COVER FEATURE - JANUARY 2008
GOT MILK?
DAIRYMAN PETE DYKSTRA DOES!
By Daniel J. Linss - Editor
The question “got milk?” has probably been heard by almost everyone on the planet. An advertising agency created the slogan back in 1993 for the California Milk Processor Board to promote the purchase of cow’s milk in their ads. While plenty of people have undoubtedly answered “yes” to the question, most cannot compare with dairyman Pete Dykstra. Milking 3,400 cows twice a day, seven days a week, on his dairy in Tulare, California, Pete’s operation produces four or five tanker loads of milk every day. But, as much as he likes milk, he likes old trucks and farm tractors even more. With a small “museum” on his property housing many of his restored relics, the highlight of his collection (at least for us) is his beautifully restored 1952 GMC conventional.
Pete Dykstra was not raised in a trucking family, nor was he ever really a truck driver. Pete has always been a dairy farmer. And since farming and trucking go hand in hand, Pete grew up around trucks. He always loved old trucks and old farm tractors, and today, he has quite a collection of restored pieces in a shop on his property in Tulare. But this “shop” is no average shop – most of his friends call it “the museum” because it is so large and clean – and it’s filled from end to end with antique iron and other fun stuff. After a lifetime of hard work, Pete is finally beginning to slow down and have some fun with all his toys – and his family.
Pete’s father John came to the United States from Holland in 1928 and got a job milking cows on a dairy in Southern California. Shortly thereafter, he started his own small dairy in Artesia, California with about 50 cows. As time went on, his operation grew. In 1970, the dairy, along with all of the others in that area, was relocated to Chino, California. While in Chino, Pete and his brother got involved in the dairy and became partners with their dad, eventually buying him out so that he could retire. Later on, Pete and his brother split to start their own dairy operations. In 2000, the dairies were forced to move out of Chino to make room for more houses. Some of the dairy owners decided just to sell everything and cash out, while others headed north to relocate in Central California. Many of the dairies, including Pete’s, ended up in the rural farming town of Tulare.
Today, Pete’s dairy (Dykstra Dairy) encompasses 1,600 acres and, as mentioned before, milks about 3,400 cows twice a day. Pete’s son John is now a partner in the dairy and he, like Pete once did with his father, is slowing buying his dad out. Pete refers to himself as “just the janitor” since his son has taken over the day to day duties of the operation. Now, Pete spends most of his time tinkering out in his shop where he keeps a bevy of restored Massey-Harris and John Deere farm tractors, as well as a couple trucks, a couple old cars, and lots of old toys and farming paraphernalia.
Being a sentimental guy, many of Pete’s collectibles remind him of his childhood. One of Pete’s favorites is an original Massey-Harris (back before they became Massey Ferguson) tractor that his father purchased new in 1951. Pete remembers going with his dad to the warehouse to pick it out, and even has the original Bill of Sale from Artesia Implement & Parts Company, dated March 1, 1951, showing that Pete’s father paid a whopping $2,100 for the tractor. Along with this neat piece of equipment he has three other fully-restored Massey-Harris tractors of various sizes from the same era and at least eight restored John Deere tractors from the 1930s to the 1950s.
When Pete was just a kid, growing up on the dairy in Artesia, he had two uncles that were in the hay business that drove GMC trucks. Pete always loved the sound of those trucks when they came to deliver hay to the dairy. This is probably why he later bought one for himself. Pete’s “Jimmy” (as they are commonly called) is a 1952 Series 900 tractor with an inline 6-71 Detroit Diesel engine and a 5+3 transmission. When Pete bought the truck from a friend named Phil Troost in the late 1980s, it was a partially-restored 2-axle rig. The cab and interior had been restored and the exterior had been painted, but that was about it. In fact, the school bus yellow and black paint you see on it today is over twenty years old, and it still looks brand new.
Once Pete got the truck, he took it to John Bos Welding in Chino, California and had the frame stretched out to 230” and added a third axle. After the frame was extended, the rails were reskinned with new sleeves. Pete then had a custom polished aluminum drom deck made and installed behind the cab, added some extra chrome, lights and a C.B. radio, and then had the original gauges restored. With all the extra lights, Pete had to install an alternator to run them (back then, trucks just had generators). Later, he added air conditioning for more comfort when driving to truck shows.
Not having a trucking background, or even a current CDL, Pete can’t legally drive the truck to the shows anymore. Shortly after Pete moved to Tulare, he was introduced to Jack “Yahpy” VanderFeer, a local mechanic and truck restoration specialist. The two men hit it off immediately and have been close friends ever since. Whenever the truck needs some work or needs to get to a show, Pete calls on Yahpy to get it done. He usually enjoys taking the old “Jimmy” out for a spin, but one trip did not go so well.
Back in 2003, when the American Truck Historical Society (ATHS) held their annual antique show and convention in Fontana, California, Yahpy was in charge of getting the GMC down there. Along the way, while crossing the Tehachapi Mountains, the truck really started running bad. Yahpy crawled up the hill, just hoping to get over the summit so he could “coast” the rest of the way down into Fontana. The trip, which normally only takes about four or five hours, took almost seven – but the old truck made it! Not wanting to make matters worse, they hauled the truck home on a trailer after the show ended a few days later.
Once they got the truck back to the shop, they pulled the motor and found that the block was cracked, so they replaced it. The new engine upped the horsepower from 218 to 233 – which doesn’t sound like much of an improvement, but Yahpy sure could feel the difference. At this time, they also installed a Jake brake, cleaned up the firewall, and dressed it up under the hood with some chrome and fresh paint. Now, the “Jimmy” runs as good as she looks.
Along with all the old trucks and tractors in his shop, Pete also has a beautifully-restored 1957 Corvette and a super-clean 1953 Chevy just like the one he drove back in the day when he met his wife Gert (short for Gertrude). The two, who met when they were still teenagers, have been married for over 51 years now. Being the sentimental guy that Pete is, he loves to take Gert out for a cruise in the Chevy and remember the “good old days” when they were still kids. Today, the couple has a few “kids” of their own, including four children (one boy and three girls), twelve grandchildren (many of whom help out on the dairy), and five great grandchildren (with two more on the way). Oh yea, and one “adopted” kid – Yahpy!
Pete’s “Jimmy” has always been strictly for shows and fun. He loves all of his old antiques, but is partial to the GMC. Pete has always said, “If it costs as much or more than a Cadillac, you’d better take good care of it.” That philosophy is evident in the way he takes care of his truck. And although this old rig is way beyond its productive years, it still has a full-time job being one of Pete’s favorite pieces of memorabilia. And every time he hears that distinctive sound of his old “Jimmy” and that Detroit engine, it takes him back to when he was a kid again. And don’t we all wish that we had something like that to take us back from time to time? “Got milk?” is a good question, but “Got truck!” is a better answer – and Pete Dykstra has both!