This 1919 Republic 2.5 Ton Flatbed truck belonged to Arthur Butt’s (1937-2021).
The story goes that he purchased the truck as a teen (about 15) and used the truck mostly for fruit farming and transporting prunes in Healdsburg, California during the 1950s.
Art brought the truck with him when he moved to Idaho and it followed him from Cambridge to Riggins and then on to Weiser, where it was last stored.
It is not clear if it was actually used for farming once it moved to Idaho, but he really liked that truck and so kept moving it with him.
It has been told that while it was not actively used, he made a concerted effort to keep it from deteriorating too badly by keeping oil in the cylinders and turning it over as well as keeping linseed oil on the wooden wheels. Much of this labor was done by his children, many times under protest.
He did share a funny story that he liked to prank anyone that would fall for it – He would have someone hold on the the wires for the magneto and then turn the crank on the engine. They would get a pretty good shock!
