06/08/2026
Dr. John Kirn will be giving this week's Lunch & Learn Lecture on Wednesday, June 10th! Come to the American Legion Post 146 from 12-1 PM to listen to his FREE lecture: "From Health Spas to the Open Road: A Brief History of American Family Vacations." Enjoy a lunch from the American Legion or pack your own. Drinks and desserts are provided!
Overview: This talk will sketch the evolution of American family vacations. In the early 19th Century, "vacations" were taken by wealthy elites, most often to escape disease or recover from illness. Leisure was acceptable only if it restored one's ability to work. After the Civil War, the spread of railroads made travel and "productive vacations" accessible to move people. During the 20th Century, industrialization, the growth of the middle class, the rise of the automobile, and expanding transportation networks led to the growth of the tourism industry. Vacationing spread from the middle class to workers, as employers gradually accepted the notion that time off would improve productivity. Post-World War II prosperity, the growth of a consumer culture, and the proliferation of American roads, from the Lincoln Highway and U.S. 1 to Eisenhower's Interstate Highway system, led to the "family road trip" as Americans increasingly defined themselves by their vacations. Yet, throughout our history, vacationing reflected not only class but religious and racial divisions within American society, and we'll see how different groups created their own vacation spaces.
Images: 1960’s Family Vacation Road Trip, Crossing the Mackinac Bridge; Beatrice Frelow Griffin's family at Lincoln Hills, Colorado, in the '60s; White River National Forest 1948 Colorado Summer Vacation.
Next week on 6/17: Barclay DuPriest will give a lecture titled "Hero of Two Worlds - the Marquis de Lafayette."
