**A Passion Project: Meals on Wheels and Wagons**

As I sat down to discuss my latest project with my friend, it became clear that this was more than just a conversation about wagons. It's a passion project that has been years in the making, and one that brings together two of my favorite things: food trucks and cast iron cookware.

I'm talking, of course, about Meals on Wheels - a program that delivers hot meals to those in need across the United States. And what better way to deliver these meals than with a trusty old wagon? My friend had called me up and told me that I needed another wagon, one that would be perfect for our latest project. Now, I'm not just talking about any old wagon - I'm talking about a custom-built, Weber-style wagon that's been crafted with care and attention to detail.

**The Search for the Perfect Wagon**

So, my friend had found me this beautiful, rock-solid Newton wagon, and it was love at first sight. I mean, who wouldn't want a wagon that's stamped with its maker's logo? It's like having a piece of history right there on the side. And, as we dug deeper into the wagon's features, it became clear that this was no ordinary wagon. From the ground up, my friend had added all sorts of goodies - including cast iron cookware, which is perfect for cooking up hearty meals on the go.

But what really caught my eye was the attention to detail. This wagon has been built with care and precision, every inch of it. It's like a work of art, really. And, as we discussed, I've had the pleasure of working with many wagons over the years - 170, to be exact. But there's something special about this one.

**A Passion for Cooking**

Growing up on a ranch has always been a big part of my life, and it's no surprise that cooking is a passion of mine. There's something special about sitting down to a hot meal, cooked up by your own two hands. And, when you're working with cast iron cookware, it's like the food just comes alive. It's like magic, really.

So, my friend and I spent hours chatting about wagons, cooking, and all sorts of other things. We talked about our favorite recipes, and how to get the most out of your cast iron cookware. And, as we sat there, swapping stories and laughter, it became clear that this was more than just a conversation - it was a connection.

**The Travel Wagon**

As we wrapped up our conversation, my friend told me that I wouldn't be keeping this wagon for myself. No, instead, he had plans to use it as a travel wagon for one of our upcoming projects. It seems that our original wagon, built by Stud Baker, would be the trusty sidekick on our adventures across the United States.

But what's exciting is that we'll be visiting some amazing ranches and farms along the way, all while cooking up delicious meals on this beautiful wagon. And, as I mentioned earlier, my friend had found us a new wagon to use in New Mexico - one that will stay on location there, but will still bring our Meals on Wheels program to those who need it most.

**A Big Thank You**

As we said our goodbyes and parted ways, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the opportunity to share my passion with someone as knowledgeable and passionate about wagons as my friend. And, of course, I had to thank him for introducing me to this beautiful wagon - one that will be sure to bring joy and nourishment to those on our Meals on Wheels route.

It's experiences like these that remind me why I love what I do. Whether it's cooking up a storm or chatting with friends about wagons, every moment is an opportunity to learn and grow. And, as we head off into the sunset, I'm excited to see where this new project will take us - and all the delicious meals that will come from it.

**A Little Side Story**

I have to share one more story with you - a funny little anecdote about renting out my wagon to a bridal fashion show. Yes, you read that right! Someone had rented out my trusty old wagon for their big day, and they were looking to display some Western-inspired Bridal Fashion. Long story short, as I was delivering the wagon, the bride's team was getting everything ready, and one of the ladies reached up to grab a drawer - only to have a mouse jump out!

Needless to say, we ended up negotiating a price for the wagon on the spot, and it turned out that they were willing to pay $1,000 for it. And as I walked away from the deal with my wallet a little heavier, I couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all.

