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Christy

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Generally when I think of mascots, I think of sports teams, such as Phillie Phanatic  of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Rarely would I think of a bank having a mascot. Yet by working in the Wells Fargo Corporate Archives, I can tell you that many banks have had mascots over the years.

Mascots , by definition, are animals, people or objects that are "charms" thought to bring good luck. The mascot then becomes a symbol of the group that has adopted it. Wells Fargo's early days saw the use of dogs for protection and companionship, which led to Jack the Dog as the Wells Fargo mascot.

Recently I received an email letting me know that we will be acquiring a full-size costume of "Lucky." Lucky is coming to us from our friends in Texarkana , thanks to the recent merger of Century Bank with Wells Fargo.

And what exactly is Lucky? Well, a giant number seven , of course! Lucky was made to represent the seven-day banking service that Century provided. And with a name like that, how could he not provide good fortune?!

Wells Fargo's Corporate Archives has two other full-size costumes and various other products of other mascots within its collections. Both of these costumes come from the Norwest Corporation collection. One is Buddy Bear and the other is Barney the Snowman. As we needed some visuals to go with this post, Barney magically came to life in our offices...

Do you have a favorite mascot? Send me a comment of your tale!

Charles

Nothing is as heartwarming as a funny-looking dog. You just know he's your best friend EVER.

Second on the heartwarming list has to be a funny-looking building — it simply HAS to be a good place if it looks that bad.

Of course, sometimes a structure looks bad because of the architectural sensibility of the time. Victorian buildings, for instance, are the absolute definition of "WAY too much of everything!"  Or mid-twentieth blocks  that eschewed anything that might suggest humans were inside.

Then there's Kennedy-era  cool. Like the A-Frame Wells Fargo branch built in the early 60s in Eureka, California. The idea was, I think, to suggest Mountains and skiing and a Winter Olympics vibe.  That's just my opinion, of course, but I'm generally right about things like this that don't matter.

In 1944, Wells Fargo plopped a trailer at the U.S. Naval Air Station   in Alameda, California, to provide quick financial services for service people and employees at the base. The trailer was there till the mid-60s, before Wells Fargo consolidated the several branches there into new buildings.

In 1960, American Trust Company and Wells Fargo merged. The combined company had an office aboard the cruise ship SS Monterey.  The sign detailing Fiji currency suggests to me that the biggest business at the window was currency exchange. Whatever the case, it was a nice assignment, I'll betcha.

A few years later, a new Wells Fargo branch was being built in Placerville, California. The Company set up temporary quarters in a double-wide trailer on the Fairgrounds.  There is a reason this is funny to me. Now I know temporary quarters in trailers are not unusual in any business, and the fairgrounds are a large space with limited use. It was a smart decision. It's just that when you see the photo, it looks like "a double-wide on a fairgrounds."

All the comedy you expect from that phrase happens. Sorry.

Charles

Casey's 20-odd-day trip across the West re-created the first Overland stagecoach journey in 1858. All the while he was out there, Casey and his traveling partners photographed, videoed, interviewed, presented, shook hands and made friends. Oh yeah — they fought a hurricane, too.

The trip ended on October 10th as Casey rolled into San Francisco to a noisy celebration. We all celebrated Casey's feat, the legacy of the stagecoach and a job well done. Guided By History is proud to be part of Casey's magnificent journey. Welcome home, old friend! (CR)

Casey

About 85 miles from Los Angeles the stage route reaches the Tejon pass near Fort Tejon State Historic Park . My first of just two stops today, Ft. Tejon is a peaceful little spot surrounded by velvety smooth hills. When Ormsby arrived, Ft. Tejon was an active fort with "some very fine adobe buildings" and "few settlers." Today Ft. Tejon is a state park with recreated and original buildings from the old fort. With Juan and the boys, I arrived after closing time.

Turns out we were not exactly alone — a family of deer was taking advantage of the open space in the closed park. I spent nearly an hour walking around, videoing, and sharing the space with them. It really added to the tranquil feeling of the place and helped transport me to another time when I'm sure wildlife was abundant here.

Tranquility aside, I had to be off. Further up Highway 99  is another town I'd never heard of, but will never forget: Visalia, California . When I arrived, it was already dark out and I was getting quite hungry. After locating the KOA in Visalia  and registering for the night, I headed into town. Being a weeknight, I was worried there would be nothing open in such a small town this late.

Boy, was I surprised! As I approached downtown, I was greeted by a huge party. Not in my honor, of course, but that night just happened to be the 15th Annual Taste of Downtown Visalia .

I was amazed. There was live music. The streets and restaurants and bars were filled to the brim with people enjoying all that downtown Visalia has to offer.

