My History

About me, the author of the book. I am a native Montanan. I still live in Montana and probably always will. The open prairie lands are my home. I am an old west enthusiast. Especially about wagons and horses. When it comes to horses I either want to ride 'em or drive 'em. It doesn't matter as long as it involves a horse. Montana is rich in history of the horse culture from the Native Americans to the cowboys and cattle barons of the past. This part of Montana that I live in is a vast land of prairie ranches and dryland farms. Making it ideal for numerous wagon train clubs to participate in. Going on a wagon train trip over many miles and days, passing through numerous ranches, absorbing the history from th local property owners is a great enjoyment of mine.

I have driven teams and wagons in the thousands of miles. I've enjoyed almost every minute of it. Old cowboys, ranchers and farmers are my favorite kind of people. Those that can remember the horses and wagons of their father or grandfather and want to talk about them are the best. If it is old and western I probably like it.

How did I come to build wagons? I've always had a fascination with the horse and wagon era and most everything related to it. Especially when it came to how a wagon or wagon wheel was built. Always trying to unlock the lost knowledge and techniques of how they were built. Examining and studying each piece as to how it was made and what it did when reconditioning or restoring a wagon. Never missing the opportunity to ask questions of people from that time period about the way of life, how things were done, the way that they lived day to day. All those people are gone now. I feel that I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity with so many of those people to ask and receive the answers to a lot of my questions about the horse and wagon time. I figured that this knowledge of the wagon should be saved on paper before my time is over. Especially when you consider that people like me are now fewer than they were. Not all of what is saved of those people in me will be lost.

Happy wagon training,

Fred Hanson