America is built on good land, innovation, and hard work.

 

There is, perhaps, no better telling of that story than a classic pickup truck.

 

One hundred years ago, the Ford Motor Company delivered the first factory-made pickup in 1924, opening the door for generations of lives to be shaped by the form and function of pickup trucks.

 

As a kid, my dad's pickup took us to the shop and to the field. When the snow was high or mud was deep, it took us to town and to church. When it was time to feed cows in the winter, we could load 30 bales of hay in the back for this 4-year-old boy to steer around while Dad and Wes, the hired hand, spread the hay.

 

Later on, I found that a '73 highboy in granny low gear could climb a hill steeper than a cow's face and, when conditions were right, could cross the Little Bighorn River without getting much water in the floorboards. My first 1978 F-150 taught me pride of ownership, right along with patience and intuition to know when to feather the pedal and when to goose it. Although over time I've used whatever wheels necessary to get from point A to B, I've never seen myself as anything but a pickup man.

 

Perhaps the identity of a pickup truck -- and the inclination toward the "blue oval" -- is an inherited trait as all three of our kids have taken it on in their own style. Brooklyn just finished a summer in Detroit working for Ford, Max likes to tinker on a 1977 project, and Blake can hold his own running a pickup around the farm!

 

These days, most trucks I see are used to get around town, pull a boat or a camper, or take care of business on a job site. Drivers stake their individual identity in their trucks by lifting them, slamming them, or adding lights, decals, and flags. And while there is room for every interpretation, in my book the heart of a classic pickup is Built FARM Tough.

 

And at Lowe Family Farmstead, we think that's something worth celebrating. 

 

Jim Lowe

Owner, Farmer, Maze Designer, & Jack-of-All-Trades

Lowe Family Farmstead