Two English vardos.

Just happened upon this charming scene while driving along a back road near Crewkerne, in Somerset County, England. 

Ron Myhre's Vardo

Back over Thanksgiving I spent a weekend with my family at Port Townsend, center of wood boat building and vardos, among other things, here in the Northwest. This is where Jim Tolpin lives. After visiting the wooden boat center we went for a browse around the town and stumbled upon the eclectic Curator's Eye, a tiny store down in the basement of the Bishop Hotel. Here I met  Ron Myhre, a very warm and outgoing person. He had some beautiful ornate wood carving in progress that caught my eye which, he explained, was to eventually go over the doorway of the vardo that he was building. Wow! An energetic conversation quickly erupted culminating in an invitation to his workshop.

The next day he called, right on time, and we followed him over to his shop. When he opened the door there stood the truly most spectacular piece of craftsmanship I have ever come across. The attention to detail and the care of its execution will stay with me always. Every angle and corner, every piece of hardware, the stained glass, the  mollycroft roof with its ceiling mural, the copper and iron work, and the carvings, were done, either by him, or his artist friends, to the highest standard of craftsmanship. Many of the details and doo-dads were chosen to reflect his Nordic origins (dragons and the like).

We spent two hours at his shop discussing all things wagon, tools, sharpening, and even Primus stoves, of which I'm a huge fan. We finished the morning following him to the Blue Moose restaurant, a local favorite down on the wharf.

Ron Myhre

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Putting a blog of the construction and details together is on Ron's to-do list. I felt reluctant to take too many pictures (don't want to steal any thunder here, that's for sure). What a great trip. Thanks Ron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wagons I have known, Part 2

I came upon this beat up old carcass of a sheepherders wagon back in 2008 while on a trip to Southeast Utah. This was one of the encounters that got me to thinking about building. I liked the simplicity of it and the fact that it was made almost entirely of backyard junk. Although Basque sheepherders were once commonly employed in this region, my guess is that this wagon come to its final resting place at a cattle ranch line camp. The metal roofing was attached using drywall corner bead and the end walls were made of plywood. The interior is sparsely furnished with makeshift cabinet and bed, now home to packrats and no-doubt rattlesnakes; hence the absence of interior photos.

Very cool chuck wagon

    I chanced upon this beautiful authentic chuck wagon while on a recent trip through central Oregon this summer.

 

Wagons I have known, part 1

Progress has pretty much ground to a halt due to the pesky business of actually having to work for a living,  tending 2500 square feet of vegetable garden/deer fodder, raising kids, chickens, and the duties that come with five acres of rapidly growing woodland. I have, however, managed to acquire a few items for the wagon. These include a Primus stove, neat old folding table, and potbelly stove, along with some cool brass hardware which I purchased during a recent trip to England.  I grew up there, and visited the site of a vardo that we used to play in as kids. It was one of those old green box-types and the memory of it has always stuck with me. I mentioned this to my mom and she recalled a photograph of that wagon in the family shoe-box. Here it is:

This picture was taken in the late 1940s. The site is located near the village of Stoford, Somerset. That's my aunt. When we inherited the vardo as a playground it had begun to seriously weather and deteriorate. It was probably used by vagrants for many years, but still had beds, a table and an enamel stove, yellow I think. In 1972 I took some photos as part of a art school photo essay. All that was left at that time where the wheels and chassis.