And on a final note, I was bored during lunch on Friday, so i began to try and read the entire logo on the doors of the double cab.
It reads:
J.H. Cothran Co., Inc.
Plumbing, Heating, & Air Conditioning Contractors
And i was able to figure out by what was left,
Altavista, Virginia
So i looked up searches on Google, found several Obituaries where people were listed as former employees of this company, but no current records (There was a newspaper article from December of 1968 that was about how the governor of Virginia had awarded them a contract for $530,,,000 for major heating and air renovations on government buildings.)
So, i contacted the town hall in Altavista, the young chick there had no idea what the hell i was talking about. She gives me the number for the Campbell County Business officer. That lady says she's not sure, but the name sounded familiar. She puts me on hold, then comes back and tells me she was going to transfer me to a lady who knew more about the company, who grew up in the town of Altavista.
I get to talk now to this lady, who remembers the company well, said it was a big corporation at one time. Her brother still manages the local True Value and they (JH Cothran) had an account there for years. It gets better.... she remembers the company well because she went to school with the son of one of four brothers who made up the company at the time. The last of the four brothers died just six weeks ago, he was 90. The company was in fact named for the father of these four brothers. She then proceeds to give me the number of the widow of said brother, who she says is a close friend, tells me to mention her name when i call. I left her a message Friday, she calls me back today. I tell her about what i am doing, she seems quite interested, and while she mainly recalled the large trucks they used, she says they did use some smaller trucks for shuttling crews back and forth to job sites, and small supply trips and believes that was what the double cab was used primarily for. Further, she is pretty sure that This company is probably the one who bought it new, not later on like i originally thought. She said she will probably be speaking with her brother in law, himself over 90yrs old as well, and she'll ask him what he knows about the truck as well. Acording to her, he has had a stroke, but his mind is pretty sharp......All i can say is PICS?
Very nice lady, she grew up in Lynch Station, and she knew exactly the shop that Steve dragged the double out of. And she is a friend of the Comptons, who as i mentioned, helped me get the title settled on the truck.
Small World, behold the power of Google....
