The Gandy Collection at the University of South Florida is a remarkable visual archive, but it comes with a persistent problem: too many of the images are inadequately documented. It leaves time detectives like me trying to piece together the contents of the photograph. It can't always be done with academic precision because there's little supporting evidence. Sometimes it is sheer conjecture.
That's true with these images. The USF library has this photo titled, “Group Photo with Motorhome “. However, I recognize Pat Boone's face, a popular American singer, actor, and television personality from the 1950s to the 1970s.

With that, here’s what I’ve come up with. The facts are: 

These photographs were taken in downtown Tampa, and the motorhome is an FMC 2900R, only produced from 1973 to 1976. Known as the Rolls-Royce of motorhomes during that era, it was a favorite of celebrities such as Clint Eastwood, Carol Burnett, and James Brolin.

There was only one dealer in Florida handling the FMC brand of motorhomes: Globe Motor Homes on Gandy Blvd.

The Barnett Building and First Financial Tower in the photo were completed in 1972.

Boone only played one concert in Tampa in the 1970s. “Pat Boone and Family appeared at Curtis Hixon Hall, a few blocks from where this photo was taken, on Friday, June 29, 1973. It’s the same year he released S-A-V-E-D, a gospel-studio album.

So, this is Pat Boone and family, in town for their concert in June 1973, picking up their new touring motor home from a salesman (going by the jacket and shoes), and they hired the Gandy firm to shoot promotional photos. The photos are of the salesman handing over the keys to Boone, as well as Boone and family at the driver’s seat.

At 91, Pat Boone remains active—appearing on radio shows and performing occasionally, often alongside his daughter, Debby Boone—while continuing to live in the family home in Nashville, Tennessee.

 © Chip Weiner. All rights reserved