Posted by Todd Somers [162.158.79.218] on Friday, December 08, 2017 at 18:24:57 :
The story begins in 1945 when Floyd S. Pike of Mt. Airy, NC decided to form a company to build power lines. When he started getting contracts from companies who generated large amounts of electrical energy he quickly determined that he needed a truck that would go anywhere and everywhere here in the mountains of western North Carolina and he determined that Dodge Power-Wagons were what he needed.
After visiting several Dodge truck dealers he was very discouraged because his young company did not have an established credit rating and he was not able to finance the purchase of the trucks that he needed. He then visited one more Dodge dealer in North Wilkesboro, NC and he told his story to the dealership owner up front of his problem of having no credit. Mr. F. D. Forester the dealership owner said that it would not be a problem and that he would finance the Power-Wagons for him. This led to a win/win situation for both of them. As a result, Mr. Pike bought many Power-Wagons over the ensuing years and all were bought from Mr. Forester. As the business increased, they became good friends and business associates. This is a true example of honest business men working together.
My Father also bought a Power-Wagon from Mr. Forester. Dad bought a 1948 B-1-PW that we used here on the farm in Wilkes County, NC. It was the first vehicle that required a license plate that I drove for several years. When Dad and I would go to North Wilkesboro to get parts for his Power-Wagon I would often see new Power-Wagons waiting for delivery to Pike Electric. I once saw five new Power-Wagons on the lot waiting to be picked up. You could spot them easily as the trucks were customized to Mr. Pike’s specifications. These were as follows: Braden winch, cab heater, brake booster, dual diaphragm vacuum booster fuel pump for the windshield wipers, and special one color paint (Federal Yellow).
There was a large lake (Lake Norman) that was being built not far south of where I live and I often saw the Pike Power-Wagons (as many as five or six) during the construction of the steel towers for the high tension lines that crossed the nearby mountains in the surrounding area where I live. The Power-Wagons were equipped at the Pike Electric shop with a heavy duty custom rear bumper that was welded to the very end of the rear of the frame. The bumper incorporated in addition to a hitch for a pole trailer large “U” clips to pull the three phase wires and grounding wire up the sides of the hills and mountains. Pike Electric built many miles of electric lines throughout NC, VA, WV, and SC, and possibly other states.
Near the end of Chrysler building Power-Wagons, Mr. Forester called Mr. Pike and told him that the production of these trucks was coming to an end. Mr. Pike asked him to find some more trucks. As you know this was “BI” (before Internet). Mr. Forester found a Dodge dealer in Denver, Colorado who had 100 trucks pending delivery and called Mr. Pike who promptly bought 50 of them. On the following day, Mr. Pike called back saying that he would buy all 100. A quick call by Mr. Forester found the rest of them sold and had to tell Mr. Pike the sad news. By the way, at this time Mr. Pike did not have to buy the trucks on credit!
I own four ex Pike electric trucks. Some of them still have the company truck number on the cab and company logo on the door. I still see their modern four wheel drive line trucks on the road but sadly they are not Power-Wagons.
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