**The Poster**

I have to say, one of the things that really caught my eye when talking to my friend was the poster behind him. It's a beautiful image of our Meals on Wheels wagon, proudly displayed in its new home - and it really made me feel proud to be a part of this project.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwell we got the trailer all hooked up y'all come with me we're F to go get the new wagon Hey Brother snuck snuck up on you did I what do you know what's happening over my hand on my wallet we're good to go good to see brother good to see you oh yeah I'm James Doyle I've got doy wagon.com I uh started wagons back in 1997 3,000 wagons later here we are and having fun where did you find this this wagon I got out of Missouri out of the barn as you can see it's got motor oil on it it's got Lin seat oil on it you don't even want to look what's in the box after the rats and CBS have been in there for 50 years good solid Wheels that's what we want to start with but we but this has to be transitioned you don't this won't this won't work you can see mold right here on this wagon being in a wet Barn for years and you'll end up with this type of look right here oh yeah in this building this is a Peter shutler this wagon looked just like that wagon a month ago and now now look at it we we've spent I've got an 85y old man that SS 8 hours a day on these wagons to take that Crut off James how long does it take like we start there and we bring it in here sand blasting sanding cleaning what's that take to to get to this point you're talking a week to 10 days but when it goes out of here I kind of want to make sure it's it's Road worthy uh we've just we just we just got to keep every part that you find seats the metal work ropes it ain't like you can go to Home Depot or low they don't they don't have Auto Zone they ain't going to have none of this are they this is all 150 year old stuff yeah and when you need it it's it's just Priceless this is this is our this is our baby right here hours and hours and hours of standing with the we run these 200-gallon tanks all the time yeah this is where everything becomes old you know spring sometimes we got to take and make stuff look a little older we we've got acid and we've got things to to bring out uh a rust colored look on the wagons we're going to have to have a wagon or people want wagon but if they all come with a wagon sheet wagon fly stretches out you got to have something to hold it up and that's what we call the fly poles and uh okay you know this is a lot of work you go you go I go to Western Nebraska and we get the tree strips and we cut these heeder poles out and we come out of the tree strip bloody cuz to find the good ones are in there deep y or we'll find a tree strip that's been burned and we'll go and and cut the cut them out and then the work starts you also got a wild assortment of wildlife here oh I just love all the aluminum statues these are all castal I've been doing this for 18 years selling these cast these look good in front of a chuck wagon or horse on dis a waget on display with these and you don't have to feed them we go from cedar bark to Cedar clean yes this has all been hand hand HED and it's like this with a draw knife and it's been sanded it's not done yet now this will be sit here for 3 to 6 months with their 500 lb of weight there to make sure they stay stra straight when they dry and then we'll sand them again stain them put pins in the in I can come in here and I can get a double barrel shotgun I can get a rifle Scabbard I can get my enamel wear uh cantens coffee pots uh you know James one of the biggest questions I get is people are always asking where can I find a coffee pot I know where you can find one now I travel from Indiana to Wyoming and hit every antique store in the world and every flea market and that's what it takes because Target and Walmart are not selling them that's right I have about 10 Pickers across the United States so what about this old canteen well this piece of paper was in this canteen and and it says here I was told by JC McCoy this came from his grandfather who was released from the p camp after the Civil War uh in 1864 he was 81 years at the time I purchased this in 1992 so this was in that canteen that is a treasure my friend y yep but we've had we covered the canteen obviously but that's the kind of stuff that goes on my Chuck Wagon yeah now you you'd appreciate this this girl right here look at this bags look at this bags I mean there is a wagon yes it is I mean got this out of a museum look at the hubs on that wagon that's all original I'm not making a chuck wagon out of this you don't touch something like this no you know James I I have a studa baker but what do you think are the top wagons that are out there the wagon makers that are true authentic what what do you think they were well today I say buy buy the wagon that's in the greatest shape you know if you could get a studa baker obviously that draws draws attention Peter shutler buil a heck of a wagon Weber is probably my favorite wagon Newton wagon company I buy that Lumber saw a sawmill in East Texas I sand it I paint it black I sand it then I stain and oil it to get that look and then we do all the blacksmithing and weld all