Memories of learning to drive with my Dad

Our Dad Les taught each of us four Kelley boys to drive on the trucks and tractors of his landscaping business, Kelley & Kelley Landscaping and Nursery in Long Lake, MN back in the 60's. One of those trucks was an early 50's Dodge Power Wagon similar to this restored beauty I came across parked at a shop near our home in Vermont.  This was no automatic transmission cream puff by any stretch of the imagination.  No, if you didn't double clutch while shifting up or down no amount of force would get you into gear.  Oh the grinding.  The parking brake was simply a leather strap that would tighten on the drive shaft.  I once left it on while driving and was presented with the smoke and smell of singed cowhide.

One time my brothers and I were standing in the back of a dump truck while inside the cab my Dad was teaching brother Ric the fine art of how to work the clutch.  As we pulled away from a stop the truck started bucking and jiving.  Whoa!... not enough gas...Whoa!...too much gas.  As we hung on for dear life we could hear Dad comparing Ric's driving style to a triphammer.  Now at the time I didn't know what a triphammer was, but I had a good demonstration of it's effect.  Here's one on steroids:

The trucks pictured below in front of a Wayzata Plymouth dealer were before my time, circa 1939.

Correction;  I believe the rear truck is the one we called The Big Dump.  The cab and drive train had been replaced but the bed was still in use in my time.  It had a strong winch we used to pull stumps out of the ground and detachable side panels used when we hauled brush, black dirt or gravel.  It was a beast, long and hard to handle.  I once backed it in to the hood of the lift gate truck and never told the Boss...sorry Dad.