Harvard woman, grandson earn driver's licenses using military truck - Hastings Tribune
“In her day, it was out of necessity,” said Rhoda’s youngest son, Sheldon, who farms near Harvard. “For (Brian), it was just for the fun of it. ”. The 93-year-old Harvard woman rode with her grandson Saturday morning in the large truck during the Harvard Veterans Memorial Car Show parade. Rhoda, who lost her sight to macular degeneration, needed a ladder to climb into the truck’s cab. Sheldon, 58, drove another, equally large truck. He purchased the trucks on auction to use on the farm. The odometer on one truck had 10,000 miles. So, Rhoda’s husband went to Bettendorf, Iowa, and bought a surplus truck when the Tobler family truck wore out because that was the only new truck he could get. “We did just everything we could to make a living because times were not really flush at that time,” she said. She used the truck to haul wheat, hay and corn. “It’s just funny because people don’t normally see an Army truck and they respect you,” he said. He’s not sure whether the reverence is due to respect for the military or fear that the truck, which sits about a foot higher than a semi, might run over anything nearby. “It’s the best truck you can get for the money,” Sheldon said. Source: www.hastingstribune.com
