For the "oldsters" out there that may wonder what's going to happen to our truck hobby after your gone. Well wonder no more because from what I'm seeing there's a "new generation" of truckers on the horizon.
Having been involved with the classic car/truck hobby for 70 + years I've seen trends & traditions come & go many times over. When I 1st started covering the TN truck shows in the early 80's the Classic 53 to 56 Ford F-100 reigned above all others. By the mid 90's the pre 48's, F-1's & F-100's along with a sprinkling of what some called "late models" (57 to 79) began sharing the spotlight with the classic mid fifty's rides. Whether it was due to the difficulty of finding a 53 to 56 truck or the expense to build one, the once popular "Effie's" were fast losing their superiority.
By the end of the 20th century, many of those lil tykes that use to trudge along behind mom & dad at the swap meets & shows had by now been pretty much indoctrinated into the truck hobby & were looking for a ride that "they could identify with", namely a 60's or 70's model truck.
By the mid 2000's this "new generation" of truckers had established themselves & were being recognized by their peers for the engineering & innovations they were incorporating into their rides.
At the 2020 Grand National F100 show in Pigeon Forge, TN, (an event that never fails to have a great display of classic Ford trucks) the event was overrun with "late models" many of which were 1st timers to the event. One of those 1st timers was Lane Stewart from Mt Pleasant, N.C. who drove his grandfather's 1969 F-100 to the event.
When Lane's grandfather purchased the truck new from the Woody Anderson Ford Dealership in Huntsville, Ala it was to serve as a work truck for his construction business. Over the next decade & half the truck was used & abused daily & by the mid 80's the Ala roads & constant abuse began taking a toll on the old Ford & when it lost its brakes in the late 80's the truck was driven into the woods behind the Stewart home & parked where it would remain under Mother Nature's care for the next 40 yrs.
Lane said his fondest memory of his grandfather's truck was being taken to school in it when he was in 1st or 2nd grade. His not so fondest memory was his final ride with Grandpa Stewart when they drove it into the woods behind his home.
Everyday Lane rode the bus to school he could see his grandfather's truck off in the distance & vowed that someday, someway he would rescue gramps old truck & make it like new again. The many memories he had of riding with his grandfather in the f-100 only reinforced his determination more to someday complete that childhood dream.
When Lane turned 16 on May 29th 2013, with John Deere's help, the truck was pulled out of the woods to Lane's back yard where he would spend every waking hour to make it roadworthy again. With his childhood dream partly accomplished, like his grandfather, Lane made the old F-100 his daily driver & now spends his off time from his job, wet sanding & buffing the body trying to bring the original color back. His plans in the near future is to do a full frame off restoration on his grandfather's truck.
On one of his trips to town Lane stopped by the local Speedway to get some "motion lotion" for his ride. While there he picked up a copy of Truck Round-Up Magazine hoping to find some parts for his planned restoration. While going thru the mag he seen an ad about a Ford Truck Show in Tn. After checking it out on face book & the internet he proceeded to clear coat his truck to make it presentable & made plans to attend the Grand National F-100 Show in Pigeon Forge, TN & the rest is History.