ca. Late 1800's
The many commercial wagons varied greatly from one job to the next. There were many different looks and types to the vehicles that could be a produce wagon or cart. A wagon like this one was more likely to have been seen in the late 19th century or the early 20th century. During the horse-drawn era, some vendors would travel to different businesses and neighborhoods to sell and barter their goods. These merchants, like the milkman, the produce man, and the butcher, became part of the neighborhood and had a charm all their own.
During the restoration of this wagon, Betty Sterquell, U.C. Sterquell’s wife, recalled a memory from her childhood in early 1930’s Houston, Texas. Many of the Italian immigrants would use a wagon like this to go early in the morning to the farmer’s market. They would purchase what they needed to add to the gatherings of their own gardens and proceeded to their neighborhood route, “I gotta, today, some tatoes, some a beets, some a beets, some a apples…” As children, Mrs. Sterquell and her siblings would wait for the holidays and with them the strawberries, from which they would make strawberry shortcake or have them with fresh cream. Her mother would also gather produce from her own garden to barter with the produce man and, as a result, the family and he developed a great friendship. This excitement was typical of many neighborhoods.
This wagon was acquired at Hensley’s Aucton in 1989 in Bennington, Kansas. For the restoration, the wagon had to be completely rebuilt. Mr. Sterquell also added the top and all the accessories to make it a produce wagon.