Going Buggy 2012

ZAHS, FOUNTAIN, MILLER, ROPP, GRIER, YODER

Posted By: Mistina Christner (email)
Date: 7/10/2018 at 11:54:46

Source: Kalona News 11/15/2012

Going Buggy
By Tim Groff

In 2007 Michael Zahs began an adventure that ended up a carriage ride through Kalona last week. It began with a buggy, long abandoned and smashed by a barn.
"Grandpa and Grandma Fountain lived on the farm until 1957 and Grandpa never drove a car," said Zahs of his great-grandparents, George and Anna Fountain who lived on a family farm in Sharon Center. "He drove a buggy, which was parked in a shed south of the house, I am guessing the last time he used it was about 70 years ago."
Omer Fountain (George Fountain's grandson) owned the farm after Grandpa Fountain's death. And after Omer's death in 2007, his wife Ruth and son Vernon gave the buggy to Michael Zahs that fall.
But Zahs couldn't just back his pickup truck into the barn and take the buggy out.
"A storm had taken the building down where the carriage was stored," Zahs recounted. " The buggy was under a building up a very difficult lane."
Late in November 2007 with a massive snowstorm looming, Zahs went to work.
"Taking the building off the buggy was going to take too long for the time available before the storm," said Zahs. "I dug under the side of the building and was able to get the buggy out. I got it loaded, moved, and inside before the snow came."
The buggy was a mess.
In 2008 Ephraim Miller rebuilt the wheels replacing the spokes and fellows but was able to keep the original wood hulls.
As the buggy sat in his barn, Zahs began some conversations with some of his Amish friends in rural Kalona: Daniel Miller, Nathan L. Miller, and Elson Ropp.
Time passed until this summer when Zahs spent some time studying and riding early automobiles, including a 1911 Stanley Steamer.
"I knew I could never have a car like that, but I should restore the buggy," said Zahs. "I decided to see if it could be done in time to give my mother and my wife rides on their birthdays in November."
His mother Elaine, now resides at the Pleasantview Home in Kalona.
Zahs, who has discovered that he has limited buggy building skills of his own, relied on his friends in rural Kalona to get the project done.
"Nathan and Elson were wonderful," said Zahs. "They helped me do what I could, even though it probably would have been easier for them to do it all. I sanded and wire-brushed, sanded and wire-brushed. I found out then when I grow up that I may not want to sand buggy wheels for a living. I sanded three days on one wheel. I helped take things apart, the metal pieces were sandblasted and I primed them."
One of the buggy's small pieces of trim was missing and a replacement piece of 1/4 inch red was needed.
"Buggy parts catalogues didn't have 1/4" reed. I found some in dried flower arrangements so I tried the florist and hobby stores, no luck," said Zahs. "I couldn't find any, but word got around I was looking for reed. Becky Grier called me and said she could get it with her basket supplies.
Wow, the reed found me. She ordered it and it was exactly like what was on the 120-140-year-old buggy."
After some debate about the paint color to be applied to the restored buggy, Zahs decided to choose what he thought might be close to the original color.
"Nathan and Elson said black. Andy Miller, a buggy restorer in Bloomfield said of course black," said Zahs. "Very obviously the box and the wood parts on the gear were blue."
"In removing what remained of the old paint, some places were definitely blue with no black layer and some places were black with no blue layer. I went against advice of people much smarter than me and decided to paint the box blue and the gear and wheels black."
Finding the right sheen for the paint in this restoration project wasn't easy either.
"Today, buggies are painted very high gloss enamel. That did not seem right for this carriage. My great-grandparents were not high gloss people, at least when I knew them," said Zahs. "Flat paint didn't seem right either. I liked satin finish, halfway between flat and high gloss."
After looking around for the exact right colors, Zahs located what he needed locally: one can from Washington, two cans each from Yotty's and Gambles in Kalona.
"Some had to be special ordered," said Zahs. "I expected there would be parts that would be hard to find in the restoration. I never thought it would be paint."
After four layers of paint the buggy was upholstered by Elson.
Another restoration challenge presented itself as the dilapidated yoke and tongue of the original buggy were beyond repair.
"The originals were held together with bailing wire," said Zahs. But those were the only pieces of wookworking that required replacing.
As the due-date for completion drew near, Zahs began to watch the weather.
"The ride honoring my mother's 88th birthday and my wife's birthday was to be early but November weather is too unpredictable to wait to the actual dates. Nathan finished the buggy on November 8. So the ride was on November 9," said Zahs.
One piece remained to be found; no horse.
"I have no horses and pulling the carriage behind my pickup is not the same," said Zahs.
David Miller recommended Howard Yoder for a team and he was agreeable. The team even got new shoes for the ride.
Zahs said he put Mary Miller in charge of weather for the day and she did a good job. November 9 was a perfectly sunny autumn day.