Pollock Pines Wagon Train

Friday, June 12^th                                     

^{Jeanne Harper}                                                        

^{Jeanne in Wagon Train Ensemble}

If anyone had told me how emotional my reaction would be to the historical vision of wagon after wagon drawn by majestic draft horses klip-klopping proudly down the Pony Express Trail against the backdrop of the Sierra sky, towering pines, and the white peaks of Tahoe far in the background, I would have smiled politely and thought “how silly.”

On June 12, 2009, emotions ran exactly that high and not just from me.  The riders on horseback, the drivers on wagons, and the 1,000 people in attendance exploded with excitement as those thirteen wagons (one of which was purchased by Pollock Pines and carried several children from Pollock Pines), accompanied by so many single horses and other carriages of the 1850s, turned the corner at Sly Park and proceeded westward down Pony Express.  The captivating image held all in awe, both from the perspective of the those on the Wagon Train upon seeing the entire community out to greet them, and from the on-lookers seeing (some for the first time) the reality of these history-making wagons and the giant horses that pulled them on their westward ho journey.  For me, the apex was in mingling with the wagons and their drivers, speaking to the riders on horses, and feeling the shared enthusiasm, overwhelming and spontaneous joy, and sense of being a part of the history of those wagons of yore in 2009.   One rider, Jennifer, told me in choked up starts and stops with tears streaming down both of our faces that her grandparents had started the wagon train 60 years ago.   As she glanced towards the crystal blue sky, she told me of their first journey and how when she turned the corner from Sly Park to Pony Express and saw all of us out there on the streets waiting for them, she was so filled with gratitude and emotion….and at long last felt that the “wagons had come back home at last.”

The Pollock Pines community, just like the equestrian teams with the Wagon Train, was up at the crack of dawn preparing a flapjack breakfast for all at the local fire station.  Soon businesses began to arrive to set up booths to advertise and promote their businesses in the Business Showcase.  Entertainment preparations were already underway when the Dennis Skinner Band arrived, along with a host of dancing troupes – line dancing, square dancing, folk dancing, and just dancing-dancing.  Pollock Pines’ students’ art work displaying historical images of the 1850’s were presented on store-front windows, much to the delight of the townsfolk, the students, and their parents who cast votes for their favorite scene.  The winners of the Student Wagon Train Art Contest were:  1^st Place:  Mr. Armstrong’s Class - Pinewood Elementary), 2^nd Place:  Mrs. West’s Class (Arianna Pizzuti, Taylor Gear, and Bianca Salmeri)  - Sierra Ridge Middle School) and 3^rd Place:  The Pollock Pines Boys and Girls’ Club.  During the weeks preceding the arrival of the wagons, wagon train lottery boxes were posted inside businesses.  The purpose of the lottery boxes was to allow Pollock Pines children the free opportunity to ride for a brief time on the Wagon Train.  Ninety-one children vied for twenty-four seats.  The lucky winners showed up Friday morning raring to go, dressed as if they had been doing this all of their lives.  From bonnets to prairie dresses to cowboy boots and hats and, of course, slick and shiny belt buckles – all were in evidence that day.  And the children were dressed up, too!

Although this event was spearheaded by CEDAPP, it quickly became a multi-organizational effort, co-sponsored by the Pollock Pines-Camino Rotary Club, the Dogwood Garden Club, El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department and STARS, local Fire Station #17, Pollock Pines Elementary School District, Supervisor Ray Nutting, Hiway 50, and many local businesses such as A Helping Hand, ZGroup - RE/MAX Gold, Safeway, and U-Turn for Christ.   Almost everything needed was donated - time, talent and treasure.   There was no beginning budget, no financial assistance from anywhere.  Pollock Pines, in unselfish, historically motivated unity, pulled together to create a memorable event for the Wagon Train, for our community residents and businesses, but most of all for our children for whom the west was settled by those gregarious, stout-hearted, brave early settlers of this region of the westward ho movement.

The Pollock Pines Wagon            The ReMAX Mascot                          The Wagon Train Arriving