Once A Year, It’s Bring-Your-Horse-To Church Sunday In Esterbrook, Wyoming

ESTERBROOK — It’s been 29 years since Lynnae Kolden has spent Father’s Day with her dad, Ron Broten.

That came into sharp focus as she and her siblings were helping their parents plan a 60th wedding anniversary that, at first, was going to come together around Father’s Day.

Specifically, Esterbrook Church’s famous Buckboard Sunday, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year in this tiny enclave of Wyoming south of Douglas.

Kolden and her husband, Errin, had long heard about this old-fashioned event, where ranchers from Esterbrook and surrounding areas are invited to bring their horses and their buckboards, another name for a buggy, to church for a big party that celebrates one of the best old-fashioned things in the world — dads, and the families they love who love them back.

Broten, a longtime member of the National Pony Express Association in Wyoming, was in charge of leading the horses in a ride that started at 9 a.m. from his place and takes about two hours to complete.

The ride was particularly special for Lynnae.

“Horses were a big thing growing up, and we showed in Western pleasure,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

Later, as her interests changed, and she went for figure skating instead. But she still enjoys horses now and then.

“Usually when we visit mom and dad in Wyoming, it’s too hot to ride horses,” she said. “So, this was very special.”

Best Biscuits Ever

Over the years, Buckboard Sunday has become quite the community affair. The idea was something pastor Kirby Kudlak came up with while on a camping trip in the mountains 20 years ago.

He has a theory on why it’s become so popular.

“We don’t have a fancy service or anything,” he said. “It’s just simple praise and worship, and then we go do something else.”

He believes it’s the simplicity that really appeals in a modern world where there are so many complications.

“I think that’s what people like about our church in general,” he said. “Especially in today’s world, with just so much stuff going on. We’re just pretty simple. Scripture is our authority, and what we try to live by, try to understand, and the basic thing there is love one another like Christ loved us. Treat each other with respect.”

Like so many good ideas, Buckboard Sunday became better and better as time went on and community members used their talents to add new layers to the event.

Among these “layers” is Steve “Shakey” Chadwick’s famous chuckwagon breakfast.

All in all, it’s a simple repast, just like Buckboard Sunday and the Esterbrook Church. But it will definitely hold a person until it’s finally time for the potluck lunch — and then some.

The star of the chuckwagon breakfast are the famous biscuits, which are made from the same recipe every year, a recipe that belonged to Mary Sonesen’s mother-in-law, Marylee.

“She was 91 when she passed away,” Sonesen told Cowboy State Daily. “Her mother was the camp counselor for 4-H in the Big Horns, so I imagine it was her recipe.”

Sonesen has printed the recipe up on a tile for all the biscuit crew so that everyone knows the exact amounts of each ingredient.

Of course, the real magic isn’t in the list of ingredients. It’s knowing just how long to mix the dough, and just when to stop. These ladies have that down pat.

Once the biscuits are shaped, they’re tossed into greased Dutch ovens that are sitting on a bed of coals, then sealed up with a lid. A second layer of coals are placed on the lids, which ensures even cooking on both top and bottom.

A crew watches over the ovens, too, checking periodically to make sure the biscuits are not cooking too fast. The minute they’re browned and beautiful, they come out of the ovens and are piled up in silver pans on a table appointed with paper plates and plastic silverware, as well as a choice of homemade strawberry rhubarb jam or honey.

While the biscuits are cooking, sausage gravy, seasoned just right, is also on the way, as is a side of scrambled eggs to complete the breakfast.

To drink, there’s orange juice, or there’s several pots of cowboy coffee.

There’s a trick to making good cowboy coffee on a chuckwagon. The grounds are placed in huge pots with water, along with a few eggshells, just before the coffee hits a rolling boil. A little cold water is poured on top once the coffee boils. That knocks all the grounds to the bottom of the pot.

The coffee is then hung over a layer of coals from a tripod. The pots are connected to a special rod that is far enough away from the coals it won’t get nearly as hot as the pot.

