Farm Family Rides To Town In Big Pumpkin

Farm family rides to town in big pumpkin AG WORLD Ag World 10-3-19 A growing family of five children forced Harold Heiman, Marshall, Wis., to replace his 2-seat surrey with something bigger. A suggestion from his daughter resulted in construction of the "Cinderella Coach", a pumpkin-shaped horse drawn carriage that comfortably seats 10. The bright orange ball-shaped wagon with a green stem on top has already become a big attraction in local parades ù pulled by Heiman's strikingly handsome Shire draft horses. Heiman also has found a market renting the carriage out to wedding parties. "My daughter showed me a picture of a pumpkin coach in her Cinderella book. I didn't take her seriously at first but after I thought about it awhile I decided to try it," says Heiman. He first built the frame of the coach with light flat iron and then covered it with chicken wire and paper. He then had the entire thing coated with bright orange fiberglass, inside and out. The pumpkin has a door on either side and 6 round windows. Benches along the front and back sides each seat 5 people. The driver sits on a large front seat with plenty of room for two. "The carriage is 8 ft. wide, 7 ft., 4 in. high, and 11 ft. long. It weighs just 700 lbs. and rides on a chassis made from two Volkswagen front ends," says Heiman, who used the VW front ends because of their torsion bar suspension. The carriage cost $2,000 to build but Heiman says it could have been made for less if he had done the fiberglassing himself. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Harold Heiman, Rt. 1, 305 Heiman Lane, Marshall, Wis. 53559 (ph 608 764-5300).

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