some one asked about my old army truck

MY old army truck --a beginning of farming for me.
This story has to go back to nearly boyhood. My brother John was a frugal person and saved everything too. He bgan saving money in a can and lorded it over us from time to time. We didn't have a dime saved but wanted to earn. So Donald and I found an old saw, (John wouldn't let us use his saw) . We cut down a tree and made wood for our first money. We did earn a little picking potatoes for the neighbor Roseburgs. The pay was like 2and 1/2 cents a part sack.
The first cord of wood though went to John to trade for the old guitar that Uncle Matt gave him--for a cord of wood. The guitar started a competition on who would learn the most chords faster and better--that's another story however.
The first real money I remember that John made was wood cutting. He also was an avid trapper and was a ble to do the skinning in professional; manner. He sold the furs to a Seattle buyer.The other job was for the mink farm up the road a half mile. The Matt Leyde mink farm. John earned $20 a month.
This is a little aside from the subject matter but one day, we noticed smoke rising from the woods on the side of Mount Peoh. So we knew that it would spread if unattended. We heroically loaded up shovels and axes and other tools and forgetting water for our selves , we drove up the trail on the 1927 Chev truck to as near to the fire as we could go. The fire was started by an accidental toss of a match by the sheep herder who was herding a big band of sheep on the hills. He didn't admit it but we knew there was no other way a fire could have started--there were no lighting strikes at all on that hot day.
WE tried to put out the fire which was spreading faster than we could douse it. The hopes were that the Forest Service lookoput would report this fire from the lookout which was only a mile away on top of the highest hill.
The Forest service came in full force and relieved us-- They had water for our thirst and sandwiches too. They also had better tools for us to use.
As a result we were put on the payroll . That was a welcomed amount of money for my savings. I don't remember the amount. John was old enough to ask for a job with the forest service and was accepted. That left open the job at the Mink farm which was handed down to me now at a dollar a day for 10 hour days. I walked to work. I ate at home but I milked and helped do the haying etc. These were the years that Donald had to be bed ridden to recover as best as possible from his bout with Rheumatic fever. That's another story to tell later.
So saving money became more or less a competition with John having the greatest start and advantage being 3 years older than I. No one really knew how much John had stashed away but it was a growing amount. John kept it a secret. He had private ambitions.
That summer I worked 90 days and saved $90. I put it all in the bank then withdrew $10 to buy school clothes and returned to high school.
As you know, there was a war brewing and in fact going on in Europe. I had to sign up for the draft. After I graduated from High school in the spring of 1942, I sought work which would actually pay me wages. I found work at the Snoqualmie Mill at about $6.00 a day with board in their bunk house. Jim Graves and I were close buddies working together on the green chain which sorted lumber after it left the saws. It was very hard work and required a really good set of leather gloves and plenty of salt tablets and water to prevent heat stroke.
We heard a report that the Unions in Seattle were begging for welder's helpers in the Lake Washington ship Yards. One day we just quit on the job and like Johnny Paychek sang,
"Take this job and shove it". That wasn't the appropriate thing to do I later found out.
WE got jobs as welders helpers at $11.00 dollars a day. Imagine that and they also taught us to be come welders. I was really happy about that.
The draft was on our tails. so we tried to enlist in the Airforce or the Navy and or the Coast guard or merchant marines and for some reason we couldn't enlist. The reason was really that too many persons were choosing these services for the same reason we wanted . The chance of survival was better. I called it the "soft services" --I wanted to avoid the Infantry as much as possible.That's where the casualties were the highest and living that life was very miserable.
The pay was elevated to $50 per month, When John went in after the Forest service he was paid only $20 per month. John asked to be an MP and he went right to guarding and other MP duties on the Gate at Fort Lewis in near Tacoma. I visited him a few times.
