Jerome Thiessen signed over the title to his 1932 Model B Ford truck to the Sauk County Historical Society on Saturday after restoring and caring for the locally owned and operated truck for more than 40 years.

“The great thing about the truck — we are not out to collect cars — is that the Truck is such an integral part of Sauk County History,” said Paul Wolter, SCHS president.

Thiessen is the third owner. The Ford was purchased originally by Oscar Altpeter, a local businessman, to deliver soda from his bottling plant to businesses in and around Baraboo.

Altpeter sold grape, cr�me soda, orange, and the most popular, Thiessen said, ginger ale. That is why the truck says three star ginger ale. “The door has three stars on it,” said Thiessen

When Oscar died, his son John took over the business and the Truck.

Thiessen acquired the Truck upon John Altpeter’s death as he had told his brother he wanted. Thiessen believes that John wanted him to have it as a token of appreciation for all of the times that John had brought it to Thiessen to have him knock out dents and straighten fenders after minor mishaps. John was a drinker and I was a shade tree auto body man, said Thiessen.

Thiessen refurbished the truck but not immediately after acquiring it. He waited until after he had built his first airplane to spend time on the truck’s restoration.

“The first thing I did was tear the engine apart. I rebuilt the engine first, then the frame,” said Thiessen. “I sandblasted it. I painted it. Nothing went to anybody else except the machining. ”

Thiessen chose to donate the truck now instead of later because he knows what happens when a person leaves this world without putting his material and financial matters in order. His father was an, “I don’t care about the money, I care that the food is in front of me” kind of guy, he said. Thiessen doesn’t want his children to have to deal with the truck.

Thiessen is upbeat about the transfer of ownership. “I feel this is a big boost for them (SCHS). There is no truck around here that matches this. It was bought in Baraboo, used in Baraboo and except for trips, has never left Baraboo.”

“Everything he is doing in my opinion has a clear appreciation for history,” SCHS Executive Director Orris Smith said. “(The truck) is not just an old vehicle. It is an old vehicle with history. That truck delivered that soda to all of Sauk County. We hope some day it will be the centerpiece of the new Sauk County History Center.”

“There are not many around. In ‘32 there were only about 570 of the Model B made. It had a commercial box. After ‘32, you could buy a commercial box, but in ‘32 it was an oddity,” said Thiessen.

“Of course I’ll miss it,” he said.