Crew tries to repurchase ‘Goliath’ of plow trucks
By Donna M. Perry
Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – There is a move to buy back and preserve one of the town’s first plow trucks. The 1944 Oshkosh plow truck with its V-plow and double-wing was part of Farmington history.

Members of town’s public works department want to buy the 8-ton, all-wheel drive truck back for $5,000 and preserve it for history’s sake.

They plan to paint it and put it on a pad to display outside of the town garage with a roof over it, foreman Jim Kiernan said. He and a couple other members plan to volunteer their time. It was the truck that was depended on to open up roads after a snowstorm, said public works Director Mitch Boulette.

Boulette and Kiernan already have $3,025 pledged toward the project and hope others will contribute so they don’t have to go to taxpayers. So far, 20 people or businesses pledged money; others have pledged other things, including paint and towing.

Town bought it new

The money won’t be collected until the group reaches the amount needed. Anyone interested in pledging can call the town garage at 778-2191.

The truck was sold to John DiStefano in 1987 for $3,500. He’s put some new parts on it, including a motor.

DiStefano bought the truck because he recalled riding in it when his grandfather plowed the town’s roads, Boulette said. DiStefano used it to plow woods roads; it now sits on his property.

An identification tag in the vehicle indicates the town of Farmington was the original owner, taking delivery December 1944. The truck was purchased new for $11,500. It was made by the Oshkosh Truck Corp. of Wisconsin. A second truck was bought at the same time, Kiernan said, but that one was cut in half when a train hit it on Red Schoolhouse Road after the getting caught on the tracks.

“It is a big part of the history of highway department and the town,” Kiernan said.

The Oshkosh was used to clear Voter Hill. It opened up the road during big storms in the 1960s, Boulette said.

Slogging along at 4 mph

The truck was used from 1944 to 1985.

Its top speed was 37 miles per hour, probably without the plow gear, he said. When plowing the average speed fell to 4 to 5 miles an hour, he said.

Farmington’s trucks today are governed at 60 miles per hour, Boulette said.

The town used to stop plowing at the Middle School. Then, after the storm ended, the Oshkosh was used to open up the road.

It was the Goliath of its day, Kiernan said.

It was a massive piece of equipment, agreed Boulette.

It has a standard shift transmission, and lacks power steering.

The interior of the cab is oak. The actual framework of the cab is also oak with metal over it, Boulette said.

When it was in use, a group of 15 to 20 men would shovel a path for the truck so it could get its V-plow into the snow to get started.

In old town reports, the truck was referred to as Oshkosh No. 1.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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