So my number was getting close to being called. The only chance now to get in the Navy or the Airforce or Coast Guard was to Volunteer for the draft--that is to ask the draft board to send you in the service right away. The Department issued an incentive for volunteering--that you had the choice of services if you volunteered. So when we reported for the exams in Fort Lewis, we were standing in line naked as a jay bird awaiting a doctors physical . The Sargeant in charge counted down --one two, three, four, five--every fifth person was asked to step out of line and was given the opportunity to choose the service into which he would enlist. I was number three. So there went my last chance for the Navy etc.
Before being shipped out I arranged with my mother to have my pay sent to a joint bank account. I had my mother do it because Daddy didn't write English so well. I asked the army paymaster to send all but about $5 which I might need for myself to my mother whom I entrusted to deposit in our account. She could usre it if she'd want to.
I sent any other amounts like when I'd sell my ration or cigarettes or even when I liberated about $250 from the germans or sell some other thing, which I would ask the company clerk to send home. At the last final months I became a Sargeant which paid more and I was paid more for combat pay and medals--I think my last checks were something like $105 a month.
The accumulation amounted to a little more that $2000 --plus the $300 which was called "mustering out "pay. Along with that they pinned a pin in the lapel which someone called the "Ruptured duck".--It's an eagle really--.
I had a stash of money started. So did John who had to stay in Germany as occupation troops. He also had a similar arrangement with my mother and a bank account. This was wise because there was no guarantee we'd return home--- both had life insurance policies listing the loved ones as beneficiaries.
Why I got the truck? As it was, Donald and Daddy farmed to gether and they were doing really fine on the war economy. Donald blossomed into a full fledged farmer. He took over mostly and learned to raise chickens and pigs. He worried about our mother whose arms were getting too arthritic from milking 25 cows--Let's not leave Daddy out of this now. He was a workhorse too. He didn't milk to my mothers satisfaction though--that's another story.
One day when our mother was having a terrible time with her arms, Donald found a cattle buyer and sold the entire herd of cows. Just like that. Now Mom could rest her arms. She was very upset when the truck left the yard, but Donald handed her the biggest check she'd ever seen. But Ma was put out that she "Didn't have nuthin' to do now". Donald late 'fixed that" he gave her a bunch of sheep. And that's another story.
So farming was tough after the war. Prices for farm products went to pot. Daddy was afraid of the partner ship with Donald because his name was on all the notes as back up for Donald. The crop was hauled down to a cellar in Thorp on two old delapidated trucks--the 1927 and another I think 1935 chev truck.
Donald's farming practice needed a truck. As it is , I didn't know what I wanted to do after the army. I was having trouble adjusting and very reluctant to spend any of the money I had in the bank. I always wanted to 'go to Hollywood'--that's another story.
So after I had a promise that if I bought an army surplus truck I would be paid back from the proceeds of that years' potatoe crop. Ah Ha!--Then I'd seek my fortune in Hollywood. Imagine that.
I signed up for War surplus material and got monthly reports on the offerings at Mt Rainier Army ordinance depot near Tacoma. It listed every thing in surpus. From Caterpillars and steam shovels to jeeps and trucks.
Daddy, Donald and I took a trip there and selected a GMC artillery tractor with only 16,000 mile on it. The price was $1208. and a few cents. I had a cashier's check made our for a little more and they didn't have change--I got the change years later.
I drove the truck home. It drove so well I was pleased. The truck had too short a wheelbase for a Farm truck so Donald who was to be the owner eventually, took the truck down to Ellensburg to a machine shop and tractor dealer, Rathbuns, if I remember correctly, and for $160.00 he had the frame lengthened to be able to hold an 18 foot bed. IN that day that was the longest truck bed.
I drove the truck home and was greatly disappointed to find that the drive shaft at 82 inches, was too long to withstand speeds over 25 Miles perhour--It went into a shimmy. So I turned around and went back to complain. They immediately tried to take out the imbalances but it didn't work. You had to drive under the vibration or speed up to get over the super sonic speed which allowed doing 35 mph. That was the worst part of having that truck.
