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After Ken began restoration of his two International 1956 gravel trucks in 1980, he became intrigued by the thought of restoring an International half-ton and began searching for a suitable truck.In 1958 Ken had bought a 1951 L series International half-ton, which had been purchased new by Mel Hughes in Athabasca, Alberta, who traded it in a few years later for a car at Hoag's Garage in Rimbey, Alberta. Ken bought the truck from Hoag's for $575.
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1951 L series International half-ton in 1982.1951
Ken Smithson's farm, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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Above is the 1951 L series, after it was restored in 1982 and better than it would have looked when Ken first owned it as a seven-year-old vehicle in 1958. Les Beierbach, who rented a shop at Nikirk's in Rimbey, did the bodywork and paint.In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Ken's young daughters, Judy and June, enjoyed many rides in this truck, which was reliable but with a poor starter - a bearing on each end but none in the middle. At home and when cold, the truck started beautifully. As soon as the motor was warm, the starter did not work effectively. When Ken drove into town from his farm and turned off the engine, his truck would not start. Instead, Ken would be obliged to get out the crank. His girls sat in the cab and laughed, "Gotta crank old Nellie-Bell!" The girls had watched a Western movie with a car named Nellie-Bell that regularly needed to be cranked.
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In 1963 Ken traded in Nellie-Bell at Montalbetti Bros., in Bluffton, Alberta. That same year, not yet ready to part with the truck, he bought it back from Montalbetti's. Eventually Ken sold Nellie-Bell privately to Bob Marshall of Wetaskiwin, Alberta.In 1981 Ken was working at Rocky Mountain House, Alberta. As he worked in the area, with his mind set on restoring an L series International, Ken kept his eyes peeled for a suitable truck. Then Vern Stewart, a friend of Ken's who knew of his search, called Ken one day and asked how he'd like to have his old truck back. Nellie-Bell was sitting in Vern's yard just seventeen kilometres outside of Rimbey. But the truck was a wreck. Although the cab was good, the hood and motor were gone and the box had fallen apart. Vern donated the truck to Ken, who towed it home and began working.
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Nellie-Bell - 1951 L International - with new box and hood, ready for the body shop and paint.1951
Ken Smithson's farm, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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Ken's newly restored 1951 L half-ton at work, hauling stock racks to Olson Auction, Rimbey, Alberta.1951
Ken Smithson's farm, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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International 1956 L series half-ton.1951
Ken Smithson's farm, north of Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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Two Internationals decorated for a 1984 wedding.1951 and 1938
Pas-ka-poo Historical Museum and Park, Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Credits:Ken Smithson
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Young people loved to borrow Ken's gorgeous trucks for their weddings. In the above photo, Nellie-Bell, restored in 1982, is on the left. Beside it is a 1938 D series International, restored in 1984.10
1951 L restored, in front of the Smithson International Truck Museum in 1991.1951
Smithson International Truck Museum
Credits:Rimbey Historical Society
Photo by Michael's Studio, Wendy Huff
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2004 front view of International 1951 L half-ton.1951
Smithson International Truck Museum
Credits:Rimbey Historical Society
Photo by Verna Field
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