The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

By Erik Sietsema

With discussion of the impending upgrades to the north side of the High School, I found myself wondering where the Big Sandy Pioneers wagon came from and when it was initially installed in the courtyard. An inspection of the wagon itself makes it obvious that it was a working covered wagon at one time.

My research into the wagon's origin began with a series of phone calls to Big Sandy alumni and long time staffers. The universal response was uncertainty. Most off the alumni said that the wagon was installed after they graduated. The staff all commented that it was added before their time. One of the repeated remarks related to a plaque that used to be on the wagon announcing who had donated it.

Having hit a dead end with simply calling locals I know, I turned to the Big Sandy Museum. Traci Rodewald was working when I stopped by to ask for information about the covered wagon. She agreed to help in my search and eventually was able to find a page in the 1969 Big Sandy Schools' yearbook announcing the installation of the wagon in the courtyard. The associated text explained the basics of the story:

"Work was finally completed this year on the covered wagon which was contributed to Big Sandy High School by Mr. Glenn Humphrey last year. The Big Sandy Pep Club financed the improvements which were installed by Mr. Hashley's shop classes. The authentic covered wagon, which is a symbol of our 'Pioneer Spirit,' is a welcomed addition to Big Sandy High School."

With a date and some basic information in hand, I headed to the high school to check the class pictures for 1969 and the surrounding years. I recognized a few names and set out to find someone who could give me a bit of first hand information regarding the shop class' work on the wagon and any other information I could acquire. After talking with a couple of 1969 graduates, I was eventually sent to speak to Ray Courtnage, who recalled working on the wagon in shop class as a student.

Ray told me about the day the shop class finally completed the work on the wagon. "We dragged it around to the entrance to the high school. A bunch of us just picked it up onto the posts." Over the two previous school years' shop class, the wagon was rebuilt and prepared for display. Mr. Courtnage couldn't recount all of the details associated with the wagon repairs, but he was able to recount some of the work, including installing, "New lumber, new varnish or some kind of stain, I don't remember exactly what it was. A new top. We had to make the steel rings to hold the canvas top. We had to redo some wheels, maybe the spokes." Our conversation concluded with a brief recounting of the Humphrey family and suggestions as to how I could find out more about the origin of the wagon before it arrived at the high school.

From there I reached out to Brian Humphrey, who was in Ray's brother's class. He has since moved to California, but I was able to find his information and reach out to him. Brian was friendly and offered all sorts of information on how the wagon made its way to the school.

"My dad was a farmer, and his farm was about five miles outside to Northwest Big Sandy. He had a little five acre plot out there in the middle of his land where he had his machinery, up against the grain bins as well as a number of things like I think an old Model A Ford and some broken down combines. One of the things that was out there was this old conestoga wagon. I have no clue where it came from or where he got it from. My dad was a trader. He would go around to auctions and stuff. He could have traded for it somewhere. All I know is it was out there." Brian explained that he had called his older sister looking for how and why the wagon came to town in the first place. "I think that we we brought it in when the 1963 basketball team won the state championship." The team rode in the wagon in a parade. "I don't know whether it was a Memorial Day Parade, or whether it was just a parade for them for the team. I'm thinking that was the reason we brought it to town. After that, I think we just came back and it just sat outside our house in town for a while." Eventually, the wagon was donated to the school by the Humphrey family. "Mr. Hashley's shop class did a renovation. I think they added the rings for putting the canvas over the top." Brian thought that it may have undergone another renovation later and that it initially sat on gravel before it was finally installed on the posts and the plaque was added indicating that his parents had donated it.

Brain recounted his own, most prominent memory of the wagon's story. "The thing that I remember was bringing it in from the farm, which was like a five mile trip. My dad went out with a pickup and just hooked up to it. I went along, and I think my younger sister. I thought it'd be great fun to ride in this in this old wagon coming in. The thing has wooden spokes, and I think it has a like a metal band that runs around the outside of the wheel to make it stronger. What I wasn't prepared for is every every quarter inch rock that you hit would send a jolt that was just like knocking your fillings out. The only place we could we could sit where we could get away from the jolts was, I think it's called the buckboard. That the seat with a clamshell spring on it. It was a five miles of bone-jarring riding."