Mike’s Gypsy Wagon

Friday, September 28, 2012Saturday, December 7, 2013 ~ George Crawford ~ 10 Comments

Mike is finishing up his remarkable vardo in the great white north. He included a mollycroft in the roof which not only looks cool but should add a lot of light and headroom. The front storage is accessible from the outside like a sheepherder and it will have an enormous bay window in the front. As it comes along I hope he’ll write up more about the design and construction of the wagon. With this wagon and Jack’s build last year, I think I’ll add a page to the header bar for “other vardos” so that they are easy to find on the blog.

Enjoy! Hopefully more to come…

Oregon Basques

Friday, September 28, 2012Friday, February 16, 2018 ~ George Crawford ~ Leave a comment

Here’s a link to a short article about the Basques in Oregon from the Oregon Encyclopedia. I’m just in it for the wagon photos of course.

Growing Up on the Range

Wednesday, September 26, 2012Saturday, December 7, 2013 ~ George Crawford ~ 3 Comments

A great story I read years ago about being raised in a family of six in a sheep camp measuring about 7 x 8′! (I think that’s the floor space). I recently relocated the article in Mother Earth News.

sheepcamplayout — Nice layout sketch of a sheep camp.

Here’s an excerpt:

“The canvas-covered sheep wagon was roughly about seven feet wide by eight feet long. On the front end a door opened out of the middle and you stepped down onto the wagon tongue and thence to the ground. From the inside looking out, the stove was on the left of the door. On the right was a small wash stand with several wooden drawers for storage of linens, towels and socks. A bucket of water and washbasin were on the oil cloth covered top and a small mirror hung above the basin for shaving. Soap, toothbrush, razor and essentials rested on top of the stand when in location or were stowed in a drawer when moving.”