Brownington, Vt.
“We were just trying to re-create the image of doing that and give a big nod to history,” said Peggy Day Gibson, director of the Old Stone House Museum in Brownington. The Orleans County Grammar School, which Alexander Twilight, the first African-American to graduate from an American college, founded and taught at, was moved on Monday by a hydraulic-powered carriage, though the 46 oxen, broken into teams of two in two lines, did contribute force to move the building through its third-of-a-mile uphill journey.
The oxen teams were provided mostly by 4-H kids from across the Twin States who show oxen at 4-H shows throughout the summer. Amy and Mike Ferris’ two children, Amanda and Joey, both had teams participate in the event.
“They both really liked it,” Amy Ferris said. “They had a lot of fun, they met a lot of new people, they got to learn about a lot of different things.”
Joey, 10, whose oxen are named Half and Nelson after his love of wrestling, has had an oxen team for three years. Amanda, 13, has had a team, named Yogi and Bear, for two. They live at the family’s Braintree, Vt., farm. In the leadup to the event, the siblings had practiced hooking their animals together and pulling tires at the farm.
In addition to being part of something they had never seen before, the pull was an opportunity for the Ferris children to meet peers who also are interested in oxen.
“They got to meet people from around the state that they wouldn’t normally meet,” Ferris said.
The oxen and their owners — known as teamsters — began gathering last Sunday in Brownington. Families were invited to camp on the fields surrounding the museum, and meals were provided for them.
The pull was over a year in the making, Gibson said. She began attending state fairs last year to gauge interest. While many adult teamsters were booked for the season, she was drawn to the 4-H tents, where she observed obstacle course events and was impressed by how well the kids could direct oxen and “what beautiful animals they were.”
“The enthusiasm was there,” Gibson said.
While in the process of gathering participants, the museum had to develop the infrastructure to support so many animals. This included building a 150-foot tie-up rail with partitions for each team, covered with five 40-foot-long tents. Water tanks and wagons were borrowed from local farmers, who also donated hay to feed the teams.
The oxen were hooked together for the first time last Sunday as a trial to figure out the best order for the beasts. More experienced teamsters were mingled among those with less experience. The next day, the oxen were hooked up with “jingle bobs” — steel triangles custom-made by blacksmiths associated with the museum that allowed the teams to be connected.
“It’s just not normal to hook this many animals in a line,” said Stephen Allen, of West Burke, Vt., who coordinated the oxen during the move. “That’s the biggest hitch I’ve ever done anything with.”
It took about two hours to move the building, Gibson said. The teamsters walked alongside their oxen while Allen lead the line up front.
“They’re all trained,” Allen said. “They knew what they were there for.”
About 2,500 people turned out to watch the event, Gibson said.
“There were a lot of people there, and a lot of people that traveled long distances, which took me by surprise,” Ferris said.
The original plan had been to take down the tie-up rail after the building was moved, but now the museum plans to leave it up and invite the oxen and teamsters back next August for another event.
“It was so thrilling to watch all of those oxen hooked together and working together,” Gibson said. “Everybody loved it and next year, when they all come back, hopefully we can chain them all together and have them pull things.”
Allen, who had never participated in a building pull before described it in three words:
“It was awesome,” he said. “I’m sure the 4-H kids will remember it for life.”
Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
