With an estimated crowd of more than 130 attendees, this past weekend in Granbury, Texas certainly played out as promoted. The American Chuck Wagon Association (ACWA) presented a two-day program that highlighted all things related to the wooden wagons that fueled the growth of the American West.
The large parking lot and spacious conference center at Granbury was the height of comfort, class, and amazing content. Highlighting the indoor locale, the huge ballroom included numerous vendors profiling everything from wooden barrels and camp accoutrements to cowboy tents, braided lariats, calendars, books, prints, and other chuck wagon accessories. Oversized projection screens filled the front of the room while a handful of historic wagons were arranged just behind the crowd. Jack Ramey turned heads with his pre-1900 Newton chuck wagon. Likewise, Scott Tibbets shared the legendary look and lore of his Championship Peter Schuttler wagon. Next to Scott's Schuttler, Homer Robertson not only brought his Newton but also his incredible Mitchell brand Mountain wagon. Each of these chuck wagons are world-class survivors with impressive histories and strong ties to the Old West. Providing even more historic diversity, Cliff Teinert displayed his replica Studebaker Army ambulance. Next to these throwbacks to yesterday, Patrick Goodknight exhibited a number of parts from early Mountain wagons he's rescued from a forgotten boneyard in Montana. He also showed an 1886 Peter Schuttler wagon running gear with restored box. It was positioned at the entrance to the building and located alongside another chuck wagon the ACWA is raffling. (Don't miss your chance to own an inexpensive chuck wagon with this opportunity).
Scott Tibbets' Peter Schuttler is a well-known Championship chuck wagon. The coveted survivor is an extraordinary example of the production quality turned out by this Chicago wagon-making legend.
All of this served as a strong backdrop to an event focused on helping protect, promote, and preserve this largely unrecognized part of American history. The event included round table discussions with Ronnie Sessions and other ACWA officials. Presenters included Doug Hansen - Hansen Wheel & Wagon Shop, Glenn Moreland of Texas Cowboy Outfitters, Mark and Kim Day with a talk on barrels and coopering, and a pair of presentations from myself related to wagon nomenclature, brand identification, evolution of features, timeframes of manufacture, and more.
Doug Hansen kicked things off Saturday morning with an incredible program on wagon evolution, design, and an overview of vehicle parts.
Glenn Moreland covered a wealth of wagon-making topics in both his presentation and breakout sessions.
Mark and Kim Day at their booth. They brought a multitude of different items from barrels to lariats to canvas.
I always have a good time engaging the audience.
Overall, this was a tremendous time of networking, camaraderie, information sharing, and learning what these old wheels are saying. The breakout sessions included plenty of questions from the crowd with an equally large amount of information shared.
From time to time, I'll pass along more details from the conference but, suffice it to say, this was a major event with strong participation from locations all over the U.S. Personally, I'd like to thank the ACWA as it was a significant step for them to sponsor such a momentous undertaking. Homer Robertson and ACWA President, Scott Tibbets deserve a well-earned tip of the hat for developing this event. Getting the idea off the ground and in the books required the confident backing of the ACWA board. Those efforts could be seen throughout the event as Maribeth Sexton, Becky Conway, Bart Saucier, Jon Pugh, Leon Fischer, Mark Day, the conference center personnel, and so many others worked tirelessly to make the program a success (I apologize to anyone I've left out - there were a lot of boots on the ground!) The gist of it all is that this was a united effort that resulted in unparalleled opportunities.
There were so many photos taken at this event that I'll do another post to share more. Here, our good friends from Kansas, Greg and Joanne Vancoevern, are with my wife, Tonya.
I had the privilege of meeting quite a few folks over the course of the 2-day event. It was a pleasure to get to know so many with a passion for our wheeled past... a special thank you to everyone who was able to attend. Among those I met was Jerry Baird, one of the original founders of the ACWA and a point man helping get the chuck wagon designated as the 'Official Vehicle of Texas.' Jerry not only presented me with a signed copy of his cookbook, "Ribeyes & Cowtales," but he kept me thoroughly entertained with endless stories that clearly define his life. Thank you, Jerry, for the time together! I plan to share more from his cookbook in the near future. Likewise, Cliff Teinert was equally kind in gifting me with a signed copy of his cookbook, "Barbecue, Biscuits & Beans." What an incredible experience we had during the whole time together. There's no way to do the event justice in a single blog post but, hopefully, everyone gets a feel for the quality and magnitude of the event.
I'll mention one last point... I had previously teased that, at the event, we would unveil a special project we've been working on. It's a work that's never been done before but we're about halfway through it. In a nutshell, Homer Robertson had asked me nearly a year ago if I would consider writing a book that profiled both his Mitchell Mountain wagon as well as the Mitchell wagon brand. With roots to the early 1830s, Mitchell billed itself as the oldest western wagon maker in the U.S. The brand survived for well over a century and there is still a segment of it in business today.
Over the decades, we've been extremely fortunate to have saved untold amounts of rare Mitchell materials as well as imagery and information from countless other major wagon brands. After a lot of discussion with Homer, we agreed to open up our Wheels That Won The West® Archives and share a world of unseen and unknown art, history, and insights. However, we haven't stopped there. This book will also include significant brand overviews of more than three dozen of the top wagon makers fueling every segment of the Old West. It's the first step into what may be a series of volumes focused on the most prominent wood wheels used west of the Mississippi River.
The development of this project is only possible through the massive volume of primary source materials in our exclusive archives. Inside these incredibly rare files, there is a literal treasure trove of forgotten facts related to America's most legendary wagon brands. The details open a window into what we believe is the last frontier of Old West studies. In essence, almost everything related to the western expansion of the U.S. has been explored... the cowboys, clothing, weapons, saddles, outlaws, Native Americans, trails, tragedies, terrain, land and gold rushes, railroads, wrecks, and the telegraph. The one area that remains a mystery to most involves the brands that literally drove America westward. Our image-heavy studies of these wood-wheeled wonders are designed to not only present an authoritative view of America's western wheels but help preserve a past that's increasingly disappearing. These inaugural books will present a premium-quality, legacy-laden look into the real world of wagon brands on the frontier.
Contents in the first volume include nearly two-hundred-pages filled with scarce brand history, innovations, advertising, construction designs, overviews of dozens of the most prominent competitors, vast amounts of exclusive imagery, and much more. We're hoping to have these initial books completed before Christmas 2026 but aren't sure of the final delivery date just yet. For the western enthusiast who has everything... this is a must-have volume! We'll keep you posted on the progress here in our blog. In the meantime, if you're interested in a copy, please drop us an email with contact information so we can provide final details when they're available. Due to the custom nature of the project, quantities will be extremely limited and reprints are not expected. They will be prepped and sold on a first-come, first-served basis so, if you're interested, it's recommended that you send us your name and contact info as soon as possible. There's no cost to reserve a copy.
Have a great week and thanks again to all those who were able to attend the Granbury event!
David
P.S. - Tonya and I were able to extend our time in Texas with a visit to Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose. The park was just a short drive from Granbury and we enjoyed getting up close to the age-old tracks in the Paluxy River. This time of year, they're not covered by water and it was truly mind-boggling to follow in the footsteps of prehistoric giants...not entirely different from recognizing and following the tracks of the legendary wagon makers of the West!
Ps. 20:7