Preface: Visiting the 1st annual Lititz Historical Foundation's Lititz Spring Into History Festival. My story two days ago told of the how and why of the festival while today's story will tell you about meeting one of my former students I hadn't seen in many years.
It was an ordinary day. I stood watching a young man make a tool using the forge and pounding the tool into shape on his anvil. Brought back memories of working on the anvil when I was a student at Millersville State Teachers College in Millersville, Pennsylvania.
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| Pamphlet by Arthur Reist. |
As he finished I noticed on the table next to him was display that featured a pamphlet titled, "Conestoga wagon - Masterpiece of the Blacksmith" which was written by Arthur J. Reist. Recognized the name immediately as being one of my students when I taught Industrial Arts at Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, Pennsylvania. Art, as I knew him, had a twin brother by the name of Al and there was no way I could tell them apart. They both had good mechanical skills which I found were due to growing up on one of Lancaster county's farms. They were good in metalworking, woodworking and fast learners in the graphic arts shop. They were the perfect students every teacher always wished they could have. They were self-disciplined as well as very courteous to all their teachers. As you might say in Lancaster County language...they were brought up right! After graduation I lost track of them until 2007 when my father died and my mother, with some nudging, decided it best she remain at nearby Moravian Manor Retirement Community. I spent a few months sorting through two floors of furniture, dishes, clothing and memories and after talks with mom, decided what to do with everything. Quite a few items were in need of being sold at auction and I checked out the phone book and realized that Al Reist was an auctioneer. Could it be the same Al Reist I knew? After a call, and an hour of reminiscing, we set up an appointment for him to visit with me at my mom's house. He took everything and offered me a set price for it all. Knowing the caliber of individual he was, I knew it was a fair price. We had a good time talking about his time in high school and his family now. Found out he was a neighbor of mine, living two blocks from my home in the Foxshire development in Lancaster. Also found that he played the bagpipes. A few months later, our friends Jere and Sue, who live in State College, PA, traveled with us to Alexandria, Virginia for a long weekend. While there we saw a parade that featured a bagpipe band from Lancaster. Sure enough, there was Al playing in the band. Jere had taught with me at Manheim Township and we both had Art and Al and when Al passed us along the parade route we both yelled to him. As he walked past playing he gave us a quick wave and a big smile. We did meet him after the parade for a short time.
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| Former student Al Reist and LDub. |
Well, today when I found that his twin brother Art was a few steps away, I just had to make a visit with him. I walked toward him and removed my sunglasses. I said, "Al, it's Larry Woods!" "Mr. Woods!", he replied. In no time we were reliving the time he was in high school. I caught up on his life after he graduated from Millersville University and taking over his father's farm on Eden Road in Manheim Township as well as a bit about his family, who were all in Lititz today helping with the demonstrations. He told me of the two oxen he has that he uses from time to time to pull the Conestoga Wagon that I am looking at with him. He's still the same person he was in high school; polite, soft spoken and thanking me over and over for teaching him in high school. We talked about the wagon we stood next to and how all the parts of the wagon were made as well as their function. He is very knowledgeable and I found I was now the student listening to my teacher tell me about the workings of the Conestoga wagon. We both had a great time reminiscing and I promised him to visit his farm sometime with my wife to see his Belgiam horses. I left Al Reist today knowing that my choice of becoming a teacher was one of the best choices I had ever made. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| The interior of the Conestoga Wagon. |
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| The tool chest on the side of the wagon. Notice the amount of blacksmithing needed on the Conestoga Wagon. |
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| The harness the horse or ox would wear to pull the Conestoga Wagon. |
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| On the top of the harness was this brass set of bells used to warm other wagons of their presence. The saying, "Arriving with bells on" came from this configuration of bells. |
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| The horses or ox were attached using these hitches |
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| A jack used in case a wheel would be damaged. |
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| The front wheel would wear more rounded as it led the way. Here you can see the rounding of the metal due to hitting rocks, etc. in the road. |
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| The metal on the rear wheel is more flat, since it is following in the same path made by the front wheel. |
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| The undercarriage. Notice the height necessary to pass over rough terrain. |
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| There are two hooks with pins to hold the rear gate in place. Again, made by the blacksmith. |
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| Final photo showing the entirety of the wagon as well as the two friends. |
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