WE hurriedly made a bed and hauled a load of hay to Roslyn. Then Donald found a potatoe buyer to buy his potatoes hauled directly to the produce row in Seattle.
I have to backup and say that Donald and Daddy's crop brought them each $87. dollars clear so the promise to buy the truck was hopeless. I then had to bite the bullet and own a truck.
Donald also built a cellar that summer to hold his potatoes for winter sale. I helped both John and Donald during those years of adjustment without asking for any pay. I survived working on the farm and a few odd jobs with the truck and I also made use of the Veterans Administration's unemployment program--we called it the Fifty Two Twenty Club". A program I needed and was thankful for which gave a Vet $20 a week if he couldn't find a job. Since I owned a truck and made a few bucks I had to report it weekly. That disqualified me for the $20 for that week. So I helped John clear his land on Indian John HIll where the Free way went thru rendering the cleared land almost useless to farm. I also helped John cut logs out of his land. At this time I have to say, that John was in most need for a catrerpillar. Donald bought one $1650.00 and we agreed to share 3 ways--Donald was good that way and did this out of charity--he paid cash for it. John benefitted from the tractor and I ran the dozer for no pay. John later backed out of his share of the Cat. His job was done. We forgave him. There's a big story that has to be left untold about all this.
Now Donald need a potatoe sorter. I still had some cash left, I bought a small potatoe sorter to use that winter. All the labor was donated as it is on farms, John and Daddy and my mother and I sorted a load, Donald was the main boss seeing that each potatoe weighed a certain amount and shape. Also finally weighing each sack at a 100 pound exactly ot a hair more. Every sack was placed on the truck untill we had a ten ton load. The next morning I'd get up really early and Mom would cook a breakfast and I'd take the load about 100 miles over to Seattles produce row where I'd unload a few sacks at different docks. Some times I'd take a part load over to Tacoma. I wouldn't eat all day and my stomach would cramp. Once in Tacoma, at producec row, I saw an apple box half full of ripend bananas. I asked the attendant what they are going to do with those bananas and he said. " Take 'em --help yerself" and boy did I!! I brought bananas home and that was my day's meal.
I was able to keep the money I made hauling to Seattle. I got like $4.50 a ton. I saved it and saved it. I now was able to recover some of the money I paid for the truck. The truck however seemed to become comunity property. Anyone could use if if they pleased.
When we moved to Grandview, the truck was used to move the machinery down. It could haul the great big 35 caterpillar --dozer blade and all.
I used the truck to earn money for survival hauling potatoes out of the field for neighbors, In those days many trucks couldn't make it in the sandy ground but my front wheel drive crawled anywhere. The irony is that I wasn't paid more than the others who had to have a tractor pulling it along in the tough places. I hauled the biggest loads and there was 'shock and awe' at the potatoe warehouses when I'd come in. The shock and awe was because there were less break times in between loads for the ladies on the sorter.
Buying tires for the truck was a big expense. I could never buy as new set----it took 10 tires and they should all be even sized because of the 6x6 driven wheels.
I would never have spent the money for the truck if it hadn't been for Donald's need for the truck. Thereby I owe Donald for that start in farming. The truck and the army savings was the key to my own success and in helping Donald too.
My little girls also drove that truck to help me in the fields. Sandra steered it for me when I was picking rocks. Maybe she'll remember it too. And of course Cynthia also drove it helping me load hay in the fields . The army jeep also was used in similar fashion. Sandra might remember how to take the top off the transmission of the jeep when the shift lever wold skip the rails thereby rendering the transmission useless. It would stall often till I found another transmission and transfer case. I miss those jeeps and I must say the old 6x6 army truck which I sold finally to a restorer name Adams here locally.He offered $1500 for it which was a sum I couldn't refuse. Some day he said he's take me for a last ride in it. Did I say, "LAST RIDE?"
Remind me to tell about the time the caterpillar almost slid off the truck bed.