The teamsters and riders of the Friendship Wagon Train are coming through your area! They will be taking their annual week-long trip through Southeastern Minnesota, raising funds for children and adults with developmental disabilities who attend Camp Winnebago. Camp Winnebago, located near Caledonia, runs several one-week camps for these special people to share in outdoor activities that most of us take for granted.
Many of the volunteers of the 2008 Friendship Wagon Train for Camp Winnebago will be traveling across the countryside in wagons pulled by horses or mules, while others will be riding in a saddle. The public is invited to come out to see and visit with them during the week of June 21 – June 28, 2008. On Friday, June 20, members will assemble in a hayfield located just off the Frontage Road (behind Subway and Market Place) in Byron. The wagon train will leave on its journey at 8 a.m. on Saturday, June 21. The wagon train will follow the route below:
Saturday, June 21—Byron to Olmsted County History Center (lunch) to Gamehaven Boy Scout Reservation (located on Co Rd 1 southeast of Rochester) for overnight camp.
Sunday, June 22—Gamehaven Boy Scout Reservation to Pleasant Grove (lunch) to the Lee farm in rural Racine/near Sumner Center for overnight camp.
Monday, June 23—Lee farm to Wykoff (lunch) to Preston (camping at Fillmore County Fairgrounds).
Tuesday, June 24— Preston to Whalan (lunch) to Peterson for overnight camp.
Wednesday, June 25—Peterson to Rushford (break) to Vinegar Ridge (lunch) to Houston (camping at the Bunkhouse—Silver Creek Ranch).
Thursday, June 26—Houston to the Burroughs farm (lunch) to Caledonia (camping at the Houston County Fairgrounds).
Friday, June 27—Caledonia to the Maynard Welsher farm (lunch) to Camp Winnebago.
Saturday, June 28—Final ceremony at Camp Winnebago to present all donations to Rande Gustafson, Director of Camp Winnebago.
Meals along the route will be prepared by several organizations in the communities that the Wagon Train is passing through—Lions Clubs, churches, 4H clubs, Cattleman’s Association, local individuals and businesses.
On Tuesday, June 24, at the overnight camp in Peterson, the Friendship Wagon Train will be holding an auction, with all proceeds being donated to Camp Winnebago. The public is invited.
100 percent of the funds raised by the Friendship Wagon Train will be donated to Camp Winnebago on June 28. Last year the group raised over $30,000 during the week’s journey. They hope to have a successful fundraiser again this year. Individual, business, and group donations are accepted all along the route.
Feel free to come out to meet the Wagon Train participants when they pass through your area. Souvenir T-shirts, hats, suspenders, pins, and more will be available from the Wagon Train’s Peddler Wagon. For more information, contact John Davis, Wagon Master, at 507-365-8064 before June 19, 2008.
|
