I spent part of my birthday weekend in Wisconsin. When previously touring the Wesley W. Jung Carriage Museum, we were told about the carriage days event in August, which coincided with my birthday weekend. The event was interesting – the drivers compete for ribbons and come decked out in their finest. It was not easy to capture a good photo of the carriages in motion, and when they were still, they were all grouped together. It was great to see these vintage vehicles in motion, to hear the creak of the wood and leather as they moved over the grass.
The event included a horse-drawn carriage ride around the grounds to the event circle, the historic Wade House Stagecoach Hotel, the blacksmith shop and saw mill. Things were a little disorganized, but it was still a great day to tour and see interesting historical attractions. The hotel tour was a little long, so we skipped around to take photos and left early. It’s definitely worthwhile to visit both the museum and the surrounding property.
After that we headed to Galloway House and Village in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. What a beautiful house!
There were not many people around, so we were able to take our time. I spied this interesting lamp in the parlor.
Just like the Chrysolite lamps I made for the Haunted Heritage bathroom (I left off the reflectors for mine).
There are a lot of surrounding buildings you can tour (self-guided). What was interesting to me were the antique items intended for actual handling by guests, something that is rather rare. Of course, the main attraction for me was their old mail wagon.
It’s in rather rough shape, but it was great to be able to see inside and get close.
The sign on it reads:
This 1921 horse drawn mail buggy was used to deliver mail for 7 years by Mr. Frank Brodzeller.
This was a 38-mile route in rural Lomira, Dodge County, Wisconsin and served 165 families.
In late 1927, after traveling 5,794 miles using 4 different horses, Brodzeller gave way to the automobile and retired his horse and buggy.
After 39 years and 7 months, 400,000 plus miles, 4 horses and 20 automobiles, Brodzeller retired. A safe driving award was given to him along with an excellent service award by a Lomira Citizen group.
Brodzeller then, with a borrowed horse, used this mail buggy once again to deliver his last mail to Lomira Route #1. There were many of his friends waiting for the mail, to bid this final farewell. All relived the early days of 1921.
This buggy was later donated by Brodzeller to the Galloway Carriage House Museum.
There is so much more than these two highlights, and I highly recommend a visit if you like history and antiques even in the slightest.
