Making Deliveries with Dad in a Divco Truck

Reader Contribution by Timothy W. Sarver
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Regarding the article on the Divco truck in the May 2018 issue of Farm Collector: The article brought back many memories for me, and I am sure for others as well. My father drove a similar truck and was delivering milk in the late 1960s and early ’70s for the dairy farm where he worked at that time.

Originally called a Model U (for Universal), the later Divcos of that size were called the Model 100 (that stood for the 100 cases of milk that could be hauled in the back). He later drove a Model 154 when one became available (154 referred to the number of cases it could haul). I believe the “100” was discontinued in 1967. Both trucks were built in the late 1950s or early ’60s.

Neither truck had the “stand to drive” feature. Both had the original Continental engines, but these were later replaced with 6-cylinder Ford engines. The Ford 6-cylinder raised the truck’s top speeds to about 45 mph.

I went with my father on days I was not in school, usually Saturdays or during long school breaks over the summer. By that time, deliveries were made only every other day and the majority of milk was packaged in plastic jugs or the classic paper cartons.

What my dad liked about Divco trucks was the electric windshield wipers that worked at a constant speed regardless of how hard the engine was working. When not delivering milk, he was working on that farm or the bottling plant, depending on where he was needed. It was hard work, but he did what he had to do to provide for our family. Both trucks were still in service when the business shut down in late 1973.

Timothy W. Sarver, Greensburg, Pennsylvania


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  • Published on Sep 4, 2018
Tagged with: Reader Contributions
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