Dl2—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 8,1982 The “wagon works that Gruber built” worth a smillion BY SHEILA MILLER READING It was a majoi undertaking for the Army Corps ol Engineers back in the bicentennial year of 1976, as government engineers dissected the nearly 100- year-old Gruber Wagon Works timber-framed factory and moved it 5 miles to its new home at the Berks County Heritage Center This mammoth task ot preserving part of the county’s and nation’s history cost the U S taxpayers nearly $1 million, but expense was worth every penny Today, young and old alike can marvel at the most complete “museum” of its kind—the Gruber family’s workshop which turned out nearly 100 horsedrawn wagons a year in its heyday What prompted the relocation ot the wagon works was the con struction of Blue Marsh Lake, a flood control and water supply dam located on the Tulpehocken Creek in Berks County The project, which flooded acres and acres of land in a region from Bernville to State Hill, inundated the original site where the wagon works stood near the small town of Mt Pleasant. One person who remembers almost every detail ot the wagon work’s move which began in December 1976 and was completed by the following spring is 80-year old John Gruber, grandson of the original founder Franklin H. Gruber John recalls how the Corps cut the wagon works into four parts in order to prepare it for transit, and boxed 19,000 tools and machinery parts that date back to the 1890 s with great care As his family’s landmark and trademark began its slow over-the-road journey to its new home, which caused Rt 183 to Heading to be closed to traffic for two half-days, John witnessed an end to an area that probably only he knows best As the last surviving male in the Gruber family tree, John’s memories of the old wagon works are filled with remarkable detail Although half his life was spent away from the factory, John’s vivid recollection of every aspect of the wagon works is based on summers spent helping out since he was two years old. ’I grew up in the wagon works by Gruber employees who toiled for 10-hour days, six days each week, during the busy winter season when most of the famous wagons were made. Despite the roaring fires needed to heat and work the iron for the wheels and wagon parts, the blacksmith shop was one of the coldest wings in the wagon works, he says. and over the years 1 learned to run every machine in the shop,” reminisces the retired school teacher. Although he wasn’t born when grandfather Franklin started the business, John learned the wagon work’s history from his father Jacob H Gruber, who was the wheelnght in the wagon making assembly line The first Grubei wagon was made by Franklin Gruber in 187» It took shape, not in the historic wagon works, but on a farm about l*/« miles away The two-story shed that sheltered the original creation was eventually incorporated into the later Gruber wagon works factory which was built from scratch along Licking Creek near Mt. Pleasant between 1882 and 1883. By 1910, the wagon works was complete, and looked just like it does today. When asked just what made a Gruber wagon special, John replies with deep family pride "workmanship.” "Gruber wagons were built ot the best materials better than the other competitiors,” he boasts. Adding credence to his claim, John points out that back at the turn ot the century, there were lots ot wagon works throughout the area, but Gruber’s was the last "sur vivor” and actually stayed in business until 1970 under the management ot John’s cousin Frank Gruber The Gruber wagons were sturdy, and yet beautiful m their own rugged way Made tor hard work on the farm, Gruber wagons were designed for one to six-horse hit ches and could haul I*4 to b-ton loads. Dark green bodies and red wheels were ornately decorated with white striping, all applied by a painter’s steady hand. And each wagon was numbered and coded, and bore it’s creator’s ' signature ” During its prune years between 1919 and 1920, the wagon works employed 18 to 20 men, including Franklin's four sons. Adam, the oldest, was a painter, John W was Che business manager, Jacob H , John’s father, was the wheelnght, and George P. was the blacksmith. The fifth and youngest son, Franklin L left Berks County to become a minister at the Lutheran seminary in Chicago This is the Gruber Wagon Works as it looked Engineers in 1975 and moved 5 miles to the from 1910-1976 at its original location near county's Heritage Center in order to preserve Mt. Pleasant, Berks County. The 100-year-old the most complete wagon works of its kind structure was purchased by the Army Corps of from inundation by Blue March Lake. The Gruber wagons, which could be thought ot a the predecessor of today’s trucks, were inexpensive by today’s standards but a pretty penny by 1900 standards. Back then, one ot the average sized wagons cost about $lOO. And that was just for the standard model a plain box. Any extras, like a hay flat, cost extra between $4O and $OO more These were the "Cadillac” ot taim wagons and were priced accordingly Working 10-hour days tor bet ween 15 and 25 cents an hour, the Gruber employees turned out about 100 wagons a year. But it look years to complete one wagon. Just the oak, hickory, and ash timbers that were used in the construction ot each wagon were cured tor 10 years before ever seeing a plane At any one time, there would be enough parts and pieces in the works to build an additional 100 wagons But, with the invention ot the automobile, the orders tor Gruber wagons and sleds began to slow The gas engine that powered some ot the wagon-makuig machines, like the jointer” and "tire shrinker,” was on the brink ot facing a fate similar to the turbine and stream engine it had replaced. For a short while, the wagon works shifted over to manufac turing wooden truck bodies, but they too quickly became obsolete as metal bodies took their place on the automotive assembly line. Luckily, the Grubers continued to create their four-wheeled masterpieces on a limited basis Today, these wagons and their forebears have become collector’s items (Turn to Page 013) Holding the model of a Gruber wagon that he “made every particle of,” John explains that what made the life-size wagons so special was “workmanship.” Pictured below, the grandson of the founder Franklin H. Gruber poses next to a heavy-duty Gruber wagon made in 1916 for Wagner and Emmerick of Womelsdorf,-Berks County. The wagon which was bought back by Frank Gruber in 1969 bears an iden tifying serial number on the body and one on the wagon. v. wl ■»«
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers