their motorhome, and it instantly burst into flames. By the way, we looked up Ken’s parents, and he was correct about them having a four-digit number — F6689.
Review Of Royal RV & Auto Center
Our experience at Royal RV & Auto Center in Middlebury, Indiana (www.royalrvauto.com, 574-825-4000), was a 10+. We were referred to them by the Newmar service department when we developed a problem with our entry steps. They got us in immediately. We arrived at the service center, and Tony Troyer was out immediately and under our RV diagnosing our steps’ problem. We had no idea he was the service manager. Actually working on our RV was very unusual for a service manager.
Tony found we needed a new gear drive for our steps. He told us where we could get it at a nearby wholesale company. We traveled to pick it up, and when we arrived back, two technicians immediately came out and replaced it in our RV. Wow! What a fabulous team and business.
— Lane & Julie Backus, F420593
Apache Junction, Arizona
FMCAssist: “What A Great Benefit”
My wife fractured her spine and tailbone while on a trip to Denver, Colorado. She was hospitalized on August 2, 2021. She had four surgeries before being released on November 12, 2021. I called FMCAssist, and after reviewing her medical records, they sent a registered nurse to the hospital in Denver. The nurse then escorted her back to our home in Queen Creek, Arizona. They paid for all transportation costs and tips for the skycaps at the airports. She was then flown home in the business-class cabin.
What a great benefit to have. Thank you, FMCA!
— Mike & Jane Boden, F463100
Queen Creek, Arizona
Editor’s note: Coverage under the FMCAssist Medical Emergency and Travel Assistance Program is automatically included in FMCA family membership dues, with no additional fees or enrollment required. Learn more in the “Member Benefits” article that begins on page 110 in this issue of the magazine or visit www.fmca.com/fmca-assist.