In the beginning............

I started a blog a couple of years ago, and the first entry was about what to consider when building a chuck box for a 19th century mule drawn farm wagon.  I thought it was pretty cute.  Well, I didn't have anyone look at it, like forever, so eventually I quit looking at in and consequently I lost track of it.

 I have been doing the "chuck wagon" thing for about fifteen years.  You might ask, "what is a "chuck wagon" thing.  Well, in my case, "it" got started  when I attended a chuck wagon competition in Glencoe, New Mexico and was completely captivated with all that was going on.  Linda, my wife, and I enjoyed the outdoor setting, and I especially loved all of the accoutrements within the setting.  I had purchased meal tickets to eat with one of the wagons that just happened to belong to Richard Farnsworth, the actor.  He had a crew that I came to know (later) consisting of a now local merchant, Bud Reno, and others.  They served up a pretty darn good meal, and I was being slowly drawn into this display of western heritage.  I knew that I had a lot of what was utilized on a chuck wagon because of the hoarding over the years of things that belonged to my grandfather, father, mother, relatives and such.  I looked at this like it was a  living working mobile museum that displayed so many things and activities.....that I was pretty much hooked.  I think I said to myself "I can do this," but I knew that, alone, it would be an impossible undertaking. What competing requires in a chuck wagon competition is a "team"  to prepare usually five dishes to be judged. Additionally the wagon and camp are judged for authenticity.  With this in mind I felt I might, mind you, might...be able to enlist the help of my long time friend Skip Clark to embark on this adventure with me.  I felt the two of us had other things we did together such as building and driving dune buggies, playing music, and probably some other things that have long since been forgotten.  I knew, for sure, Linda wasn't interested in this line of  "work" so I told Skip about the experience at Glencoe and shared pictures with him  A year later, his wife Patty and Linda and myself attended the same event in the same location, with meal tickets in hand, with the idea in mind to see if Skip would be as excited about it as I was the year before.  After quite some time looking around and me taking what seemed like hundreds of pictures, we were sitting on hay bales having our lunch at the Palo Duro wagon of Jim Shirley when I asked Skip, "What do you think? Can we do this"? His response was "We can do this".  Now this is the way I remember it but Skip may tell a different story. 

After I returned home I spent hours upon hours looking at specifics of the pictures I had taken while Skip did research on various libraries around the state so see what old chuck wagon pictures existed.  I also spent a lot of time on the phone with John Wolf, wagon builder from New Mexico.  He gave me innumerable pointers and assistance in getting started.  John was won of the first chuck wagon competition organizers and helped to write many of the rules that exist today.  The die had been cast. Now it was time to embark upon finding a wagon and getting it competition ready.  Also there was the small item of cooking.....Ah yes, cooking, we would have to cook some 40-50 meals and prepare the five entry items for the judges and this must be all done for the judges and public by 11:30 am or noon.  I have had experience cooking at home using cast iron pots on the stove but not Dutch ovens. I figured a little common sense goes a long way. I did find that common sense only goes so far then you need to know what the heck you are doing, to say nothing about recipes that will be used.  

I discovered that Bobby Newton did a newspaper that revolved about chuck wagons, cooking, music, western vendors etc., so I obtained a recent addition and low and behold there was a somewhat obscure picture of someone named Eddie Sandoval cooking at a chuck wagon.  Nay, it couldn't be the guy I ran around with at Sul Ross College.  That would be to much of a coincidence.  After all, I had not seen him, at that time, in over thirty years.  I called Bobby Newton and asked if he knew this guy Eddie.  Bobby was certainly helpful giving me his number etc., and told me that indeed he went to school at Sul Ross. 

You have to understand that every time Eddie and I would call each other over the phone he would do a low growl and I would do the same.  It was something that he did in the cafeteria when a girl would walk by.  He would do the low deep growl then a very realistic bark, thus scaring the "lost" freshmen.  Well after all this time I called Eddie and a very professional person on the line at Tarrant College answered and I barked at him.....he returned the bark and after thirty years we were reunited.

This blog will have no-telling-what on it.  I have a few stories that I have written that relate to the chuck wagon and some that are on the peripheral of the subject.  Maybe some of you will enjoy them.  Linda and I are also writing our second book called Forts, Farbs, and Phantoms.  The first book was/is Rails, Robbers, and Wraiths. We thought we would do a little blogging and now and then plug in some of the stories to see if they gain any interest on the part of the readers.  More about them later.

The first blog I am going to write about is something that I have been doing for a number of years with my friend Jamie Cardwell.  After I got my chuck wagon going I started doing the catering by myself and went a separate direction than the one Jamie was/is doing.  He specifically does BBQ catering and I do the same sort of thing only I do it utilizing the chuck wagon in the style of the 1880's.  I even have a 1927 Model TT Ford that I turned into a chuck wagon that I also cater with.  But I digress, the first blog involves a catering job for  Box R Outfitters out of Cross Plains, Texas.  The outfitter, Rusty Reed hired us to do a job down close to the Rio Grande.  There were a few hiccups in doing the job and here is the account of that adventure.....well, it will actually begin on my next post.  I am trying to figure out how often to do this posting business, so bear with me a while till I get the hang of it.