The Wagon
By Harold Graham
 A wagon sits unused in the mule barn at the estate of Thomas Irish Doolittle. During the lifetime of Thomas (1853-1936), the wagon was the primary service vehicle for farm families and was used to haul virtually everything. While the Doolittle’s could afford a buggy or vintage automobile for Sunday outings or a trip to town, most farm families used the wagon for all such occasions.
There are still a few old-timers around who recall hitching a pair of mules to the wagon on Sunday morning, of setting up straight-backed chairs into the wagon bed for the family members to sit on, and of trying to hustle everyone to the church before someone else parked their team under your favorite shade tree.
Yours truly can remember a particular experience at Crossroads Baptist Church in 1945. A revival was being held that week and our wagon arrived just as the pianist struck a bad note on the piano. The church windows were open on that hot July day and that bad note could be heard a half-mile away. The mule team, half-way up the steep hill leading to the church, spooked and tumbled yours truly out of the back of the wagon some fifteen feet or more, head-over-heels, down the drive. Some way to start a revival!
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