[March 08, 2014]      

While the wagon is getting repaired, Abe himself will also have to have some work done. The book he is holding is broken, with the other piece lying in the back of the wagon. His color has faded, so he will get some new paint, and there are a couple of spots that need to be patched up.

The crew of Matthews Construction and David Bentley carefully loaded Abe onto a trailer and will take him to get his makeover.

At the end of the day, the wagon looks a little odd sitting on the ground with no wheels, but it is upright and as level as it can be right now.

In the time that the tourism bureau has owned the world's largest covered wagon, it has seen some adventures, and this is just one more. For those who appreciate the wagon, like Saul and the tourism bureau, they see this as the opening of yet one more chapter in the history of the wagon, a wrinkle in the works that just makes their beloved landmark all the more interesting.

Pictures by Nila Smith