this but this is this is this is this is neat I have a lot of fun building something like this I'd like to have one of them put my mother-in-law in well okay yeah you could now you got a buggy well this is a John Deere V I'm talking turn of the centry Mint Condition I cannot not buy something like this when I see it now this one's going to a 65,000 acre ranch next week in Nebraska now kit what we have here is a cupboard wagon and we have a jail wagon yeah both of these are going to the Dallas Botanical Gardens in 2 weeks I've seen a lot of wagons in 38 years and I've seen different wheel width okay different country have a different width what are they running over i' I've heard all kinds of Story one another thing people go why is that wagon wheel got so much play in it it goes back and forth and the grease this is cone shape the grease will be forced back up every time that wheel moves and also when that wheel hits a rock it doesn't knock your front teeth out there's a little bit of give there yeah uh I've been told that the wide wheel wagons that you'll see East mostly back East will not climb up a rock like a narrow wheel wagon will climb up up I set a container and a half of wagons in these aluminum animals to whole South Korea I've sent two containers of wagons to Australia I have wagons in London I've had like four of them Chuck Wagons in Canada uh so yeah I got one Chuck Wagon in Mexico so it's it's a worldwide yeah you know that old George Jones songs where he said he's putting peanuts in his coke before it was cool you know well you've been doing this before it was cool have you seen a big Resurgence in the last like 10 years 5 years well I put peanuts in my Coke too I I I seriously I did grow up on a ranch in West Nebraska but and the early 2000 Chuck Wagons went crazy and then about 2012 13 they died now since we've had the movies come out uh you know Yellowstone and and bass Reeves there's a resurgent in Western stuff everywhere and uh I guess and mostly Chuck Wagons because I've I've had an uptick in Chuck Wagons you you see a wagon in a movie people see one you know going down the trail had all this stuff on it uh I've been on ranches pulling a wagon you know we we didn't have all of this stuff but we had some of this stuff so walk me through your what was pretty basic on a wagon you think an old cook had to have right here well if you're thinking you're going 50 or 100 or 200 miles with cattle you're going to have to have some Pioneer tool okay to cook with and you know I don't think you want to stick them all in the box of the wagon and then try to dig them out with tarps and guns and everything and so you're going to have to have a shovel it's out here on the exterior rope Dinner Bell pick you're going to use a pick and you and water uh a wagon Jack to W Jack Up Your Wagon if you want to throw a wheel in the river or creek or a lake to soak it up there it is it's out of the way I'm going to have a gun I don't want to wear my canteen around my neck so I'll stick the dog on thing on the side of my box or see you need a block and tackle maybe to string up a steer or pull your wagon out of out of the mud uh up on top here you can keep your ammunition flow or whatever you in that metal box out of the rain there's there's an ax and everybody washes clothes right you got the wash rope you've got it the toolbox jockey box toolbx and put stuff in CU you're going to need stuff in this one for example or fly your your steaks for your fly they're out of the way they're not bouncing around the wagon a double-headed ax is sitting here to chop firewood or a bow saw over here to saw your firewood and your coffee grinder uh you'll use it probably every day a Parker 1876 cast iron coffee grinder you're going to be very full inside here with all the stuff you need to feed the uh the crew the crew with okay um metal top will work off down here of course you're going to you're going to carry quite a bit of cast iron pull that Rod out if you would can't here in a minute all right just another another area to to work with work on and and there's part of your fly stuff right there and you can put cast iron in there so all this has got to got to carry the it's a modern-day food truck is what it is Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels yep you know I called you told you I was needing a a second wagon well one we're sort of keeping as a film wagon my old stud bger we've got it in a trailer but I need one to put out there uh where we're going to be in New Mexico and that way I wouldn't have to jock you back and forth and I told you I said hey I had to see sort of a custom built wagon you found me one did you yeah yeah yeah yeah oh yeah since you won't Pony up for something like this being just a native Oklahoma we had to over here to this wagon here which is it's ready to go if we can get there um oh I like this this this is a rock solid Newton wagon that's a Weber ain't it oh Weber excuse Weber I've got Newton out here on my mind but yeah it's it's Weber it's actually kind of unusual having it stamped right here on the on on this piece of metal Weber uh there's a lot you can do to this oh yeah you can add a whole lot of stuff to this wagon is a is a beautiful wagon it is put together well you