A love of California history and a passion for research becomes
way of life for married couple
Carol Verbeeck and Bruce Horttor know how to have a good
time.
On any given weekend, the pair will put on their best clothes,
hop in their ride and find a place to hang out with friends.
A love of California history and a passion for research becomes way of life for married couple
Carol Verbeeck and Bruce Horttor know how to have a good time.
On any given weekend, the pair will put on their best clothes, hop in their ride and find a place to hang out with friends.
There are, however, a few noteworthy differences between Carol and Bruce and the average married couple – the dresses Carol wears are made of muslin or cotton and generally come down to her ankles, and the bonnet she dons is reminiscent of the type Half-Pint let hang down her back in the “Little House” books. Bruce’s trousers are wool; his black leather boots are worn for work, not play. And the ride, rather than a flashy convertible, is a replica covered wagon, drawn by the couple’s draft horse, Ben, with their English Shepherd, Sadie, sitting shotgun.
Carol and Bruce are docents, volunteering their time at events such as San Juan Bautista’s Early Days celebration where they share their love of history and knowledge about the lives of America’s pioneers.
But their passion has also become a business venture unlike any other, and a way of life neither would want to change.
“We both had an interest in history, and we wanted something we could do as a couple,” Carol said. “For both of us, this has become a wonderful creative opportunity to build things and share our research with others.”
The Morgan Hill couple began volunteering in the 1980s with what is now History San Jose, wearing outfits usually sewn by Carol based on her research of period clothing. Bruce had been driving wagons for quite a while, and drove a stage coach for the closing run of Frontier Village, a small amusement park in San Jose. One of their earliest jobs as volunteers was pulling a buckboard wagon hitched to a draft horse, giving rides to the public.
“It’s a great social environment that gives you a chance to share your research and develop your own interests,” Carol said. “It was through this that we became interested in the history of the Overland Trail.”
The Overland Trail is the history of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party of 1844, the first party to successfully bring wagons over the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
“They crossed two years before the Donner Party, and out of the 50 people who made up the party, all 50 survived, and two babies were born along the way,” Carol said. “They actually opened up the road that is now known as Donner Pass, and eventually settled in the area around Santa Clara. Cupertino, Stevens Creek and even Schallenberger Road are all named for people in the party.”
As their interests deepened, Bruce built a replica covered wagon, based on the type of wagons during this first crossing.
“It started kind of casually. We were already driving horses, so Bruce figured why not go ahead and do a wagon,” Carol said. “We never dreamt it would take off the way it did.”
Carol and Bruce became a popular pair on the volunteer circuit, making trips with their wagon all over California and even into Nevada. They soon found themselves spending more and more time on the road.
“Our ‘real’ jobs, the ones that put beans on the table, so to speak, are as general engineering contractors,” she said. “But now we do that only about half of the year, and the rest of the time we do our school programs.”
At an Early Days event in Santa Clara County 13 years ago, an elementary school teacher approached Bruce and Carol with the idea of bringing their wagon to her class. The children loved it, Carol said, and the success of the trip led to the creation of “California Bound!” an interactive exhibit based on the experiences of the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party. The couple adopts the personas of Sarah and Alan Montgomery, overland pioneers traveling with the party. Students learn how the travelers worked with oxen, supplied their wagons and negotiated the many obstacles they encountered along the way.
“I think we created this wonderful thing, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun to have it just sitting in the front yard as it is to share,” Carol said. “The wagon gives us a great opportunity to tell stories and it was a great creative endeavor. Spending time being artistic is important to me, and this was almost like creating a 3-D art exhibit.”
Carol and Bruce now make dozens of trips to elementary schools throughout May and into the beginning of June; they spend weekends at historical events all over California and Nevada.
“What’s neat is that there is no end to the growth. If you do it right, you’ll never get tired of it, because you can always learn more,” she said. “You might even learn something that refutes an idea that you’ve believed for quite a while. But that’s part of the fun of it. It gives you a chance to follow your passion.”
The couple hopes that their passion inspires others to follow suit – Early Day organizers in San Juan Bautista are always looking for new volunteers, and Carol said it is pretty much the same throughout the state.
“San Juan is very fortunate because they finally have a park interpreter, Nikki Combs, whose forte is education,” she said. “She’s put together an outstanding docent program. And some docents bring their sons and daughters, which is wonderful. We really need families. They help give you a real sense of how it was. And we always need fresh blood.”
In the meantime, Carol and Bruce will continue to spend their weekends and spring months as Sarah and Alan, sharing their research and their love of history with anyone willing to listen.
“Some people like to learn their history by looking at things behind glass cases. That’s passive,” Carol said. “You can’t tell the story of San Juan Bautista in a static display. Its history includes an incredible transition from Native Americans to the mission to early California settlers. California saw it all, and to be able to show that with real people really brings history to life. We have the opportunity to represent our state, our park, our history and it’s pretty amazing.”
For more information about “California Bound!” visit their Web site at www.thecaliforniatrail.com.
