One of several trucks at the 2017 Flywheel Reunion, Macon, Missouri.
I’ve always loved trucks. Even before I had a driver’s license, I just knew that a car would never be for me. It had to be a truck or nothing at all. My first vehicle ended up being a 1982 Datsun pickup. I drove it for years. Of course with it being my first, I’ve always had seller’s remorse. I wish that I had never gotten rid of it. That Datsun was just so dependable.
To this day, I’ve never lost my love for old trucks. I’m not sure why they’re so appealing to me. Perhaps it is because I’m already neck-deep in the antique tractor hobby and wanting an old truck makes sense somewhere in my mind. Perhaps it was all the times as a kid spent going to the junk yard with my step dad, seeing all these old vehicles just sitting there being parted out planted the seed in my head. Looking back, it seems like I got more enjoyment out of the junk yard than I did playing with my Barbie.
I have my wish list. I wish I had a GMC truck from the late 1940s or early 1950s. I love the body style. I like the Stanley Steamers, too. Those are different. In 2015, while my step dad and I were exhibiting our 1939 F-20 at the Red Power Roundup in Sedalia, Missouri, we got to ride on a high-wheeler in the truck parade. The International Harvester high-wheeler that we got to ride on was made around 1904 or 1908. It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for us and I’m so glad that the owner let us ride with him. It’s a memory I will have forever. There were several high-wheelers there, including a blue one built in 1910. The whole experience has put the high-wheeler on my wish list.
The truck that I’ve dreamed about for the longest time would have to be The Mercury truck. The Canadian built Fords are probably hard to find here in the U.S.A. (or so I’m guessing). That doesn’t stop me from dreaming. Nor does it stop me from talking to Santa!
An International Harvester high-wheeler, made around 1910, on display at the 2015 Red Power Roundup, Sedalia, Missouri.
