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Davey ‘Doc’ Wiser, of Pollock Pines, yee-haws as he gives people a free stagecoach ride in downtown Placerville, Calif. Wiser can be seen moseying around town in old-time cowboy garb, offering free stagecoach rides down Placerville’s historic Main Street and taking part in just about every historical re-enactment that includes a horse.

MCT photo

Davey ’Doc’ Wiser, background left, and his wife Sherry Lee Wiser, of Pollock Pines, wait as people are loaded into their stagecoach for a free ride in downtown Placerville, Calif.

MCT Photo

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Davey “Doc” Wiser knows exactly when he moved to El Dorado County, Calif. It was 5:15 p.m. March 28, 1977.
The Los Angeles native immediately felt at home in the county where the Gold Rush began and where towns like Placerville, Calif., formerly Hangtown, are steeped in Old West tradition.
“I found my niche in life when I got up here,” Wiser said.
That niche includes moseying around town in old-time cowboy garb, offering free stagecoach rides down Placerville’s historic Main Street and taking part in just about every historical re-enactment that includes a horse.
Wiser’s distinct look and love of all things Old West have made him something of a celebrity in the county. His likeness often graces posters and fliers for local fairs and other festivities.
He can be seen in the Thomas Kinkade painting “Christmas at the Courthouse,” a snowy scene from Main Street Placerville, and on souvenir mugs in Placerville Hardware. Recently, he even modeled for the cover of a yet-to-be-released novel, “Ranger’s Promise,” written by Barry Trombley and Henry and Richard Laroche.
“I think he is part of the identity of our historical town,” said Bruce Teie, a Placerville resident who became friends with Wiser.
“He does everything he can to … help re-create the history that Placerville and old Hangtown stand for, and he does all of this voluntarily,” Teie said.
“He’s a historical icon.”
Wiser’s legend began when he showed up for the Highway 50 Association Wagon Train re-enactment for the first time in 1977. Driving an old-fashioned doctor’s buggy, he wore a vintage top hat and tails and carried a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in his medical bag.
He’s been Davey “Doc” Wiser ever since.
The top hat has frayed and the black tuxedo has grown dusty, but Wiser, 66, still slips them on each year for the wagon train’s trip from Zephyr Cove in Nevada to Placerville.
On the job, he dons striped bib overalls as a Union Pacific conductor in the West Sacramento railyard.
But he sticks to cowboy clothes whenever he can. A pair of boots. Jeans. A Wah Maker shirt. A vest. And a black felt or white straw cowboy hat to complement his handlebar mustache and unruly, graying hair.
Wiser said that as a boy growing up in Eagle Rock, Calif., a neighborhood in Los Angeles, he watched Randolph Scott in movies and Hopalong Cassidy on television.
“I wanted to be a cowboy in the worst way when I was a kid,” Wiser said.
Part of his attraction to the lifestyle was the “cowboy creed,” which promotes honesty, hard work, chivalry and good deeds.
Wiser’s adherence to these principles has won him many admirers.
Placerville merchants held a raffle two years ago, using donated prizes from their stores, to buy him a new stagecoach.
“They were worried about the state of my old coach,” Wiser said.
Placerville Vice Mayor Patty Borelli said the merchants did it because Wiser had given free rides for so many years.
Wiser’s big red coach usually provides the rides on the third Saturday of each month.
He has about 25 helpers on his stageline, including his bride of 10 months, Sherry.
The couple’s rustic home, down a gravel path off Pony Express Trail in Pollock Pines, is filled with Old West collectibles.
“When I came to El Dorado County, my childhood dreams began to come true,” Wiser said.