MARIPOSA RESIDENT MARSHALL LONG (PICTURED DRIVING) TOOK VISITORS BACK IN TIME LAST SATURDAY EVENING WHEN HE OFFERED HORSE-DRAWN WAGON RIDES FROM DOWNTOWN TO THE HISTORIC MARIPOSA COUNTY COURTHOUSE. LONG’S VINTAGE WAGON AND WELL-TRAINED TEAM ADDED A DASH OF THE OLD WEST TO VISITORS’ MARIPOSA EXPERIENCE. GAZETTE PHOTO BY DAN TUCKER The fruits of his labors won’t make Marshall Long rich and famous, but that’s not what he’s after. Long, a local resident for decades, is now offering tourists and residents wagon rides in his vintage Roberts Wagonette in downtown Mariposa on Friday and Saturday evenings.

“Mariposa needs all the help it can get, and if I can make a dollar or two and put some smiles on people’s faces, that’s why I’m here,” Long said.

He plans to provide the service until Labor Day, or even longer if the tourist season stretches out. He operates from about 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and hopes to expand his service. “If things work out, I want to add a wagon so we can do an uptown and downtown loop, and transfer passengers at the courthouse. Then we can do all the motels and restaurants, too.”

Long’s first evening of operation was last Saturday, and he hauled a fair amount of passengers.

His motivation is simple. “I’m a driver. That’s what I do. It’s in my blood. It makes downtown look better, and people slow down and take a look,” Long explained.

The current route travels from downtown west on Highway 140 to the Best Western where he turns around. He then comes back up the highway to Seventh Street, then takes Bullion Street to the historic Mariposa County Courthouse where he rests his team and provides passengers with an oral interpretive presentation on Mariposa County history and the Gold Rush. The return route travels down Bullion Street to Eighth Street, then back on the highway to downtown.

Passengers tell him his fee of $5 per head is more than reasonable, and children under the age of 3 ride for free.

His wagonette was manufactured in Quebec, Canada. “It’s mainly steel construction and has hydraulic brakes and lights and reflectors. We’ve put the passengers’ safety foremost,” Long added, and he is fully insured.

Long’s track record at wagonmaster is extensive. He held the contract to operate the stage coach at Columbia State Park for seven years. In fact, the same team he used there is now pulling his wagon in Mariposa. Prior to that, he was a park ranger in Wawona, operating that wagon for the National Park Service for five years.

According to Long, the wagonettes became popular at the turn of the last century. “They can carry a lot of passengers comfortably, and it’s easy to get off and on. It replaced most of the surrys that serviced train stations and hotels because of its capacity,” Long said.

It won’t be as quick as a call for a cab, but visitors wanting to be picked up at their motels can call his cell phone (769- 8552) and he’ll make the pick up, and it will no doubt be a more memorable ride.