A simple tug on the handle tilts the pot so that hot coffee can be easily poured into a cup.

Musicians Start To Gather

While biscuits and cobblers for the potluck lunch are cooking and cowboy coffee is being poured into cups, people from all over are gathering at the Esterbrook Church, which has the dramatic backdrop of Laramie Peak.

Guests who have traveled from near and far are among the crowd, and it quickly feels a lot like a reunion. Names are called out above the hubbub, and hugs are not far behind.

“It’s so good to see you!” is heard often. Along with, “How have you been?”

Some of those joining the gathering are carrying large black mysterious cases. They hide guitars and fiddles that quickly come out for tuning. Before too long, the soft strains of country songs and church hymns are floating over the gathering, and on to the surrounding mountains.

People join the music circle to sing along and suggest a song or two. Later, all the musicians will perform during the church services, too. But for now, what’s happening is an informal jam session, while everyone waits for breakfast to be ready.

The breakfast originally started as a way to thank volunteers who put on Buckboard Sunday, Kudlak said.

“Chadwick had just built his new chuckwagon, and he needed somewhere to try it out,” he said.

The breakfast was such a hit, though, it’s become a community favorite, too.

No one is sure just how many are served the free breakfast. But this year, it took 12 sacks of flour, 21 pounds of sausage, 10 gallons of milk and several dozen eggs.

Potluck Party

After the church service, there’s an equally grand potluck picnic. There’s just one simple rule — everyone brings a smile and a dish.

Bobby Herrick’s dish was a strawberry dump cake, hidden inside a unique cake pan with a log cabin painted on it.

She got the recipe from a friend, and it’s what she usually brings to a picnic. It’s the perfect recipe, she said, because it’s easy, and it’s delicious.

“There usually aren’t any leftovers,” she told Cowboy State Daily.

Her dump cake joined dozens of other dishes, many of them from the Esterbrook Community Cookbook.

There were fried chicken legs made by Kolden’s mom, Mary Broten, as well as a pan of her veggie bars and Special K bars.

There were several pots of meatballs, as well as cucumber-tomato salad, corn casserole, sliced watermelon, cheese-stuffed peppers, Dutch oven cobblers, and much more.

The Fathers Day Diaspora

Many American families these days are spread across the country, which makes Fathers and Mothers Day a phone call or a card day for lots of people, just as it has for Lynnae and her parents.

Lynnae’s parents moved to Wyoming in 2004 from the Green Bay Area of Wisconsin, a 19-hour drive away, for their retirement.

“They found their piece of heaven here in Esterbrook,” Lynnae said.

Her parents come home for a visit every year, and she and her husband visit each summer.

Lynnae also comes back for special occasions, like her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary 10 years ago, and now her parents’ 60th anniversary.

For the 50th, Lynnae made stained glass windows for the church’s front doors. They are a beautiful, abstract representation of the Laramie Peak that is visible from inside the church during services.

“I did it for my parents, and for the community,” Lynnae said. “For how supportive they are of my parents. It’s important that they have friends here that they can rely on.”

The Buckboard Sunday showcased all that the Esterbrook community offers in that regard and was something Lynnae is really glad she got to see in person.

“It seems like the older you get, the less and less time you get to spend with your father,” she said. “But it’s important to have those connections, and you forget that when you’re in your middle-ages. You think nothing’s going to happen. Your parents are invincible.”

But now that she’s 56 and her father is 82 and her parents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, she’s realizing that Father’s and Mother’s Days are numbered.

“My parents gave us that gift to be independent, but there’s not going to be as much time as opposed to when we first got married,” Lynnae said. “As they get older, it’s just more and more important to keep those connections. They gave us great tools, great morals, and now it’s time to give back.”

Seeing the famous Buckboard Sundays her dad has told her so much about over the last 20 years, and getting to ride horses with him during the event itself, is a memory she will always cherish.

“My dad is a guy who always has a story and a joke,” she said. “I love his laughter.”

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.