I had nothing to contribute to Big Rig Week, and I wasn’t very happy about it. Then, I decided to go for a walk, and found this classic less than a mile from where I live.
It looked like it hadn’t moved in quite a while. I had to wonder how many times I had driven past it without noticing. When I finally took notice of the old GMC, the first word that went through my mind was “Cannonball.” That was the name of a Canadian TV series that originally aired in the late 50s which chronicled the adventures of a pair of long-haul truckers whose big rig of choice was a COE (Cab Over Engine) GMC.
Paul Birch played Mike “Cannonball” Malone, the gruff-but-likable elder driver, and William Campbell played his youthful sidekick, Jerry Austin. In old movies and TV shows, gruff-but-likable characters were always named either “Mike” or “Gus.” I suppose a coin was typically tossed in order to determine which of the two names would be used.
Paul Birch later had a recurring role on the TV series The Fugitive (which starred David Janssen) and many of you will remember William Campbell from his two guest appearances on the original Star Trek: Trelane in “The Squire of Gothos,” and the Klingon Captain Kolos in “The Trouble With Tribbles.”
If Wikipedia can be trusted, the truck in the series was a Model 950 diesel tractor. The bookmobile, on the other hand appears to have been built on a two-ton chassis.
In either case, “Cannonball” could easily refer to the truck itself. The abruptly-curved hood does make the front end look a bit like a cannonball. If you’re the sort who always gives his car or truck a name, you’d probably be tempted to call an old GMC “Gus” or “Mike,” since these truck have such a gruff-but-likable quality. They grunt, they groan and they moan, and they won’t get you there in style or get you there very quickly. But they will get you there eventually, along with lots and lots of really heavy stuff. Two tons is a lot of books.
At first, I thought this particular cannonball was that rarest of all vehicles: a non-Divco milk truck. I suppose it was the lack of side windows that led to this preliminary conclusion. However, the faded paint says “Pierce County Public Library,” and libraries traditionally do not deliver milk. Nope, they delivered books, and I’m glad that they did. I have many fond childhood memories of books borrowed from the local bookmobile.
One thing that puzzles me is this decorative plate. “Historic Carlisle Pennsylvania?” Pierce County is right here in Washington State. At what point in this truck’s history did it make a transcontinental trip from Pennsylvania to Washington? Or is there some better, simpler explanation for that plate?
I’ve found it very difficult to pin-point the year of this truck. The Chevrolet Advance Design and GMC New Design trucks came out in 1947 and continued through the early part of the 1955 model year, with only incremental changes along the way. Normally, I would look for the presence or absence of vent windows on the doors, and look at the door handles to see if they’re the old kind that you had to twist, or the newer kind with a push-button handle. I’d also check for the location of the gas tank filler cap. None of these possible clues apply to this truck with its school-bus style door. My only clue is the two-pieced windshield, which would eliminate the ’54 and early ’55 models which had a curved, one-pieced windshield.
Regardless of the year or any of the other details that we love to nit-pick here at Curbside Classic, it’s a Bookmobile, and it makes this gruff (and hopefully likeable) old guy smile.
Not sure what is with the Carlisle vanity plate, but I do know that Carlisle has I-81 going through it and a few other little facts. Is it just me or was it impossible to make a GM New Design look bad? Even this Bookmobile looks good and I am surprised at the lack of moss on it.
Cool find. I wouldn’t even rely on the 2 piece windshield as an indicator though, that would have been part of the body and not the truck. These were sold as a flat cowl unit, a practice which continues today largely for the school bus market. The librarian who had to drive this thing must have looked like Popeye though, as I don’t think power steering was available on these units.
Funny, I had a similar (though unmentioned) situation in the most recent Junkyard Outtake.
Willow River is a small town not far from here, and is the name on the fire truck. Furthermore, I knew that truck to have been parked for several years on a property just a few miles from the yard. But, curiously, upon arrival at the yard, it was wearing Arizona license plates.
Why? I’ll probably never know.
Every car has a story, but sometimes they are just not talking.
