The "Lancaster's 'The Scribbler' Details 'The Gingrich Wagon' Story"

It was an ordinary day.  Reading another of "The Scribbler's" (well-known Lancaster, Pennsylvania's author Jack Brubaker) stories that were in this past week's Lancaster Sunday News.  I have chosen to share with you a story titled "The Gingrich Wagon" which tells the story of a Conestoga Wagon owned by the Gingrich family.  Story began in 1913 in the city of Erie, Pennsylvania when the city of Erie celebrated the centennial of the "War of 1812's Battle of Lake Erie".  Seems they reenacted the journey of a Conestoga wagon carrying gun powder from Wilmington, Delaware to Erie, Pennsylvania before a battle.  The wagon belonged to Amos Gingrich, who happened to operate a stable and later an automobile garage in the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  Since Mr. Gingrich's wagon was an extremely accurate and intact piece of history, it was constantly being used in a variety of displays as well as parades between 1912 and 1932.  It was known by many as a "de facto mascot of Lancaster County."  Actually, Mr. Gingrich's wagon was so historically correct, intact and accurate that it was featured in various parades between the years of 1912 and 1932.  The wagon was used to reenact the travel of a Conestoga wagon that was carrying guns  from Wilmington, Delaware to Erie, Pennsylvania in early July.  The wagon was also featured in other pageants and parades which included a role in Lancaster County's bicentennial in 1929.  Today, the same wagon can be seen on display at the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.