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Josh- Age 5

Kaylob – Age 7

Tristin – Age 10

WALCOTT, IOWA — Iowa 80 Trucking Museum will host a 100th Birthday party for its 1910 Avery Farm Truck on Friday, July 9th at 2:30 pm. The event will coincide with this year’s Walcott Truckers Jamboree, July 8-9. The public is  welcome to attend the celebration.

“The 1910 Avery is the oldest truck we have on display and a rare piece of trucking history, so we thought it very fitting to throw a party.” says Dave Meier, museum curator.

Avery was a large farm equipment manufacturer in Peoria, Illinois, that built farm tractors into the 1920s. The 1910 model was advertised to do the work of six to eight horses at a top speed of 15 MPH. This truck is so versatile, it could haul up to 100 bushels of wheat, pull a 3-bottom plow, or even run a threshing machine through an additional belt pulley. This innovative piece of equipment didn’t come cheap though; the truck boasted a $2,500 price tag.

Iowa 80 Trucking Museum purchased this particular Avery from collector Lloyd VanHorn in 1995, who had purchased it from the Pioneer Auto Museum, Murdo, South Dakota, 10 years earlier. It is one of only six Avery trucks known to still exist.

Ray’s truck the “Bullnose” had over 5.2 million miles on it when he stopped counting in 1998. Ray purchased the 1958 Bullnose for $25,000 this was expensive during his time. The truck has had many updates through the years. The original wheelbase of 264” was shortened to 224”, the current engine is a NTC 380 Cummins set up to 420hp, and the transmission has also been upgraded to a 5×4 Spicer.

Ray has received a lot of recognition for his truck. It was put on display in Seattle at the Kenworth plant in 1988. Also in 1988, Ray was honored by the governor of Oregon and awarded a plaque for his service to the trucking industry. His truck has also been featured on the cover of the newsletter, “Kenworth Cruiser” and in Wheels of Time magazine. Ray’s 1958 Bullnose truck will now be on display for everyone to enjoy at the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum in Walcott, Iowa. “We will display Ray’s generous gift with pride,” says Dave Meier, Museum Curator. “He has been a long time friend and we are honored that he chose to donate his truck to the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum.”

In addition to having owned a great truck and being a dedicated driver for over 59 years, Ray also served in WWII in the 8th Air Force, the 879th Bomb Group, and the 319th Fighter Squadron as crew chief. Ray has a passion for trucking and has worked for many trucking companies in his day. Many know Ray as “that guy that drives CAT Scale’s ’38 Kenworth”, which he says he will do as long as he is able.

In recent times we have witnessed sharp increases in gasoline and diesel prices. Combined with the public’s heightened awareness of the environment, this has led to the renewed interest in, and the reintroduction of, electrically powered vehicles. Many are under the impression that electric vehicles are a relatively new concept, when in fact use of electric trucks in the U.S. is more than 100 years old.

The Iowa 80 Trucking Museum has constructed a new exhibit on vintage electric trucks to educate the public on the history and origins of electric vehicles. Included in the exhibit is a 1911 Walker Electric Milk Delivery Truck. “We are pleased to be able to share this fantastic piece of history with the general public,” says Dave Meier, Museum Curator. “Since there wasn’t a supporting infrastructure for the electric vehicle, the gasoline powered vehicle became the favored type and many don’t even realize that both were invented at roughly the same time.”

The exhibit displays information about how electric vehicles came to be, their use as well as specific information about the 1911 Walker on display.
Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is location adjacent to Iowa 80 Truckstop, I-80 Exit 284, Walcott, Iowa, and is open to the general public Wednesday thru Sunday. Admission is free.

Golf Tournament on August 11,2009!

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you and your associates to attend the 6th Annual Iowa 80 Trucking Museum Golf Tournament to be held August 11, 2009 at Glynns Creek Golf Course in Long Grove, Iowa.

Iowa 80 Trucking Museum’s mission is twofold:First, it seeks to educate the public regarding the history and importance of the trucking Industry to the American way of life and second, it seeks to preserve the history of the American trucking industry through the display of antique trucks and trucking industry memorabilia.The museum is located adjacent to the World’s Largest Truckstop, Iowa 80 Truckstop, at Exit 284, Interstate 80, Walcott, Iowa.

Last year’s tournament was a lot of fun and raised money to help us purchase exhibit material and assist us with our expansion.We are pleased to report that we have completed an audio exhibit for our 1934 GMC truck and stock trailer, have been able to purchase some additional display trucks and we are currently working on an exhibit for our 1911 Walker Electric truck.Proceeds from this year’s golf tournament will again be used to purchase exhibit material and equipment for the museum.

Iowa 80 Trucking Museum is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, accordingly, all donations to the Iowa 80 Trucking Museum are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.