A ROLLING MEMORIAL AND TRIBUTE
This month’s Readers and Their Rigs comes to us from Grant & Helen Ford of Merced, California. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Grant and his wife wanted to do something to help people remember the events of that fateful day, so they had their 1984 Pete 359 decked out with memorial murals depicting the two scenes of that day. One side has a mural of the Pentagon with a plane slamming into the building and the other side has a picture of the two World Trade Center towers burning - an image none of us will soon forget. Grant & Helen can’t believe all the attention they get out on the road. People stop them to take pictures, drive along side them, give V signs and thumbs up, and crowd around the rig at truck stops and wherever they go, praising the idea and the beautiful work and detail the artist did on the murals. The Modesto Bee newspaper even came out and took pictures of the truck for the 9/11 edition of the paper last year. The bright orange 10-car hauler, which features a 301-inch wheelbase and an 84-inch sleeper, is in excellent shape, and the Ford’s are very proud of it. Running mostly in California, Grant & Helen have been owner operators since 1976, hauling automobiles under the name San Joaquin Valley Transport. They also own a few 7/11 stores. Grant retired from the USAF back in 1976 and immediately began trucking. The Ford’s expressed a desire to form or be a part of a 9/11 club for people who have used their trucks to show honor and tribute to the tragedy. If anyone out there is interested, please contact the magazine at 1-888-440-4104. |
