Covered wagon carries congregation to new frontier

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

A wagon much like those that brought pioneers to Timnath now will bring parishioners and the community together to commemorate a milestone in the history of the pioneer church.

The covered wagon painstakingly reproduced by church elders Gene Boling and Russ Skinner will be a vehicle for celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Presbyterian presence in the once-rural farming community.

Established in 1883, the congregation held services in the Fairview School north of town until its impressive church was finished five years later. The greatly expanded church remains the town's most prominent landmark.

The wagon also will represent the church's intent to forge forward like those early pioneers--including possible further expansion--while maintaining its traditions. "They want to bring the past into the future," explained Boling.

The idea for building a covered wagon started out small three years ago and grew into a vision as monumental as the creation that now completely fills Skinner's workshop adjoining the town's former grain elevator.

A master woodworker with a job his brethren would die for as a carpenter for the Platte River Power Authority, Boling said the church originally requested a piece of plywood cut into the shape of a covered wagon.

"It's kind of become the official unofficial symbol of the church," Skinner explained. "It just keeps popping up."

Such a wagon is a prominent element in the memorial stained-glass window crafted by former pastor Paul Moyer.

"I didn't want to be associated with plywood looking like a wagon," Boling, a plainspoken, no-nonsense craftsman, recalled. "I said if you want to do a covered wagon, let's do a real covered wagon."

He soon found out it wasn't as simple as that. First he had to overcome the long odds of finding a matched set of wheels. Boling finally located a set riddled with dry rot that was salvaged from a Wisconsin wagon.

"I tore them apart and completely reworked them," he said.

But Boling got distracted by the intervening marriages of his two children and didn't get back to the project until about a year ago with the anniversary celebration looming. "I decided that would be a great motivator for me to get it done," he said.

That's when Skinner entered the picture. He and Boling proved kindred spirits in their love of woodworking and disgust of dealing with anything metallic.

"We work well together," Skinner summarized in his quiet, direct way. "This is something Gene and I are good at."

"We had no plans. We had nothing," said Boling. "We pretty much just did it on our own."

"A lot of times we didn't have the measurement," Skinner added. Still, he said that the finished new wagon still is within a half inch of actual dimensions of the old ones.

"We wanted to make it the most authentic we could," Boling said. Toward that end, he said, Timnath Woodworks owner Darryl Kimmel gave them full access to his stockpile of old lumber salvaged during demolition of the Fort Collins pickle plant. Boling and Skinner secured additional aged gray lumber and set to work.

They started in earnest in May, working most of the day on Fridays and Saturdays and following church on Sunday. So focused was Boling on finishing, that Skinner sometimes had to expel his partner so Boling could keep a weekly dinner date with his wife, Peggy, at the Charco Broiler. But it's a burden the long-suffering Peggy said she's come to expect and seems to accept with grace and resignation.

The finished project is a magnificent creation composed of a finely fit medley of ash, oak, cypress, fir and redwood. The wagon itself is 12 feet long and the tongue an additional 8 feet. The wagon will not be rigged for horsepower, however. Boling said too much risk was associated with fickle horses so the wagon instead will be hauled by a tractor.

The wagon's diverse composition reflects the collaboration that led to its construction. Other parishioners contributed labor, cash or components according to their ability, including the dreaded metal work.

"It's been really fun for both of us and it's brought people in the church together," Boling said.

"You kind of use your talents to benefit the church," added Skinner.

The wagon will be used for fun and fundraising during the celebration surrounding the congregation's 125th anniversary. Latter-day pioneers can have their photos taken sitting on the back framed by the canvas top. And those feeling clever or lucky can buy tickets enabling them--based on clues provided --to attempt to identify the contents of a locked "jockey box" bolted to the front of the wagon.

Ultimately, Skinner said, the church will receive additional proceeds from the likely sale of the wagon. "There's a much bigger market than I would have expected," he said.

But beyond the fundraising considerations, Skinner said there's a subtle spiritual element to their work in reaching to the wide-ranging congregation as well as the broader community beyond.

"It's about preaching without preaching," he explained.