Satisfying a hearty appetite wasn’t always as easy as ordering up a steak sandwich or an ear of corn on the midway. Hungry cowboys had a Pavlovian response to the clang of the dinner bell rung by the crew of their drive’s chuckwagon, DOUG WITH CHUCK 16much like the authentic one exhibited every day of the Fair in Carriage Museum.

Oswego County cowboy lore buff Doug Corey has his red-wheeled wagon fully equipped with everything needed on the trail to rustle up some hearty grub to feed trail hands in the old west, from vintage iron cookware to barrels, actual containers of food and whiskey, lanterns and a coffee grinder mounted on the side of a wagon.

Corey, in character with a white beard and wide-brimmed hat, is on hand for his 19th year at the Fair, whole-chuck-16ready to answer questions from tenderfoots and talk up the charm and history of the old west. His rolling kitchen stands among the impressive  collection of antique wagons and carriages that make the Carriage Museum, next door to the Agriculture Museum, one of the Fair’s true gems.