Dad’s school bus sits in grove for 70 years
Then becomes Winnebago man’s rat rod
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SLEEPY EYE -- A Winnebago man drove an old school bus that sat in a grove on a rural Winnebago farm for 70 years before he converted it into a rat rod and drove it to the Sleepy Eye Summerfest Classic Car Show Saturday.
"The 1936 bus was originally a Ford but I put a 7.3 liter diesel motor made by International for Ford into it," said Lawrence "Shorty" Sickler. "My dad used to drive the bus. I found it in the grove where it sat for 70 years. He drove it for a few years and parked it in the grove. I'll be 74 next year."
A retired plumber, Sickler said he used to weld until he got a pacemaker (that controls his heart rhythms). He said welding interferes with his pacemaker so he had another individual weld all the farm implement tools on his rat rod bus.
"I've had the bus up to 80 mph and it still wanted to go faster. I didn't think I should go any faster," said Sickler. "There are very few buses like this around. I found two others kind of like it in the country. I've had fun with it. A pitchfork on the back of the bus roof was made to look like a bird."
Susan Dalsgaard of Springfield drove her 1956 Cadillac to the classic car show.
"I was the third owner of the car. I bought it in Faribault in 1998. It's so fun to drive. I like the way people look at it when I go back. They watch me as long as they can. It really grabs attention," she said. "I added a small diorama of the car in a 1950's era repair shop that he create with items she found on ebay. I've had it up to 70 mph but not for very long."
A Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employee, she works at Flandrau State Park and is a U.S. Air Force retiree.
Her brother Del Dalsgaard drove his 1976 Pontiac Trans Am to the car show.
"I bought it new in 1976 when I was 20 years old, when I was stationed with the U.S. Air Force in Bossier City, La. It's in original condition," he said. "I never had any reason to sell it. I love the style of it. You just don't see many like it anymore. It drives as well as it did the day I bought it. I've had it up to 140 mph."
Dalsgaard served more than 22 years in the U.S. Air Force as a musician. He drove a school bus in Springfield for several years before he decided to winter in Arizona.