Retired Wagon at Thousand Trails

Wagon-making was an essential service in the early history of the Colony. On an eighteenth century map a “wamaker” (wainwright) or those who made... more

by Bob and Nadine Johnston

Title

Retired Wagon at Thousand Trails

Artist

Bob and Nadine Johnston

Medium

Photograph - Gift Or Greeting And Note Cards Are Cheaper By The Dozen :o)

Description

Wagon-making was an essential service in the early history of the Colony. On an eighteenth century map a “wamaker” (wainwright) or those who made wagons of many types was marked. This information was critical to those who used wagons of any description - wagon making still has a place. The industry spawned a multitude of smaller services and suppliers – blacksmiths, carpenters, woodturners, painters and decorators, wheelwrights, joiners, tanners, upholsterers, harnessmakers, canopy makers, and suppliers of steel, American hickory and local woods. Coachbuilders supplied an extensive range of vehicles to satisfy customers' needs - There were no fewer than 91 models ranging from light gigs to heavy transport wagons. The wagonbuilder catered for the diverse needs of the community and manufactured service carts for use as ambulances, police carts and refuse removal, delivery, hearses, bakery carts and the "kakebeenwa", a capacious family-sized wagon for long-distance travel. In addition there were wool wagons, hay wagons, water carts, and elegant gigs for the use of doctors and judges. The completion of rail links, and the simultaneous construction of a telegraph line, helped the local wagon-making industry enormously - parts for construction of the wagons could conveniently be railed, assembled, and the finished wagons could be sent back.

Hay production and harvest, colloquially known as "making hay", "haymaking", or "doing hay", involves a multiple step process: cutting, drying or "curing", processing, and storing. This would have been very difficult without the wagons, which were also used for many other purposes around the farms.

Methods and the terminology to describe the steps of making hay have varied greatly throughout history, and many regional variations still exist today. However, whether done by hand or by modern mechanized equipment, tall grass and legumes at the proper stage of maturity must be cut, then allowed to dry (preferably by the sun), then raked into long, narrow piles known as windrows. Next, the cured hay is gathered up in some form (usually by some type of baling process) and placed for storage into a haystack or into a barn or shed to protect it from moisture and rot.

There are many things of interest to take photos at in Bend-Sunriver Thousand Trails, besides the landscapes all around the preserve, the river which runs along the border. There are Ghost Town Replicas of Jails, Libraries, Saloons, etc and antique items like this derelict wagon.

Thousand Trails is a membership campground company operating private campground resorts in the "preserves". They are called preserves instead of campgrounds as they are in business to protect the environment and Wildlife.

As of 2010, the company has over 140,000 "member families" and over 80 preserves in 22 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Members pay a one-time membership fee and annual dues to use Thousand Trails campgrounds, which tend to cater to the owners of recreational vehicles.
Some memberships allow members to stay for more continuous days at a campground and grant access to a greater number of total parks.

Uploaded

December 26th, 2012