 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||
|
Craftmaster News - August 2004 Over 150 years ago, settlers who emigrated from Europe and headed west across the United States needed sturdy, weather-resistant furniture to store their possessions through their arduous journeys. Craftsmen in the Kansas City and St. Louis area made camelback trunks and sold them to the greenhorns as they crossed the Great Plains. Today, there is only one known true camelback trunk maker left in America. Hamilton “Hank” Ragan, of Fort Collins, Colorado, stumbled upon this lost art after going through unfortunate circumstance in his life. Ragan was forced to retire from his longtime profession as a mechanic in an auto body shop after being diagnosed with lymphoma. Ragan was feeling “low” and “moped around” for several months when his son brought him an old trunk to repair. Ragan stated it was then that “everything changed”. Ragan stated that the trunk was beyond repair, so he built his son a new trunk. A new passion began and Ragan spent months doing research at the library to find out all he could about old trunks. It the took Ragan over 6 months of trial and error to build a design he was happy with, one that accurately resembled the old camelback trunks used by the settlers. In fact, Ragan works hard to make sure his trunks are built even sturdier than the antique ones used. Whereas the original trunks were made to last about 100 years, Ragan says his should last about 200-250 years. Ragan’s research came up with three main types of trunks: flattop, roundtop, or camelback. Ragan stated anyone can build a flattop or roundtop, but the camelback design is more distinct and challenging. These trunks were originally made camelback shaped to help with the shedding of water. The lids have to be steamed, sloped and carefully tapered to form the shape of the camel’s back. Ragan has a “secretive” method for this unique design of the camelback trunk lids that he wants to keep in his family. Ragan makes all three types of trunks using his own constructions methods. The trunks are made out of Eastern white pine, oak, or cherry wood. All of the trunks are lined with cedar and the lids are lined with special padding. The outside of the trunks are designed with leather overstraps, brass retainers, special brass hardware, lock and reinforced black tin on all the edges. Ragan states no two trunks are made identical. Some are custom designed with drawers, shelves, or trays in them. He creates all different sizes, the largest of which measures 40” long, 24” wide, and 30” high and holds over 10 cubic feet of possessions. What began as a hobby soon turned into a therapeutic activity that also brings in supplemental income. Ragan makes about on trunk a week and sells up to 30 a year. Ragan credits his faith in God to the joys he’s found in reinventing this lost art form. |
|
|
