Continued from page 41
gentlemen, start
your wagons
Topped with canvas, the hundred-year-old
wagons are flare-boxed and their wooden
wheels rimmed with iron. Designed to
carry 150 bushels of grain, they were the
vehicles of choice for Dakota pioneers
because they could be used on the farm
when the family was settled. For the Fort
Seward trek, the wagons are fitted out
with bench seats and passengers take
turns riding up front with the teamster.
The matched teams of horses are welltrained Belgians and Percherons.
The wagons and horses are locally
owned. Delno Kleinknecht (pictured
above), one of the original wagon train
crew and head honcho of the outfit (in
wagon terms, the Ramrod) for the last
43 years, owns five wagons, as well as
the chuckwagon, keeping them and a
couple of teams of Percherons at his farm
outside Pingree. He talks about retiring,
to let the younger folk take over. But his
wagons and horses and, I suspect, his
heart and soul, will always be on the
Fort Seward wagon train. —L.B.
GO WITH CAA
• Hit the 20th-Century Wagon Trail:
relive the road history of the '40s, '50s and
'60s on route 66 by visiting some of the
famous drive's iconic spots. This 15-day,
14-night trip from Chicago to Los Angeles
includes convenient hotel bookings from
DriveNorthAmerica. Priced from u.s.$796.
GOING PL ACES
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