And does it have something to offer! Nearly every kind of cuisine you can imagine was available. Juan and I settled on steak, and soon found the Double LL Steakhouse. I have to say, I've had steak a few times on this journey (when there was no catfish available), and this was hands down the best steak of the trip. In fact, I would venture to say one of the best steaks I've ever had. And the mashed potatoes were to die for! (And you will if you eat all that they put on your plate!)

Unfortunately, the next morning was to be an early one, so I wasn't able to take part in the festivities. After stuffing myself, I headed back to the KOA. Before hitting the hay, I grabbed my copy of Ormsby's book to research for the next day's visit and filming in Visalia and had another "Ormsby moment"....

Casey

Although I had to be up early, it was nice that Eddie let me sleep as long as I could. Seems he knew the RV was in the shop and decided not to even check on it this morning.

We had a bit of a drive on our hands to meet up with Daryl Hatch at the Butterfield Trail near Gila Bend . Daryl is a driver for our Stagecoach Appearance Program and owns lots of horses and wagons. Turns out he's also a really nice guy and yet another "real" cowboy (see Day 7 of trip journal) I've had the pleasure of meeting on this trip.

We arrived a bit late — Daryl was waiting patiently with his horses out and spring wagon ready to go. It was a very warm and dry day out in the Arizona desert, but I was looking forward to the ride. Just before we were set up to go, I received a call from the RV rental company. They informed me they had located a place in Phoenix that would fix the transmission and that it would be done possibly by the end of the day.

They gave me the number of Premier Transmissions  and told me to speak to Bill. Well, turns out Bill is not only a first-rate mechanic but also a real pro and a great guy. He assured me he would do everything he could to have the RV up and running as soon as possible. I felt much better after talking to him and looked forward to making the event in Yuma the next day.

Feeling as though we were back on track, I loaded up the boys in the spring wagon and we headed to the trail. While I've had the opportunity to ride on the parts of the actual Butterfield Trail, this was the first time I was doing it in an actual horse-drawn wagon! The ride was very bumpy as you can imagine. Unlike the Concord coaches, which have a suspension system of leather thoroughbraces  that create a rocking motion, this wagon had next to no suspension system and created a jerking motion.

While Charlie quickly lay down, I was a little worried about Eddie. He likes to be where the action is and doesn't sit still. So I held on tight.

Casey

Well, for the first time in 20 days I spent the night outside the RV.

No, I wasn't sleeping in the street — I was enjoying the hospitality in the beautiful and cozy home of Bill and Connie Whalen. I had met Bill briefly when we rendezvoused with him and Connie in Flagstaff, Arizona on the way to St. Louis, Missouri. He had been very helpful with figuring out how to get the RV's pilot light lit for the fridge and a few other things I was having difficulties with. After spending a few hours last night with him and Connie, I soon found him to be a great guy, and I appreciate the hospitality he and Connie showed me and the boys while in Phoenix.

I was awakened very early by my youngest pup Eddie. He was whining by the bedroom door, apparently wanting out. Not wanting an accident in Connie's house, I thought I better get up and oblige. He led me straight to the front door, then bolted outside and went straight for the RV. I opened it up for him, and he jumped in, sniffed around, and looked at me like, "Okay, let's go!"

I couldn't believe it. Apparently he had grown so accustomed to the RV and traveling that he felt more at home there than in the house. I, however, had other ideas — I picked him up, reassured him that we would be back on the road soon, and headed back for the guest bed inside the house. Although the boys and I have been on cross-country journeys of three days before, I wasn't exactly sure how they would react to this extended road trip.

But apparently Eddie is a born traveler!

The event at the Wells Fargo History Museum was to take place in the late morning, so before heading to downtown Phoenix, I dropped the RV off at Bell Ford  for advisor Joe Hough to take a look. Along with all the other before mentioned problems I'd had with the RV, over the last day and a half it had started to shake and sputter a bit when I accelerated. By the time I got to Phoenix, the problem had become very noticeable, and I knew it would not be safe to continue without it being checked out.

I hoped it would be something a good oil change and fuel line cleaning could resolve. However, not knowing anything about the mysterious workings of a motor I was wrong.

Way wrong.

Casey

Another morning, another campground. This one was the KOA Las Cruces . After a restful night I was off to historic Mesilla, New Mexico . The town of Mesilla, and the local Wells Fargo team led by Pat Lamb, really put together a great event for me to participate in.

The morning event began on the town square, where 120 local elementary students showed up to learn about the Butterfield Overland Mail Route and Wells Fargo history. While I did my presentation to one group of students, other groups were treated to a ride on the Wells Fargo stagecoach around the town square.

The students were really involved, and despite the challenge of holding the attention of 30 or so fourth and fifth graders while so much excitement was going on around them, they were great listeners and seemed to enjoy my stories.

