JACKSON AUTO ENTHUSIAST HARKENS BACK THE '30S; GETS READY TO HIT THE DUSTY TRAIL

Dave Miller of Jackson tightens a headlamp on his rebuilt 1937 Ford flatbed truck. The 1930s era holds a special fascination for miller ever since he read John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."

The Miller clan, from left, Dave, Jennifer, Ashley, Sandy and Austin enjoy a picnic at Capaha Park. This fall they plan to picnic at unusual and hard to reach spots in the countryside, as they travel old dirt roads in their '37 Ford flatbed truck.

Old dirt roads that twist through a countryside heavily peppered with pine and ramshackle houses have always been a lure to Dave Miller of Jackson.

During his 10 years as a traveling salesman for Mid-Continent Bottlers, then Safety-Kleen, Miller would drive the smooth, asphalt routes that connect one nearby county with another. But those dusty dirt roads that sprout from behind most every turn held a special fascination for him.

As he sold soda to grocery stores in Bollinger County, or as he brokered tool cleaning machines to Southern Illinois businesses, Miller would notice the narrow country lanes and wonder where they led.

When time permitted, he'd run his car down some, swerving to miss potholes as he marveled at old barns, rusted farm machinery, white-washed houses and cabins.

He'd smile at bare-foot children chasing chickens; he'd wave to old folks sitting on porches with sleeping dogs nearby. He'd think of what life was like when these areas were settled, generally in the 1930s.

Today, Miller, sales manager for the fuel division at CP Recycling in Cape Girardeau, is rebuilding a 1937 Ford flatbed truck. When it's finished, he plans to load family and friends and spend weekends exploring the hundreds of old dirt roads he noticed as a traveling salesman.

"Ever since I read John Steinbeck's 'Grapes of Wrath,' I've been fascinated with the 1930s," said Miller, 42. "And this truck is what a lot of the Okies traveled on as they migrated to California to escape the Dust Bowl and, hopefully, the Great Depression."

In 1983, while looking for an antique vehicle to buy and refurbish, Miller located the truck near land he owns in Bollinger County. It belonged to "an elderly hillybilly who had it for years and years and wouldn't sell it to anyone." Miller, persistent over several months, succeeded in convincing the man he should part with it. The offer accepted was $800.

"Money well spent," said Miller, who, while growing up in Peoria, Ill., collected antique horse-drawn vehicles -- he has a 1905 Studebaker buggy, a turn-of-the century "Doc Holiday-style" buggy and two sleighs.

The truck ran but water was soon noticed in the crankcase oil.

"I did a teardown on the original power plant -- an 85 h.p. flathead V-8 -- and found an irreparable crack in the engine block," he said. "So I ended up swapping the engine for a newer model flathead V-8 ... hated to see the old engine go."

The flathead engines of that era, says Miller, were marvels of design -- simplistic, they had no overhead rocker arms, few moving parts and, thus, were easy to maintain and rebuild.

Miller kept the truck on his 100-acre spread, behind a cedar log cabin he built on a rocky hillside overlooking a 12-acre man-made lake stocked with catfish and perch. He works on it on weekends, but relocated to St. Charles before restoration was complete.

"I hauled it to our new home (he's married to Sandy and they have three children), and I hauled it there piece by piece ... took several months.

"I did a frame-off reconstruction of the vehicle, sandblasted the frame, painted it, all moveable parts were strewn over the back yard, painted and reassembled."

After several years in St. Charles, the Millers moved to Jackson and the ol' '37 was hauled behind the moving van. It occupies a side of a two-car garage at their home at Highway 72 and Toll Road. It's almost ready to hit the dusty roads.

"I want to fire it up this fall, " said Miller, tightening a new Champion spark plug. "But there's still details to be worked out."

The truck has been painted its original two-tone formula -- the cab and hood assembly are olive green; the fenders and running boards are gloss black.

The seats have been refurbished and the original cardboard headliner is being replaced. There are new floor mats in the narrow cab that sits "three skinny people." The original 4-speed shifter is lubed and ready to engage gears.

The original dump box on the back, which was used at one time for hauling coal and gravel, has been removed and a new hardwood flatbed is being made. The two sides of the flatbed are being built with fence-type stakes in a pattern that receedes toward the rear. Passengers will can use the sides for support and safety.

"I may get real nostalgic and put an old tattered couch behind the cab," said Miller, adding he might drive it dressed in a straw hat and bib overalls.

Miller says the day is nearing when he'll load the truck with family and friends and head into the hinterland of his old sales routes, "and check out all those old dirt roads I never got to go down." He says picnic stops will be made along the way, and stops will be made at old churches and graveyards they happen upon.

"Traveling these old roads is a step back in history," said Miller, his voice rising as he rubs a smudge mark from a front fender. "There's heritage and beauty along them, especially in Southern Illinois."

Near his land in Bollinger County in Missouri, old logging roads beckon. Miller says a sturdy truck is needed to get from one end to the other.

"With this antique vehicle I figure I can jump back to an earlier era, and get a feel of what it was like to live 60 years ago. A lot of the houses and farms along these roads were built about then, and there's plenty of old cars and trucks rusting in the side yards."

Sandy Miller is anxious for the journeys to begin: "I've only seen this truck going down the highway one time, and it was being pulled,"she said, laughing.

After a break-in period, Miller wants to drive the truck on a different kind of road -- old Route 66, the historic highway that stretched from Chicago through St. Louis to California.

He plans to haul the truck to Chicago and head south along parts of the highway that have been refurbished and designated as historic. At Litchfield, Ill., he'll stop at the Artison Cafe, a thriving eatery in the '50s, now a tourist attraction.

"I think this truck'll look cool wherever I drive it," Miller said, not trying to hide his pride. "It's a piece of Americana."