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Truckin' to the past Photo from Southern Oregon Historical Society Photo by Jim Craven Carl Reinhardt of Grants Pass talks with Marcella Morthland of Medford after showing her the 1928 Durant pickup truck he had just finished restoring. Morthland and her husband owned the truck in the 1930s. Despite her failing vision, Morthland was thrilled to see the truck again. Top: Lloyd and Marcella Morthland with their delivery truck when it was new. Woman delighted to see restored truck after 50 years By BILL KETTLER Marcella Morthland opened her front door Thursday and stepped back into the 1930s. There in her driveway sat the 1928 Durant truck she and her husband drove when they opened Medford's first flower shop. The Durant gleamed like it had never left the showroom. The chrome radiator sparkled in the spring sunshine and the polished black fenders glowed. "Oh goodness," said the 92-year-old Medford woman as she saw the truck for the first time in more than half a century. "Isn't it wonderful!" "This is a tribute to you and your husband," said Carl Reinhardt, who spent three years restoring what may be the only remaining 1928 Durant truck in the world. Morthland and her husband, Lloyd, bought the truck in 1930 when they opened the Medford Flower Shop at 33 N. Central Ave. They ran the business until 1945. Lloyd Morthland, known as "Shy," served eight years as a Jackson County commissioner in the late 1940s and early 1950s. He died in 1971. Reinhardt bought the Durant a few years ago. The retired Grants Pass cabinetmaker had heard rumors about the truck's history, and he called the Southern Oregon Historical Society to find out more about its history. Carol Harbison-Samuelson, SOHS librarian, combed city directories from the 1930s and uncovered the Morthlands' name. Later she was wandering through SOHS archives and noticed a folder with "Morthland" written on it. Inside she discovered photos of Shy Morthland and the truck. The hood ornament from the 1928 Durant pickup truck restored by Carl Reinhardt of Grants Pass. He said parts for the rare truck were scarce at best. "It was like I was supposed to find it," she said. "I was so excited I was jumping up and down." When Reinhardt discovered Marcella Morthland was still living in Medford, he decided to have the Durant painted with the same "Medford Flower Shop" lettering that the truck bore in old photographs. He brought it to Medford Thursday to show her the finished restoration. As she walked around the truck, Morthland recalled life in 1930, when she and her husband decided to open a flower shop. The Great Depression was a year old. "We had to have a lot of gumption (to open a flower shop)," she said. "They were selling apples in the street. But (the business) just took off. "In those days we delivered free of charge clear to Jacksonville," she said. "Now you pay for everything." The Morthlands used the truck for weekend outings, too. "We took it on fishing trips sometimes when we could get away," she said. "We used to go up Elk Creek. He didn't like to fish in the river. He liked to fish in the creeks." Reinhardt, who has restored several other antique cars, said the Durant took more time and money because parts were scarce or nonexistent. "You had to make them or try to find them," he said. He wouldn't even hazard a guess on how much time he spent restoring the Durant over the past three years. "I don't keep track," he said. "You can't punch a time clock and work on one of these." Reinhardt plans to show the truck at Medford's old-car cruise in June and perhaps drive it in May's Boatnik parade in Grants Pass. He said it's difficult to put a value on the Durant, but people have told him if he were to advertise it on the Internet "there would be people flying into the Merlin airport in Lear jets" to see it. On Thursday all he cared about was showing the Durant to the lady who hauled flowers in it 60 years ago. "If I helped make her day," he said, "that's all that counts." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA