thedrifter
06-14-09, 10:32 AM
The wagon maker
Marshalltown man handy into his 80s
By ANDREW POTTER, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
POSTED: June 14, 2009
A hobby that began just to keep him busy has led Charles Brady to produce more than 100 miniature wagons out of his home shop in Marshalltown.
He said the activity has also turned into a money making venture as he sells each one for about $500 mostly at craft fairs in Wisconsin.
The calming nature of the work and not the money is the key motivating factor for the 84-year-old Brady.
"It's relaxing to me," he said. "I get away from everything else."
He gets the wood from local home improvement stores and works out of his garage and shop on his property on Jackson Street. He got his start crafting lawn decorations and eventually moved on to making wagons seven years ago. Brady said he has always liked working with his hands.
"I've built stuff my whole life," he said. "I just got to keep busy."
Born in Minnesota, Brady grew up in Mason City and spent time with both the U.S. Army and Marines in the 1940s and at one time he was stationed in the South Pacific. He and his wife Vicki moved to Marshalltown 23 years ago.
His wagons are made just for show and are non-working except one he made a few years ago. The one that is usable he made in 2006 and was special ordered by a woman in Wisconsin who wanted a working wagon.
"She wanted it to be able to be pulled by a team of St. Bernards in a parade," Brady said.
He noted it has been advised by his doctor and Vicki that he slow down his work. He was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and agrees he has to take it easy.
He said he is down to his final two wagons to make and has one big goal to make his biggest project ever - a replica stagecoach - before he steps away from the shop for good.
"I've got my intentions to build a stagecoach and I'm going to do it," he said
---
Contact Andrew Potter at 641-753-6611 or apotter@timesrepublican.com
Ellie
Marshalltown man handy into his 80s
By ANDREW POTTER, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
POSTED: June 14, 2009
A hobby that began just to keep him busy has led Charles Brady to produce more than 100 miniature wagons out of his home shop in Marshalltown.
He said the activity has also turned into a money making venture as he sells each one for about $500 mostly at craft fairs in Wisconsin.
The calming nature of the work and not the money is the key motivating factor for the 84-year-old Brady.
"It's relaxing to me," he said. "I get away from everything else."
He gets the wood from local home improvement stores and works out of his garage and shop on his property on Jackson Street. He got his start crafting lawn decorations and eventually moved on to making wagons seven years ago. Brady said he has always liked working with his hands.
"I've built stuff my whole life," he said. "I just got to keep busy."
Born in Minnesota, Brady grew up in Mason City and spent time with both the U.S. Army and Marines in the 1940s and at one time he was stationed in the South Pacific. He and his wife Vicki moved to Marshalltown 23 years ago.
His wagons are made just for show and are non-working except one he made a few years ago. The one that is usable he made in 2006 and was special ordered by a woman in Wisconsin who wanted a working wagon.
"She wanted it to be able to be pulled by a team of St. Bernards in a parade," Brady said.
He noted it has been advised by his doctor and Vicki that he slow down his work. He was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's and agrees he has to take it easy.
He said he is down to his final two wagons to make and has one big goal to make his biggest project ever - a replica stagecoach - before he steps away from the shop for good.
"I've got my intentions to build a stagecoach and I'm going to do it," he said
---
Contact Andrew Potter at 641-753-6611 or apotter@timesrepublican.com
Ellie