have done a great job know you go from this to what we just looked at over here you can do it all I mean from from the ground up brother to here to there I don't know a better person that I'd get to work on one or have one from well when you've done 170 of them you start figuring it out a little bit now I still make mistakes every day cuz every wagon's different yeah but uh I love to do this this is this is it my passion I grew up on a ranch you know just just what I like yeah you good people uh you'll see of that a lot on YouTube videos okay great great all right so it'll be but thank you again my friend you bet thank you enjoy it well we got that new Weber wagon home we did got it here in the garage and uh some of you asking to yourself why do we have two wagons well we're pretty excited we've started this new project where our original Wagon that stud Baker is going to be the travel wagon uh there will be a lot of more episodes I can't tell you really what's going on so much yet but it'll be on a lot of different ranches across the United States and we're excited for that so stay tuned there'll be some updates there but I needed one that would come out here to New Mexico yall remember our house burnt that we had in New Mexico but we found another one so we're going to be doing some filming with this one out here it'll stay on location here but it'll be cooler maybe I won't be sweating quite so much uh but just thank y'all so much for following us down the trail we appreciate each and every one of you but it is with honor pride and privilege that I tip my hat to all the service men and women and all the veterans that have keep the flag of flying over this Old Wagon God bless you give you a big old hug and I'll see you down the trail yeah I was trying to pick up on that I didn't know we were already starting the interview but uh when I rented a wagon mine out one time to a museum a lady was having no it was in a mall she was doing Bridal Fashions and they was going to have all this stuff is Western Bridle fashion you know and she said I just need your wagon for display and I said all right I said uh I can bring it up there ma'am and I said you don't need any it do you well can't what do you mean so I folded choke box Li down you know he sitting there and she said oh yeah I like this I really do I said M drawers is fully stocked don't mess with them you know and she reached up 30 and pulled one of them smaller drawers out and as a mouse jumped out and run across her and she said I'm paying you $1,000 this weekend for this wagon I said yeah you getting the mouse for free ma'am well you can't get more all right go ahead James you got a line what and where were they built at where was headquarters for where I don't know it's on it's on the poster in there I I don't get in the weedswell we got the trailer all hooked up y'all come with me we're F to go get the new wagon Hey Brother snuck snuck up on you did I what do you know what's happening over my hand on my wallet we're good to go good to see brother good to see you oh yeah I'm James Doyle I've got doy wagon.com I uh started wagons back in 1997 3,000 wagons later here we are and having fun where did you find this this wagon I got out of Missouri out of the barn as you can see it's got motor oil on it it's got Lin seat oil on it you don't even want to look what's in the box after the rats and CBS have been in there for 50 years good solid Wheels that's what we want to start with but we but this has to be transitioned you don't this won't this won't work you can see mold right here on this wagon being in a wet Barn for years and you'll end up with this type of look right here oh yeah in this building this is a Peter shutler this wagon looked just like that wagon a month ago and now now look at it we we've spent I've got an 85y old man that SS 8 hours a day on these wagons to take that Crut off James how long does it take like we start there and we bring it in here sand blasting sanding cleaning what's that take to to get to this point you're talking a week to 10 days but when it goes out of here I kind of want to make sure it's it's Road worthy uh we've just we just we just got to keep every part that you find seats the metal work ropes it ain't like you can go to Home Depot or low they don't they don't have Auto Zone they ain't going to have none of this are they this is all 150 year old stuff yeah and when you need it it's it's just Priceless this is this is our this is our baby right here hours and hours and hours of standing with the we run these 200-gallon tanks all the time yeah this is where everything becomes old you know spring sometimes we got to take and make stuff look a little older we we've got acid and we've got things to to bring out uh a rust colored look on the wagons we're going to have to have a wagon or people want wagon but if they all come with a wagon sheet wagon fly stretches out you got to have something to hold it up and that's what we call the fly poles and uh okay you know this is a lot of work you go you go I go to Western Nebraska and we get the tree strips and we cut these heeder poles out and we come out of the tree strip bloody cuz to find the good ones are in there deep y or we'll find a tree strip that's been burned and