A week or ago we got an email through our website about a the widow of a classic truck enthusiast in Tennessee. The email came from Jared Johnson who is a member of an online message board/form dedicated mostly to '67-72 Chevy trucks which can be found at www.67-72chevytrucks.com. He wanted to let us know about what the members of the message board were doing to help the widow whose husband was a member and how CLASSIC TRUCKS was involved. It's turned out to be quite a success/feel good story in a world that's so seemingly upside down at the moment.
Here's the summary of what is going on and links to the astounding eBay auction of a certain back issue of CLASSIC TRUCKS which is currently bid over $250 that another board member put up. All proceeds are going to help the widow get her late husband's trucks on the road.
Several weeks ago, a member of www.67-72chevytrucks.com noticed an eBay auction by a lady who had recently lost her husband to a heart attack at the age of 46, and was forced to sell their collection of Chevy trucks and parts to pay her bills.
After discussing her situation for a few days, the online community decided to step in and lend a hand. An auction of a picture of one of her trucks was posted on eBay as a way for members to donate, and over $1500 was raised in a week. The members also decided to volunteer to finish her and her husband's "project" truck, a 67 shortbed, for her and her family.
The truck has been transported to the worksite, and disassembly and evaluation has begun. Members immediately took the project to heart, and many parts have been donated for the build, mostly used, some new. Of the money raised at the auction, $1000 was presented to Dawn, and the rest was retained in a fund to purchase parts for her truck. That fund has since grown to almost $1000.
Another member started another auction for an original copy of the Oct '03 Classic Trucks magazine, which is currently at over $250, with the intent to add the proceeds to the fund. There are currently 31 bids on this, as members try to outdo each other in the spirit of helping.
Also, many local members, and quite a few not so local, have volunteered to gather for a "work weekend", to rebuild the truck, and several are donating time (and busted knuckles) to do some pre rebuild teardown and cleaning. We are currently waiting to aquire all the necessary parts for the rebuild, and checking schedules to make the work weekend available to as many of our members as possible, because it seems everyone wants to be involved in this.
The plans for the truck are still being developed, with Dawn's input, at this time the main focus is for a safe, reliable 67 Short Step daily driver for her, her daughters, and her grandkids to be proud of, but who knows, with the volume of volunteerism on this board, it could turn out to be a lot nicer than originally planned.
Here's a link to the auction, and the original thread, also to the build thread:
Classic Truck Magazine Truck Guide For 1967-1972 Trucks
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=298883
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=306320