© 2016 -2021 Copyright by P. K. H. Groth, Denver, Colorado, USA All rights reserved -
See contact page for for permission to republish article excerpts.
Wagon Restoration
Recent History (Photo inventory follows)
The previous owner purchased the chuck
wagon from the Morning Star Ranch in
Teller County, Colorado. The wagon history
at the ranch is unrecorded. It lay stored in
the ranch hay barn neglected and dirty,
and where the mice had gotten into the
original canvas cover.
The previous owner was a competitive
“mule skinner” and used the wagon to
train mules for mule driving competitions.
The wagon was in the
Denver National Western Stock Show in
the parade and costume classes,
and participated in the “Cattle Drive”.
The owner was asked to show the wagon
in Cimarron, New Mexico where it won the
“Best of Show” prize. During that occasion,
the wagon took a trail ride and trail-
cooked for 45 guests on Ted Turner’s
Ranch.
The wagon was featured in the “Medicine
Man” community fund raising play for the
Lake George library district. It carried the
Medicine man and crew.
The chuck wagon crew cooked Dutch oven
and steak dinners for 49
members of the Colorado Saddle Makers
Association in Salida, Colorado.
A nostalgic highlight of wagon use was
when the owner was asked by a Lake
George family to assist in an old-time
funeral. They asked help to meet their
grandfather’s final wish. Jack had to
Colorado in the early 1900’s as a young
boy, carried by a covered wagon. His last
request was to be taken to his grave in a
wagon drawn by a team of mules. The
chuck box was removed so the casket
could be carried. Over 100 mourners
paid their respect by riding horses or
walking behind the chuck wagon
hearse two miles on a ranch road to the
burial ground.
Photo Inventory: The scale in the photos is
one foot. Many of the cook items are
antique in keeping with the nostalgia of
the old west. There is no double tree. A
new one will be purchased when we know
how o fit the size to your horses or mules.
(Some items not shown)
© 2016 -2021 Copyright by P. K. H. Groth, Denver, Colorado, USA All rights reserved -
See contact page for for permission to republish article excerpts.