Bringing history back to life

Chuck Shea has been giving carriage rides since mid-September in downtown Nevada City.

Businessman resurrects horse-and-carriage rides and others are jumping on the bandwagon

Chuck Shea’s business card describes him as Boss Wrangler.

 Now, he’s literally taking the reigns of leadership and leading a history revival of sorts in Nevada City.

  Beginning on the weekend of the Constitution Day parade, Shea brought back horse-and-carriage rides to the downtown, which he plans to continue doing through mid-December.

   He’s also the catalyst for Dress Up Nevada City, an initiative that encourages merchants to wear late 19^th Century clothing and keep their stores open until 8 or 9 p.m. on weekends.

  “The idea is to keep the stores open later and for people to come to Nevada City and have a good time,” said Shea, who along with his wife, Susan, owns the The Parsonage bed and breakfast inn on Broad Street.

  So far, 48 businesses have signed on to Dress Up Nevada City, which means they have at least agreed to keep their stores open later on the weekends. A number of business owners, however, are wearing period clothing, Shea said.

  “We’re asking people to wear what shopkeepers and normal people wore back then,” he said. “They’re dressing like candy stripers at the Chocolate Shoppe and they’re so busy they can’t close their doors at night.”

   Shea, whose outfit includes a black hat, bow tie and coat or vest, is a good fit for the part of wagon master. He and his wife live on a 10-acre ranch near Penn Valley where they raise horses, sheep and chickens.

   Before embracing the country lifestyle, the 60-year-old Shea was a cargo plane pilot who developed the airline operations for the company DHL. The San Francisco native and Vietnam veteran also owned two cargo warehouse companies before selling them and moving to Penn Valley in 1999.

  Shea charges $30 to $60 for a ride for parties as large as four. It’s not the money, however, that gets him on the streets with the draft horses he borrows from David Vertin, who gave carriage rides for more than 20 years in Nevada City.

  “You don’t make any money doing this. It covers lunch and feed,” said Shea, who fancies himself as the unofficial town greeter when he’s parked in front of the National Hotel on Broad Street. “I do this because it’s fun. If I can provide a friendly face, we all can win.”