After the great event with the students, I was invited to speak to a group of community leaders and team members at a luncheon held at La Posta de Mesilla Restaurant.  Some of the attendees included State Senator Mary Kay Papen , and Mayor Michael Cadena of Mesilla . Several Wells Fargo team members were there, as well as the owners of La Posta, Tom (a.k.a. "Hutch") and Jerean Camunez Hutchinson.

I must admit that I was a bit nervous to start, what with all the important people in attendance. However, once I began talking and they laughed at my first joke, I was completely at ease. They were all so great and responsive, and I appreciate the opportunity to have had a few minutes to talk to them about Wells Fargo history and my personal experiences retracing the Butterfield.

Although I didn't get to eat until well after my lunch was delivered, it was still really great. But while La Posta is a great restaurant, it is also an important historic landmark. It is one of the few remaining stage stops still in existence. According to Jerean and Hutch, the building is actually several old adobes that have been joined. In fact, the section of the restaurant in which the luncheon was held was the actual stage stop. The Hutchinsons gave us a tour of the building and shared with us some of its special history . This is a must stop for anyone traveling through the Mesilla/Las Cruces area....

Casey

September 29:

Morning found me at the Roadrunner RV Park in El Paso, TX. After a quick bowl of grits and a walk with the boys, I headed for Hueco Tanks State Park . What a special place this is! If you are ever in this area you must make a stop here. You will not be sorry!

The 860-acre park is named for the large natural rock basins or huecos. These "tanks" have provided water in this arid region for thousands of years. From Paleo-Americans to Native Americans, from weary Butterfield passengers to their horses, these tanks were a vital source of water.

As I approached the mountains, I was amazed at how alien they seemed — unlike the surrounding land or the Franklin Mountains  in the distance. As one Native American visitor to the park said recently, "It's as if when the gods were finished with the world they had some left over rock and decided to just store it here." And that is a pretty good description. It looks like someone has just piled massive boulders of all shapes and sizes on top of one another in the desert. It is spectacular.

From 150 year-old "graffiti," to Native American pictographs , this park is filled with reminders of the people who sought shelter and liquid sustenance amid these mountains. Because it is such a special place and such a fragile environment, the park is guarded well, with limited access. There is a maximum number of people allowed into the park each day, and everyone entering must watch an orientation video describing what a special place it is and how to protect it.

So after watching the informative 15 minute video, I was off to the Interpretive Center to visit with Park Superintendent Wanda Olszewski. Not only is Wanda knowledgeable, she is also very passionate about her job and this special place.

Did I mention that this place was special?

Anne

You've seen Casey's regular mentions of the mail being safe and sound. I'm going to give Casey a break (or have Charles do more work, not sure which) and give some background.

When planning began for this adventure Casey wanted to include an educational component. He devised a lesson plan for school kids that would emphasize the mail delivery aspect of the Butterfield Overland Mail Company. Kids from a school at his starting point of St. Louis would be matched with a correspondent school near his final destination of San Francisco. The St. Louis students would write letters and Casey would deliver them in "stagecoach" time — the San Francisco area kids would reply and send the letters by United States Postal Service .

What really makes this fun is that all the kids can follow along via the Guided By History blog, track what Casey is up to, and imagine how difficult it was 150 years ago for a letter (and any news at all) to make its way across the country.

As Casey was researching for the trip, he also connected with the amazing Ms. Hansen of Lowell Elementary in Arkansas. Adding letters from her students worked especially well since Arkansas was historically a major mail connection point.

So now Casey has two bags in the RV full of inquiring letters that he is carefully transporting. (I wonder how the mail bags compare in size to the dogs?)

Casey

Well, today was my first day off since I left San Diego over two weeks ago. I began with my first real breakfast of the trip: pancakes, eggs and sausage, courtesy of KOA Carlsbad, New Mexico , and hosted by Scott Bacher. He was kind enough to hook me up with a big breakfast despite my arrival 20 minutes after the kitchen closed.

After a big meal, I was really looking forward to doing something that I have wanted to do for a long time. I visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park  in New Mexico and watched the flight of the bats .

When I was first planning this journey, my intention was to stop at all sorts of sites along the route — even cool places that had nothing to do with the Butterfield. However, reality had other plans. I have found that the rigors of doing a trip like this are much more than I anticipated. I find myself running out of time everyday, so that most everything I'm doing is Butterfield related. Don't get me wrong — it's been amazing, and there are more Butterfield sites than I could have ever imagined. But with the time constraints, I really had to focus my energy. I hope I've been able to create an interesting, albeit incomplete, log of Butterfield sites from St. Louis to San Francisco . There are still many more sites out there to be discovered and I wish I could have seen them all.

But today, it was all about the caverns and the bats! The trip to the National Park is a beautiful drive up a winding mountain road. The visit began in the Visitor's Center, where I found out it was my lucky day. The tickets to the caverns were — free!