‘Boom!” and “Bang!” are among the louder aspects of July 4 at Fort Vancouver each year.
But in one popular spot, the July 4 soundscape goes more in the direction of “glug” and “gulp.”
That spot is where two local agencies hand out free cups of water. Clark Public Utilities has the more distinctive outlet, a covered wagon that is a familiar sight at community events.
And Vancouver’s water quality program set up its booth there Tuesday, just west of Pearson Air Museum: a double dose of thirst slaking at what you might call Guzzle Gulch.
The city’s volunteers actually poured more water, handing out about 4,000 12-ounce cups. That doesn’t include fill-ups for people who brought their own reusable water bottles.
The city booth had a better location Tuesday, public works spokeswoman Loretta Callahan said, and was the first watering hole most people came across.
The water wagon gave out about 200 cups, said Maxie Lofton, marketing and communications coordinator for Clark Public Utilities.
But the old covered wagon has a much bigger community role, she said: “We get about 50 reservations for it per year.”
It’s not just a hydration station. As something of a historic artifact, it has been an educational resource in many local schools.
“A lot of teachers use it every year to go along with their Oregon Trail lessons,” Lofton said.
According to a history of the wagon, it is a good example of the transportation that brought a lot of Americans west.
“We believe this one was built in a factory back east in the late 1800s or early 1900s,” Richard Green wrote.
A matter of degrees
It was acquired from a collector in Albany, Ore. Most of the chassis is original. The wagon box and some other components were completely reconstructed by fleet maintenance volunteers.
As far as the July 4 water situation goes, “It really is temperature dependent,” Kristi Lucht, water quality technician, said.
“Last year, it was 72 degrees, and we gave out 2,500 cups. Two years ago, it was 95, and we served approximately 6,700.”
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