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photo by Eric Johnson
Doug and Penny Brass of Iowa Falls, Iowa turn their wagon onto 610th Avenue (County 19) south of Rose Creek Friday morning. The couple was part of over 20 wagons taking part in the 2009 Friendship Wagon Train raising money for Camp Winnebago for children and adults with developmental disabilities.
PHOTO GALLERY: True pioneer spirit
Friendship Wagon Train benefits camp for disabled
Published Saturday, June 27, 2009
Rose Creek — About 25 horse-drawn wagons rolled into Rose Creek Friday morning, the last stop before reaching their final destination at the Mower County Fairgrounds.
This is the 2009 Friendship Wagon Train, now rolling for the 21st year, and it was nearing the end of its roughly 140-mile, six-day trek from Camp Winnebago, near Caledonia, Minn. — the reason for the journey.
The fundraising trip is organized by John Davis, the wagon master. The goal is to raise money for Camp Winnebago, a camp devoted to children and adults with developmental disabilities.
“Ultimately we’re able to help this camp,” Davis said from the front of his wagon as it and the other wagons and horses rested at a site in Rose Creek. “That’s a rewarding thing in itself.”
The trip this year included an auction Wednesday in Ostrander, and souvenir T-shirts were sold with hats, bandannas, pins and more.
The goal is to reach the $30,000 mark raised last year, but Davis himself admits with the economy like it is, that may be a journey in and of itself.
“Right now, we’ve raised about $20,000 for the week,” Davis said Friday. “There will be some funds that will follow us when this is through. We’ve been up in the 30s.”
While the cause sits in the front, there is the social aspect that draws as well. Many of the scouts accompanying the wagons come from outstate.
“Through the years, a lot of these guys worked with me,” Davis said. “That’s a big thing. It’s a great gathering of friends.”
It’s what draws many of the others to the train as well.
“It’s lots of fun,” Penny Brass said, who was traveling with her husband, Doug. “We’ve met lots of great people from around the country.”
But just like the days some of these wagons were modeled after, it hasn’t been exactly easy in stretches — for instance, the heat wave and storms earlier in the week.
“It could have been a lot cooler,” Brass said.
“There were a lot of hot days,” Davis said. “And humid, and it didn’t cool down at night.”
Fighting through were some of the simple pleasures of the trip.
“I enjoy driving my horses,” Davis’ friend, Mike Dengler, said. “A good horse doesn’t just stand out in the pasture.
“This is a pretty nice thing,” he said. “It’s a good cause and we raise lots of money for Camp Winnebago.”
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