The 46th annual Fort Seward Wagon Train got started with a registration and welcome Sunday, prior to the weeklong settler experience kickoff on Monday morning.
Around 150 participants from 16 states and three countries will fill 10 wagons, including volunteer riders, drivers, cooks, medics and entertainers who will see the group through 68 miles of trails, river crossings and living history.
“This is a nice-size group - about what we wanted,” said Mary Ann Kaiser, a wagon train outrider from Streeter.
The 68-mile run will end as part of a Carrington parade this year.
The challenges to hosting large groups today are with finding places that still make wagon parts, and enough experienced people to drive the trains.
“We have an excellent group of teamsters,” Kaiser said.
There are also horse drivers and medical emergency squads. A firebuilder and trail cook is starting his 35th year with the train, while others have been from around the Midwest to help with the convoy for more than two decades.
Some of the guests are experienced adventurers while more of them have never camped a day in their life, she said. They sign up for many reasons.
“A lot of people don’t really know what to expect,” Kaiser said. “It’s not an easy thing to do and we make it as authentic as we can.”
Most of the feedback is that the trip is a great way of looking for the history of what our forefathers experienced, she added. A big part of the experience is teaching the history of the pioneers and North Dakota.
In past years Kaiser recalls a couple renewing their wedding vows on the trail. She remembers an 86-year-old woman who walked much of the 86-mile trip as a bucket-list item to earn the nickname “Superwoman.”
Something about this experience is that the participants inevitably encounter a situation where they need to respond in the same way the settlers would have, Kaiser said. Sharing the responsibilities and dealing with the unexpected are something appreciated in hindsight.
During one trip the chuck wagon tipped over and everyone gathered around and made suggestions on how to get it back upright, she said. They worked as a group and got the wagon upright.
The kids come as individuals and learn a lot of responsibility along the way, Kaiser added. They learn what it means to be responsible and to have people depending on them.
“They see each other as strangers that first evening, and by the end of the week some are leaving as best friends and keep in touch for years,” Kaiser said.
Tim and Denise Keiser, of Peoria, Ill., brought their two sons, Torence, 11, and Tayshauna, 9.
“We were not sure what to expect,” Tim said. “Their mom wanted them to get away from all of their electronics and the friends.”
“I think they’ll wind up liking it,” Denise said
Colton Krenz, 14, of Bismarck, is taking part in his second wagon train. He enjoys mixing with people from different places and learning how the pioneers went about their daily lives.
“I enjoy spending time with nature,” Krenz said. “It’s just really fun to me.”
Krenz will have chores including the games. He also runs picket lines that are stakes to tie off horses when a wagon isn’t nearby. If it’s not done right a horse might get loose and you’ll be up at 4 a.m. looking for it, he said.
Peter and Sarah Bridgewater, of Stratford Upon Avon, England, brought their son, George, 19, and Grace, 18, to experience a little of what life was like on the prairie for the settler-immigrants in the 19th century.
“I think to actually experience some of the hardships that the original settlers got through will be a good experience,” Sarah said.
“I am looking forward to the river crossing,” Peter added.
Vicki Pelton, of Redwood City, Calif., said that as a computer programmer living in Silicon Valley, she is looking forward to a summer in the outdoors at parks and places from Oklahoma to Canada. The wagon train is the first stop.
“I like the period costume as a nice balance between authenticity and practicality,” she said. “There are no electronics, no radios, and no cellphones (with some allowances), which I think is great.”
Most of all, Pelton said she looks forward to getting to know her wagon family, and then the different people she will be assigned to complete chores with each evening.
“That is a great way to be able to meet and work with different people,” she said.
Five women who got to know one another in a church group decided that getting together for the wagon train was a good way to get together after drifting apart. They came from Illinois and Iowa and said they like camping and meeting new people.
Annie Almstedt, of Columbus, Ohio, brought three of her four children. She said they are old enough now to appreciate the experience and she values the idea of learning how people had to be good neighbors and depend on one another.
“I thought this American heritage thing would be nice for them to experience even if in a limited way,” she said. “I just want them to see what the settlers all went through and kind of experience that in a one-week commitment.”
St. Louis resident Dyan McGuire brought her daughter Maggie, 7, for a living history experience. It was ideal without the “soft” learning of tablets or other visual aids, she said.
“We’ve been planning this for a while,” Dyan said. “It’s been fun getting the costumes together and talking about what’s going to happen.”
Sun reporter Tom LaVenture can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by email at
tlaventure@jamestownsun.com