we'll go and and cut the cut them out and then the work starts you also got a wild assortment of wildlife here oh I just love all the aluminum statues these are all castal I've been doing this for 18 years selling these cast these look good in front of a chuck wagon or horse on dis a waget on display with these and you don't have to feed them we go from cedar bark to Cedar clean yes this has all been hand hand HED and it's like this with a draw knife and it's been sanded it's not done yet now this will be sit here for 3 to 6 months with their 500 lb of weight there to make sure they stay stra straight when they dry and then we'll sand them again stain them put pins in the in I can come in here and I can get a double barrel shotgun I can get a rifle Scabbard I can get my enamel wear uh cantens coffee pots uh you know James one of the biggest questions I get is people are always asking where can I find a coffee pot I know where you can find one now I travel from Indiana to Wyoming and hit every antique store in the world and every flea market and that's what it takes because Target and Walmart are not selling them that's right I have about 10 Pickers across the United States so what about this old canteen well this piece of paper was in this canteen and and it says here I was told by JC McCoy this came from his grandfather who was released from the p camp after the Civil War uh in 1864 he was 81 years at the time I purchased this in 1992 so this was in that canteen that is a treasure my friend y yep but we've had we covered the canteen obviously but that's the kind of stuff that goes on my Chuck Wagon yeah now you you'd appreciate this this girl right here look at this bags look at this bags I mean there is a wagon yes it is I mean got this out of a museum look at the hubs on that wagon that's all original I'm not making a chuck wagon out of this you don't touch something like this no you know James I I have a studa baker but what do you think are the top wagons that are out there the wagon makers that are true authentic what what do you think they were well today I say buy buy the wagon that's in the greatest shape you know if you could get a studa baker obviously that draws draws attention Peter shutler buil a heck of a wagon Weber is probably my favorite wagon Newton wagon company I buy that Lumber saw a sawmill in East Texas I sand it I paint it black I sand it then I stain and oil it to get that look and then we do all the blacksmithing and weld all this but this is this is this is this is neat I have a lot of fun building something like this I'd like to have one of them put my mother-in-law in well okay yeah you could now you got a buggy well this is a John Deere V I'm talking turn of the centry Mint Condition I cannot not buy something like this when I see it now this one's going to a 65,000 acre ranch next week in Nebraska now kit what we have here is a cupboard wagon and we have a jail wagon yeah both of these are going to the Dallas Botanical Gardens in 2 weeks I've seen a lot of wagons in 38 years and I've seen different wheel width okay different country have a different width what are they running over i' I've heard all kinds of Story one another thing people go why is that wagon wheel got so much play in it it goes back and forth and the grease this is cone shape the grease will be forced back up every time that wheel moves and also when that wheel hits a rock it doesn't knock your front teeth out there's a little bit of give there yeah uh I've been told that the wide wheel wagons that you'll see East mostly back East will not climb up a rock like a narrow wheel wagon will climb up up I set a container and a half of wagons in these aluminum animals to whole South Korea I've sent two containers of wagons to Australia I have wagons in London I've had like four of them Chuck Wagons in Canada uh so yeah I got one Chuck Wagon in Mexico so it's it's a worldwide yeah you know that old George Jones songs where he said he's putting peanuts in his coke before it was cool you know well you've been doing this before it was cool have you seen a big Resurgence in the last like 10 years 5 years well I put peanuts in my Coke too I I I seriously I did grow up on a ranch in West Nebraska but and the early 2000 Chuck Wagons went crazy and then about 2012 13 they died now since we've had the movies come out uh you know Yellowstone and and bass Reeves there's a resurgent in Western stuff everywhere and uh I guess and mostly Chuck Wagons because I've I've had an uptick in Chuck Wagons you you see a wagon in a movie people see one you know going down the trail had all this stuff on it uh I've been on ranches pulling a wagon you know we we didn't have all of this stuff but we had some of this stuff so walk me through your what was pretty basic on a wagon you think an old cook had to have right here well if you're thinking you're going 50 or 100 or 200 miles with cattle you're going to have to have some Pioneer tool okay to cook with and you know I don't think you want to stick them all in the box of the wagon and then try to dig them out with tarps and guns and everything and so you're going to have to have a shovel it's out here on the exterior rope Dinner Bell pick you're going to use a pick and you and water uh a