Wagon Train was one of the first westerns I remember as a child. For those of you born after 1960 a Wagon Train was a group of people who would band together to move out west. The would travel in "trains' because of the dangers. It was safer to travel in groups. They would hire a 'Wagon Master' to lead them. 99% of these people had never traveled very far and it was a long and treacherous trip. The 'wagon master' would have his own crew to help, they would teach the settlers how to drive a wagon, take care of the horses, build campfires and fight the elements and the Indians. There was always a "Scout' who would ride ahead of the group and report back about poison water, Hostile Indians , washed out trails ect.
Ward Bond was the original 'Wagon Master' His character was 'Major Seth Adams' and he was the greatest wagon master of them all. At least I thought so. He was a hard man when he had to be but a kind man always.
Each week I watched a brave group of people who would pack up everything they owned and head west. They would ask "major Adams" to lead them on their quest for a better life. The real wagon trains of the old west were hard and many of the brave souls who started out, did not finish the trip. But Major Adams saw to it that his band of followers made it and I enjoyed each and every mile along the way. My favorite character on this show was the cook, his name was "Charlie Wooster" . He wasn't handsome but he stood out like no one else. I looked forward to seeing him each week.
"Wagon Train" first aired in 1957 and ran until 1965.
The list of main characters are :
Ward Bond................................Major Seth Adams
John McIntire...........................Christopher Hale
Robert Horton...........................Flint McCullough
Terry Wilson.............................Bill Hawks
Frank McGrath.........................Charlie Wooster
Denny Miller.............................Duke Shannon
Robert Fuller............................Cooper Smith
Michael Burns...........................Barnaby West
