ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607290111
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO 1. "THIS VIEW WAS
SOURCE: JONATHAN HUNLEY STAFF WRITER
FRANKLIN A. ZIRKLE is a detective.
But he doesn't wear an old raincoat like Columbo. And he doesn't smoke a pipe like Sherlock Holmes.
And OK, Zirkle, 75, doesn't really deal with high crimes or misdemeanors.
He walks the wagon beat, you might say.
Zirkle has spent the past few years searching library archives, the Internet, museums, old newspapers and antique shops for any sign of Conestoga wagons - large covered wagons that carried freight across the country mostly between the 1750s and 1850s. These wagons were used before the more well-known versions that hauled pioneers across the frontier.
Although Conestogas don't usually pop up in everyday conversation, words and expressions related to them do. The term "mind your Ps and Qs," for instance, began with the wagons' raucous drivers who drank a lot. Marking a slate behind the bar, innkeepers kept track of the alcohol that the wagoners drank. Separate columns were marked "P" for pints and "Q" for quarts.
Zirkle's quest for information began in December 1989, when he got to thinking about a wagon that his family owned when he was growing up on a farm near New Market.
He remembered playing with the toolbox on the wagon. And he recalled having to move the Conestoga out of the way to get to the granary on the farm.
"It was kind of heavy," he said. "It took a couple of us to do it."
Zirkle, who has lived in Roanoke since 1968, decided to write a short article about the wagon. He gathered information about the origin of such wagons - the first one is believed to have been built in the mid-1700s in the town of Conestoga in southeastern Pennsylvania - and he included his own recollections.
He sent copies of the article to his siblings and the Roanoke City Library.
He also sent a photocopy of a picture of himself at age 8 peeking out from under the covering of the family's Conestoga. The picture, which also shows Zirkle's sister and brother, appeared in the April 1929 issue of National Geographic magazine.
In March 1992, Ron Vineyard, master of Colonial Williamsburg's wheelwright shop, was at the Roanoke library doing research when he came across Zirkle's article.
He read it, saw the picture, and realized that Zirkle's wagon was part of Colonial Williamsburg's collection.
The ornate heart and tulip pattern on the wagon's toolbox gave it away.
"Those toolboxes are unique in their ironwork," he said. "That caught my eye immediately."
A librarian knew Zirkle and gave Vineyard his phone number. Vineyard called Zirkle from the library and the two met the same day. They looked at photographs of the wagon. Together, they pieced together the wagon's history.
Apparently, Zirkle's mother had sold the wagon in 1939. It appeared in the World's Fair in New York that year. In 1958, Colonial Williamsburg bought the wagon from Sleepy Hollow Restorations in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Soon after meeting Vineyard, Zirkle went to Williamsburg and examined the Conestoga for himself. He even aided researchers in Colonial Williamsburg.
Vineyard had thought the toolbox was permanently shut. But because Zirkle used to play with it, he knew how to open it. On the front of the box is a metal heart. Zirkle told Vineyard to move it to the right half an inch. Vineyard did, and the box opened.
The wheelwright shop is making a replica of Zirkle's wagon. Vineyard said Colonial Williamsburg's policy on antiques like the wagon is to make replicas that visitors can view, while keeping the originals tucked away where they can be protected from wear and tear.
Since being reintroduced to Conestoga culture, Zirkle has gathered information about the wagons bit by bit, here and there. He studies historical documents and books others have written about Conestogas.
And he learns more every day.
Zirkle also has found five Virginia-made wagons - one of them intact.
"The rest of them are mainly beds," Zirkle said.
The wheels and gears were the most important parts of the wagon. The beds could be hoisted completely off the wheels, so the wheel frame could be used for a variety of jobs. That's why Conestoga beds are often found by themselves.
"The whole thing could be taken apart," Zirkle said.
In Virginia, he visited the sites where the wagons were discovered - in places such as Lexington and Shawsville - to verify their authenticity.
Zirkle also has found more than 25 wagons made elsewhere, including Pennsylvania.
He has found the wagons in a variety of ways. People call or write him and sometimes send pictures of wagons they think might be Conestogas.
He documents his "finds," as well as rumors of possible sightings, in a monthly newsletter he started in 1992: the "Consortium of Conestoga Conservators of Virginia."
Zirkle, who retired last October from a real-estate appraising business, sends out 15 copies of the newsletter, which go to Vineyard, various Virginia historical societies, his brothers and sisters, and other wagon buffs.
The Conestoga connoisseur creates the newsletter in his basement, where a sign propped against the wall tells the tale best: "And the search continues
It does. He is reading microfilm from an old Lynchburg newspaper looking for mentions or photos of the wagons. He started with papers from 1809 and has made it to 1823.
His basement also houses a computer, a photocopier, file cabinets, desks, numerous books and photocopies - all which help in his Conestoga research.
Zirkle, who also is interested in history, genealogy and Model T Fords, says the wagons are his favorite subject - at least "right now."
He has spoken to elementary school groups for the past three years about the wagons.
And his eyes light up when he talks about the Conestogas he's discovered.
"I tell you what - it's exciting to find one," he said.
Anyone with information about Conestogas can call Zirkle at 989-0984, write him at 3580 Meadowlark Road S.W., Roanoke 24018 or e-mail him at wagontracker@juno.com
SOME FACTS ABOUT CONESTOGAS
Virginia Conestogas are about 91/2 to 111/2 feet long and less than 4 feet wide. They have sloping beds that resemble the design of a boat. This prevented cargo from shifting during travel.
A wagon's back wheels are usually 61 inches in diameter and have 14 spokes. Front wheels can be anywhere from 37 to 48 inches in diameter. They have 12 spokes.
The Conestoga was the forerunner of the tractor-trailer. It could hold about five tons of cargo.
Conestogas had many uses, from transporting bridal parties to acting as hearses.
It would have taken two or three men nine months to make a Conestoga. The wagons were entirely handmade.
Four to eight horses pulled the wagon, depending on the load.
Each horse wore bells, which begot the phrase, "I'll be there with bells on." The bells are said to have been the price for helping a wayward wagon get safely back on the road.
A Conestoga cost $250; $1,200 with a team of six horses. Depending on its condition, a wagon may now be worth as much as $10,OOO.
Conestogas were driven or pulled from the left side while traveling on the right side of the road. Conestoga drivers also passed on the left. These customs probably were passed on when Americans took to the automobile.
Conestoga drivers, or wagoners, were known as wild characters who liked to sing, dance and drink a lot. They smoked long, thin cigars they called stogies - short for Conestoga.
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