What's a cowboy without a pickup?
It tows his horse trailer. Hauls his equipment. Takes him to rodeos or bounces over cattle guards and across ruts on back roads. His pickup is more than just a vehicle. It's part of who he is.
General Motors Corporation has a long and successful history in pickup design. It started in 1941 with the Chevrolet AK-Series, continued with the Chevrolet and GMC 1955 Task Force, building a legacy of dependable, beautifully designed vehicles that worked for blue-collar business, farms, and ranches across the US.
A new generation that offered four-wheel drive as a factory-built option arrived with the first C/K Series was produced from 1960-1965. The Task Force series influenced the design of the C/K with wrap-around windshield and rear window, power steering and brakes, as well as a 12-volt electrical system. The C/K improved further on that design by offering the first drop-center ladder frame, making the cab of the truck sit lower. It was also the first pickup to offer an independent front suspension. It offered a more car-like ride and handing than the competition of the time.
The second generation of the series, marketed by both Chevrolet and GMC was produced from 1967 to 1972, under the "Action Line" moniker.
As with its predecessor, the second generation C/K included full-size pickup trucks, chassis cab trucks, and medium-duty commercial trucks. The C/K’s body design was modernized and given the squarer look enthusiasts are more familiar with today.
My oldest brother bought a C/K 10 in 1971. My dad liked it so much, he bought one in 1972.
Ol' Orange, as the pickup was dubbed, wasn't a vehicle that was kept polished and shined. It was a work truck. It hauled hay and kids and bags of feed. (Sometimes all at the same time!). At any given moment, you could look in the bed of the truck and find a WWII era bucket full of fencing supplies, gopher traps, a shovel and pitch fork, hay leaves, and a tow chain.
Some of my earliest memories are riding in that pickup with my dad. It was the first highway-legal vehicle (unless farm trucks and tractors count) I was allowed to drive all by myself (we won't talk about the age I was when that happened).
Last fall, we were visiting Dad and he thought it might be fun to take Ol' Orange for a spin. Captain Cavedweler (my hubby) had to drop a new battery in it before we could get it up and going, but we drove the pickup out to my brother's place. I drove Dad there (with CC following behind in our pickup in the event we had a breakdown, which we didn't. On the way back to town, CC drove and I snapped this photo of him and Dad in Ol' Orange. I can't even begin to tell you how happy it makes my heart to see it.
When I began writing Lucky Shot (part of the Pink Pistol Sisterhood series), and set the book in 1972, I knew the hero of the book, Levi, needed his own orange and white pickup to drive.
What’s a girl to do when her aim is true?
As a registered nurse at the Boise VA Hospital, Grace Marshall is devoted to her patients, but some wounds require more than medical care. A patient too stubborn and angry to accept the help he needs storms out of her exam room, ruffling her feathers. Yet, when the man returns to apologize, something about him tugs at her heart.
Levi Gibson left for war young and idealistic but returned from Vietnam with physical scars and a haunted soul. He tries to banish the darkness brewing inside him with hard work on his family's potato farm, but it’s a young nurse’s kindness that brings unexpected light and joy into his life. If Levi can open up to Grace and let her see his pain, could she be the key that unlocks a future full of hope instead of mere survival?
After her father sends Grace a legendary pistol, target practice provides an excuse to spend time with Levi during the summer of 1972. As his shadows overwhelm him, it will take far more than a lucky shot for Grace to hit love's mark.
Levi Gibson left for war young and idealistic but returned from Vietnam with physical scars and a haunted soul. He tries to banish the darkness brewing inside him with hard work on his family's potato farm, but it’s a young nurse’s kindness that brings unexpected light and joy into his life. If Levi can open up to Grace and let her see his pain, could she be the key that unlocks a future full of hope instead of mere survival?
After her father sends Grace a legendary pistol, target practice provides an excuse to spend time with Levi during the summer of 1972. As his shadows overwhelm him, it will take far more than a lucky shot for Grace to hit love's mark.
USA Today Bestselling Author Shanna Hatfield is a farm girl who loves to write character-driven romances with relatable heroes and heroines. Her sweet historical and contemporary romances are filled with sarcasm, humor, hope, and hunky heroes.
When Shanna isn’t dreaming up unforgettable characters, twisting plots, or covertly seeking dark, decadent chocolate, she hangs out with her beloved husband, Captain Cavedweller.
Connect with her online at shannahatfield.com
3 comments:
Hubby, kiddo and I are a pickup truck family. We have 4! It's so much fun to learn their origins and to see one from the 70's that still runs. Thank you for sharing, Shanna, and love the pic of CC and your father!
My dad didn't have a pick up truck during my childhood but several of my uncles had them. Most of them were farmers and used them a lot. I remember riding in the back of their truck as a kid and thinking my cousins were lucky to get to do that all of the time. Of course now it's illegal for kids to ride in the back of pick ups.
We have had a pickup since we were married. A Ford, Chevy, and more recently, a Dodge (with a Hemi!) My husband was adamant that both our children learned how to drive a stick shift. These trucks have hauled brush, lumber, kids, Christmas presents, grills, and pulled a riding lawnmower from a banking more than once!
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