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American children primarily used their wagons for play. A Swiss reader recalls that his wagon was a more practical, household item used both for play as well as chores.
Tom tells us about the family wagon. "These wagons were common on farms and homes, to transport what ever had to be collected. In this case, it looks like I had some small wood in the wagon. I recall transporting trash, vegetable, dirt, etc. There is another photograph of our wagon in my HBC section. There my sister and I are loading snow onto the wagon.
The long beam is the handle by which the wagon was pulled. You see at the front, there is a cross-piece on which one can pull. This beam could be moved up and down and when moving left or right, moved the front-wheels to steer the wagon. There was also a brake that could be activated and would apply a brake-shoe on the rear wheels. It is visible on the rear wheel.
The way I was using the wagon in this instant, was by sitting in the front of the wagon, and holding the steering-beam between my legs to steer the wagon. As this road went downhill, the wagon accelerated and I got a "free" ride.
By the way, next to the road is a typical cow from the Valais. These cows are very agile in the mountains and in the spring and fall there are always cow-fighting competitions, which are very popular. These cow-fights are very harmless. The stronger cow, just pushes the weaker one out of the ring, and therefore wins.
These cows do not make the Emmental-cheese with the holes that Americans call Swiss chese. They make the Raclette-cheese."
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