wagon Jack to W Jack Up Your Wagon if you want to throw a wheel in the river or creek or a lake to soak it up there it is it's out of the way I'm going to have a gun I don't want to wear my canteen around my neck so I'll stick the dog on thing on the side of my box or see you need a block and tackle maybe to string up a steer or pull your wagon out of out of the mud uh up on top here you can keep your ammunition flow or whatever you in that metal box out of the rain there's there's an ax and everybody washes clothes right you got the wash rope you've got it the toolbox jockey box toolbx and put stuff in CU you're going to need stuff in this one for example or fly your your steaks for your fly they're out of the way they're not bouncing around the wagon a double-headed ax is sitting here to chop firewood or a bow saw over here to saw your firewood and your coffee grinder uh you'll use it probably every day a Parker 1876 cast iron coffee grinder you're going to be very full inside here with all the stuff you need to feed the uh the crew the crew with okay um metal top will work off down here of course you're going to you're going to carry quite a bit of cast iron pull that Rod out if you would can't here in a minute all right just another another area to to work with work on and and there's part of your fly stuff right there and you can put cast iron in there so all this has got to got to carry the it's a modern-day food truck is what it is Meals on Wheels Meals on Wheels yep you know I called you told you I was needing a a second wagon well one we're sort of keeping as a film wagon my old stud bger we've got it in a trailer but I need one to put out there uh where we're going to be in New Mexico and that way I wouldn't have to jock you back and forth and I told you I said hey I had to see sort of a custom built wagon you found me one did you yeah yeah yeah yeah oh yeah since you won't Pony up for something like this being just a native Oklahoma we had to over here to this wagon here which is it's ready to go if we can get there um oh I like this this this is a rock solid Newton wagon that's a Weber ain't it oh Weber excuse Weber I've got Newton out here on my mind but yeah it's it's Weber it's actually kind of unusual having it stamped right here on the on on this piece of metal Weber uh there's a lot you can do to this oh yeah you can add a whole lot of stuff to this wagon is a is a beautiful wagon it is put together well you have done a great job know you go from this to what we just looked at over here you can do it all I mean from from the ground up brother to here to there I don't know a better person that I'd get to work on one or have one from well when you've done 170 of them you start figuring it out a little bit now I still make mistakes every day cuz every wagon's different yeah but uh I love to do this this is this is it my passion I grew up on a ranch you know just just what I like yeah you good people uh you'll see of that a lot on YouTube videos okay great great all right so it'll be but thank you again my friend you bet thank you enjoy it well we got that new Weber wagon home we did got it here in the garage and uh some of you asking to yourself why do we have two wagons well we're pretty excited we've started this new project where our original Wagon that stud Baker is going to be the travel wagon uh there will be a lot of more episodes I can't tell you really what's going on so much yet but it'll be on a lot of different ranches across the United States and we're excited for that so stay tuned there'll be some updates there but I needed one that would come out here to New Mexico yall remember our house burnt that we had in New Mexico but we found another one so we're going to be doing some filming with this one out here it'll stay on location here but it'll be cooler maybe I won't be sweating quite so much uh but just thank y'all so much for following us down the trail we appreciate each and every one of you but it is with honor pride and privilege that I tip my hat to all the service men and women and all the veterans that have keep the flag of flying over this Old Wagon God bless you give you a big old hug and I'll see you down the trail yeah I was trying to pick up on that I didn't know we were already starting the interview but uh when I rented a wagon mine out one time to a museum a lady was having no it was in a mall she was doing Bridal Fashions and they was going to have all this stuff is Western Bridle fashion you know and she said I just need your wagon for display and I said all right I said uh I can bring it up there ma'am and I said you don't need any it do you well can't what do you mean so I folded choke box Li down you know he sitting there and she said oh yeah I like this I really do I said M drawers is fully stocked don't mess with them you know and she reached up 30 and pulled one of them smaller drawers out and as a mouse jumped out and run across her and she said I'm paying you $1,000 this weekend for this wagon I said yeah you getting the mouse for free ma'am well you can't get more all right go ahead James you got a line what and where were they built at where was headquarters for where I don't know it's on it's on the poster in there I I don't get in the weeds\n"