Come and Get It!!

The printed photograph is not something we see much of anymore. In this digital age I feel like I am one of the last ones still printing out their pictures and putting them in a photo album. I know there are others out there but it is becoming rarer and rarer. Since the late 1800s when photography was developed, photographs have been an important snapshot in history and until the development of digital photography the printed photograph was the most common medium of documentation. Just as in my last article, the Museum has a great photograph from the Virgil and Thelma Linam Collection that captures one moment in history and thanks to Thelma’s diligent documentation we know what year and where the photo was taken as well as most of the men in it, including one of the horses. This photo, taken in 1906 or 1907, was near Seminole, Texas and shows 11 men and 2 horses gathered around a chuckwagon.

The idea of a mobile kitchen has been around for centuries but the invention of the chuckwagon has been attributed to Charles Goodnight in 1866. To feed his men on the long trail drive led by himself and Oliver Loving, Goodnight reworked an army surplus Studebaker wagon, customizing it to his specifications (http://lonehand.com/chuckwagon_central.htm). He placed a box on the back of the wagon where the hinged lid could come down and form a table for the cook. Opening the box exposed a series of shelves and drawers which would help with storing the tools used for cooking the “chuck,” or food. Along with the box in the wagon, a water barrel would be stored on the side of the wagon and could hold two days worth of water. The chuckwagon not only carried food, cooking supplies and utensils, many times it also carried bed rolls and personal effects. The chuckwagon became a cowboy’s dining spot as well as their social and recreational gathering place. The cook, many times called “cookie,” not only cooked but was also expected to act as barber, doctor, banker, and mediator of disturbances (http://www.phudpucker.com/bluebonn/chuckwagon.htm). The chuckwagon and cook, therefore, were and remain to this day a very important part of a cowboy’s team.

You will have many chances in the near future to see and learn about chuckwagons. This photo from the Virgil and Thelma Linam Webber Collection is on display in the South Gallery of the Western Heritage Museum Complex and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame. Also in the Museum is a chuckwagon with an animatronic cowboy who can explain more about what the chuckwagon is and the food the cowboys ate. If you’re interested in seeing a chuckwagon in action come out to the NMJC campus September 15th an 16th for the Staked Plains Roundup where there will be a chuckwagon demonstrating cooking. You can even purchase a lunch ticket for an authentic chuckwagon meal. Finally, keep your eyes on the Museum website for more information on the Centennial Cattle Drive that will be happening in 2012. The trail drive will be from outside Hobbs up to Carlsbad. There will be music, fellowship, and, of course, chuckwagons. More information on that will be posted on our website soon (www.westernheritagemuseumcomplex.com).