100-year-old horse-drawn sleigh restored

HURON TWP. — It won't be dashing through the snow, but this one-horse open sleigh — which is at least 100 years old — is on display for the holiday season. When Richard Krafty joined Groff Funeral Homes as a facilities coordinator and funeral assistant in 2021, he was tasked with cleaning and organizing a storage garage. Krafty came across a horse-drawn sleigh in the corner. "I thought it was probably going to be junk," he said. "My job would have been to haul it to the landfill or burn it." Krafty asked around and he was told Leon Groff used it as a Christmas display in his front yard. Leon, who was the president of the funeral home, died unexpectedly in April 2020. A restored horse-drawn sleigh at Richard Krafty's home on Summerfield Place in Huron Township. Register photo/ERIN CALDWELL After thinking about it, Krafty asked Leon's widow, Ann, about the sleigh. She wasn't ready to do anything with it at the time but would keep it in mind. This summer, Krafty mentioned the sleigh to Ann again. She was willing to sell it, so he bought it. "It was on the verge of deciding whether it was worth investing in to keep it as a historical piece or trashing it," Krafty said. "I just couldn't bring myself to trashing it." Next, Krafty needed to find someone who could fix the broken parts. The paint was also peeling off. Matt Mulvin, owner of Mulvin's Wood Concepts, was up for the challenge. "It needed some love," Mulvin said. While working on the sleigh in-between other jobs, Mulvin was able to restore it in a few days. He safely removed the lead paint that was on it and made the repairs. The most difficult part was finding new paint. Just like Leon, Krafty wanted to use the sleigh as a decoration. Krafty wanted it to have a winter theme — with white and gold paint — so he could leave it on display after Christmas. Mulvin found a gold paint used for boats and it had the vibrancy he was hoping to find. "I couldn't believe it when I showed up," Krafty said. "I didn't expect it to look that good." Krafty and Mulvin talked several times during the restoring process. The hardware used to assemble the sleigh made them believe it was old. They did some research and determined the sleigh to be from the 1920s. It's possible it could have been closer to the turn of the century, Mulvin said. "It's more than 100 years old, which made me feel even better putting money into it — just to keep something 100 years old," Krafty said. Krafty hoped to learn more about the sleigh, but unfortunately, it's mostly a mystery. He does know that Leon went on a business trip and saw it for sale along a road. Leon made an offer and had someone pick it up. A horse-drawn sleigh like this seems to be rare, Krafty said. "It's something cool to see," Mulvin said. "They used to ride around in that. There was a horse and that's how you got around in the winter." Krafty is glad he could save the sleigh and put it to use. "Leon and his dad, Leo, started some really good things in this town," Krafty said. "They preserved a lot of history and created a lot of history in this town. There's a lot of history with the Groffs and it's kind of nice to have something that was a family thing for them that they no longer use. Now it's back out for everyone to enjoy." When it was close to Thanksgiving, Krafty and his son, Nick, put the sleigh outside. He anticipates leaving it out until February. After that, he'll have it stored away and covered inside. Krafty said he wants to keep the sleigh in his family. He doesn't plan on selling it. If he ever decides to part ways with the sleigh, he'd ask the Groff family if they'd like it back. "After seeing what Matt did, it's a great decoration for as long as I live here," Krafty said. Krafty invites people to drive by his home on Summerfield Place in Huron to view the sleigh. "It's a piece of history in a modern neighborhood," he said.