[hounddogs!]

Somehow, this would up being a long-winded history lesson. Proceed at your own risk.

I know where my truck has been for >90% of its life. St. Louis build, then by 1971 it had made its way to south central Kansas. My grandfather bought it off the Holstein lot in Newton. It went to work on his farm, and I think was also the RV and boat puller for a few years. By 1977, he had a new 3/4T GMC that carried a slide in camper and did the vacation duties. My '68 was relegated to farm duty and trips to the elevator during wheat harvest.

To keep wheat from leaking out, Grandpa had screwed a carpet strip to the bottom of the tailgate, covering the seam where the gate meets the bed floor. There were also shop rags plugging the drain holes at the front of the bed. He mentioned hauling 95 (!!) bushels of wheat one year and I asked why he wasn't using the big grain truck ('66 or so 2.5T Ford with a 427) for that. Ever the pragmatist, he said "The pickup just runs so much better, I'd rather use it."

A couple more wheat harvest memories:
As a little kid, it was a big deal to get to go the elevator with a load of wheat. Since the pickup didn't have a dump bed, you drove onto a cradle and lifted the whole front end of the truck to empty it. I still remember being fascinated at seeing the front bumper higher than my head. I asked to stay in the cab while they dumped, but didn't ever get to.
For now, the truck still carries a scar from another harvest. My cousin and his friends were at the age where they started their driving practice in the field. One of the friends dumped the clutch and ran under the back of a grain truck. There's a 2' long scrape on the hood that I've been looking at for years.

I have very early memories of going out to the roundtop barn and sitting in this truck. The key was always in the ignition with a big crocheted key fob that my grandmother had made. By the early 90's grandma was gone and grandpa wasn't doing well, so he moved off the farm. My dad eventually took the truck out of the estate and it went to me almost immediately. I've had it since January of '94.

My boys have both driven it, becoming generation #4 in the family to do so. My youngest son is working with me on it and looking forward to his license in a couple of years.