The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Gary Hanson has always been handy with wood. Making fabulous wood projects his whole life. He especially likes working on old west projects. Gary is the father of Paul Hanson and Keith Hanson. He made this incredible wagon along with six oxen pulling the wagon and a mule following behind the wagon. The building process took many hours from start to finish. Gary displayed it in his backyard in Arizona and every year he would take it back inside to restore it, before placing back in his yard for another year. The upkeep was getting harder and harder every year and Gary wanted to keep the display in the family so a trip to Chinook was in order. However, struggling with a place to display it, Keith visited with his brother and sister-in-law, Paul and Lorrie Hanson about donating it to the Big Sandy High School. Paul and Lorrie's kids have went there and their granddaughter goes there and their daughter-in-law is a teacher. With Keith having ties through the newspaper it seemed to be the perfect fit at the school.

While the wagon was being transported to Chinook and then to Big Sandy High School it was damaged a little. Elijah Wagoner a sophomore at Big Sandy High School took on the task of cleaning and fixing the damaged wagon to get it ready for display. It was a bigger job then he thought and was impressed with the wooden animals and wagon.

Brad Moore, Superintendent of Big Sandy High School, said, "I think it is really cool. It fits into the traditional look of Big Sandy." The wagon's current display area is only temporary, but they wanted it up before the Big Sandy vs Chinook basketball game. "We are still discussing and experimenting where to put it. We want to find the best place to display it. This summer after we paint we'll put it in its final display area. We're talking about putting it into a plexiglass display box to protect it. Thank you Hanson's for the beautiful display."