By Josh Mitchell
Corinth Today News Editor
A school bus pulling an 1880s covered wagon was parked at McDonald’s in Corinth on Thursday morning.
Corinth Today was intrigued by this rare site and decided to knock on the bus door. A dog named Misty started barking, and the owner walked across the parking lot toward the bus.
Frederick Marion Hulbert, the owner, is retired from the field of construction and enjoys traveling around the United States to collect antique vehicles and other treasures.
Hulbert, of Oklahoma, likened his hobby to the TV show “American Pickers.” He found the old wagon in a Chicago suburb and will take it back home to use as yard art.
Hulbert’s bus is equipped with a bunk and kitchen, and he stops at Walmarts and truck stops when he needs some shut eye. Hulbert particularly enjoys traveling Route 66 and said many people speak with him about his eye-catching vehicle.
The covered wagon he acquired on his latest trip helps Hulbert connect with a piece of his own family history. His great-great grandfather left Missouri in 1860 to travel the Oregon Trail to Oregon. He was born in 1831 in Erie, Penn. and died in 1909 in Everett, Wash., meaning he traversed the nation coast to coast in his lifetime.
It appears Hulbert is not the only member of his family who enjoyed traveling around.
The Oregon Trail has been replaced by the highway system, but the spirit of adventure and seeking treasure remains strong in the United States. The United States celebrated its 242nd birthday Wednesday, and Hulbert shows that the American spirit is alive and well.
He loves history and enjoys researching his ancestors online. Just like his ancestors, Hulbert is also blazing a trail, but he is in a modified school bus with a Route 66 logo on the side and a Zombie Assault Vehicle license plate on the front.
great photos