Restored buggy is 100 years old
Staff writer
A century ago, horse-drawn carriages were still widely used in Kansas. They were cheap and could easily be hitched and driven by men, women, and children.
The Carl Hedstrom sons who grew up in the Burdick community northeast of Lincolnville still own a buggy bought by their grandfather, Emil Hedstrom, in 1910.
Sporting new paint and leather seats, the double-seated buggy had its centennial showing this past Labor Day in the Burdick parade. Bruce Hedstrom and his wife, Alona, of rural Lost Springs, and Byron Hedstrom and his wife, Jean, of Mulvane were passengers.
“There is no place like Burdick for a buggy ride, and this buggy has now traveled the streets of Burdick for 100 years,” the announcer said.
Looking back
After the buggy had outlived its usefulness, Emil stored it in a big barn on the farm where it stayed, gathering dust, until the mid-1960s.
Emil’s youngest and only surviving son, 94-year-old Ralph Hedstrom of Rockwall, Texas, still remembers that buggy. He said it had a top, side curtains with windows, and a lap robe.
The buggy was pulled by two Morgan mares named Topsy and Bessie. The family used it to travel to church and nearby towns and to visit relatives.
Ralph said he enjoyed riding in the buggy but never drove it. Fortunately, he could remember no untoward incidents that happened while traveling the dirt roads.
Carl Hedstrom’s sons, Bruce and Byron, remember helping their father remove the buggy from the barn loft to clean and spruce it up as best they could. It soon became a frequent entry in Burdick Labor Day parades including the Burdick Centennial in 1987. Several grand marshals have been escorted in the buggy.
It has also been a hit at family reunions. It has carried generations of family members and has been the backdrop for a great-granddaughter’s wedding.
Since the death of their father, the Hedstrom Buggy, as it is known, has been maintained by the two brothers, Bruce and Byron, along with a younger brother, Bradley of Emporia.
Bruce said it is getting more difficult to find someone who has a dependable team of horses to pull the buggy, so its days as a parade entry may be numbered. Nevertheless, it will be treasured for years to come.
“The buggy is a valuable, precious family heirloom,” Brad said. “I think of all of the memories we have with it and all of the memories that will be created, not only for us but for future generations. I’m glad we had it restored.”