“Old Ingvald” … Home After 71 years!

In 1935, when the Union Stockyard in West Fargo, ND opened, my Dad bought a new 1935 Chevrolet truck to haul cattle there. He also hauled gravel and hauled cream to the Oklee Creamery.

Needing to haul larger loads of cattle, in 1947, my Dad purchased a new Chevrolet truck. At this time, he also took over the Co-op Livestock Shipping Association.

In the fall of 1947, my Dad sold the 1935 truck to Walt Turgeon. Walt used the truck around the farm, mainly hauling potatoes and grain. I worked with Walt for about two years in the potato field, picking and loading sacks. That’s when Walt named the truck “Old Ingvald”, and from there on, it was known as that.

After the truck’s motor quit in about 1955, Walt removed the cab to make a trailer out of the frame. Walt then put the cab along the river in the woods. Walt’s son Francis, said he remembers the truck being by the river, but with land changes, no one knew exactly where it might be, so it was forgotten about all these years.

Francis and Jerome (Domer), also Walt’s son, remembers driving “Old Ingvald”. They used the truck to haul potatoes and grain to the Brooks Elevator. Francis said one time he took a load of grain to the elevator and drove it a little too fast. The brakes were poor. He went through one door and out the other, learning to slow down the next time. Mechanical brakes in those days!

Walt Turgeon’s land is now owned and farmed by Swenson Farms. Luke Swenson came across the 1935 cab south of Oklee. He said he has seen it for years in the wood and thought it was just an old car body, until one day he decided to stop and check it out. At that time, Luke saw it was a truck cab with the name “Ingvald Olson”. He called my son, Dave, to ask if he knew the person’s name on the truck. Dave says, “that’s my Grandpa”! Dave, in turn, notified me. How exciting to find “Old Ingvald” again!

Last weekend, my son-in-law, Jon Smith, and I went to take a look at the cab. The cab was stuck in about 8 inches of dirt, so we had to take the cab apart to get it out. Most of the wood framing had rotted out. The cab is in real good shape, with no dents! The windshield is a push-out style and the glass is all broken. The dash is in real good shape as well, with all the gauges still in perfect condition. Plans are to put the cab back to together sometime.

After sitting by Hill River for the past 65 years, “Old Ingvald” is home again…71 years later.

Thanks so much Luke!