I noticed the AZ plate and wondered about it too.
Looks like it’d make a stellar camper conversion. No existing windows gives so much more freedom to place windows where they’ll work best with an internal layout. Probably want to upgrade the running gear to something a little more modern though.
I like it but as above these sorts of things were only built to the firewall the rest was part of the body builders territory it would make an awesome camper.
We had bookmobiles here in Carlisle when I was a kid. Wouldn’t it be something if that was actually one of them?
If only trucks could talk!
A little research on google images leads me to believe this is a 1954 GMC truck as a picture I saw there had a two piece windshield and this same grill design on a 1954 GMC pickup. 1954 Chevy pickups had a simpler but uglier grill and the one piece windshield.
Campbell played Koloth on the original series and on DS9. Yeah I’m a Trek fan.
I wonder how many CC readers name their cars. Our reddish-copper Monaco is “Ginger.” I’ve dubbed my brother’s silver Imperial “Sylvia.” (Can you see where I’m going with these…?)
Cool find. I think you can’t rule out it being a later model due tot eh split windshield since that is a part of the van body build out. This truck was likely delivered as a cowl and chassis from the look of how the body is attached to it.
Now that everyone mentions it, I can see that the windshield is definitely part of the coachbuilder’s add-on. I thought I had it at least narrowed down to 1947 to early 1955, but if I can’t count on the windshield as an indicator, then I am stumped regarding the model year. I suppose I shouldn’t be too embarrassed, since changes in truck design were glacial back then.
The idea of turning this old Bookmobile into a camper is a pretty interesting one, and it reminds me of a COE Advance Design Chevy that somebody turned into a pickup:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hugo90/5815982158/in/faves-78946127@N04/
I had a couple of minutes and on a guess I googled “1952 GMC bookmobile” Lo and behold, this very unit shows up on a website set up to solicit bids for moving equipment. Whoever owned it in 2009 wanted to move it from one place to another in the Seattle area in 2009. It’s listed as a 1952.
Hey, good job. I just did the same thing, and it’s clearly the same truck. A 1952 it is.
That hood is…unique. It looks like GM just took a pickip and streched a few parts where needed. Still a very cool find.
Is it certain that the truck is from Pierce County PA, or is that (merely) a deduction ’cause of the Carlisle plaque? (Several other Pierce Countys/Counties out there)
There’s a Pierce County here in Washington, too, and that was my guess, but who knows? I’d love to know more about the history of this truck, and since it’s parked within walking distance of where I live, maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to the owner some time soon.
The plate does say Pennsylvania on the bottom.
Interesting mystery.
That truck is awesome. Love the style and the split windows. It’s in pretty nice shape considering.
Has a bit of a locomotive thing going on.
How tall is it?
I agree, a camper conversion while retaining the exterior original would be cool. A good excuse to take this beast out and about.
Carlisle hosts a famous classic car swap meet. Perhaps this was a vendor’s parts hauler after its library retirement?
Hello, everyone — I owned this rig for three years, and am the one who parked it in the storage lot in Washington where it still resides. Small world, isn’t it? In a “seven degrees of separation” kind of thing, I only saw these posts because my ex-husband and still-friend Jeff Serna told me about it. He lives in Eugene OR and has been profiled by Curbside Classics twice for his old rigs, most recently just last week with his 1944 GMC CCKW 6×6. One thing we still share (besides four grown kids and six grandkids) is a passion for big old trucks.
Anyway, it’s been amusing to read all the speculation about this bookmobile, so let me answer a few questions. Yes, it’s a 1952 GMC; and the coach was made by Gerstenslager. The Carlisle plate does not relate to its origins at all! It was a curio mounted there as a sentimental gesture by the wife of the owner before me — she was from Pennsylvania. This truck indeed served the children of Pierce County, Washington in its heyday. The beautiful thing about the rig is that the interior is still intact with the bookshelves and checkout counters. It has two swing out doors on the passenger side, three opening skylights, and tons of headroom. It has space for a generator, and the house electric system is set up for that and shore power. The interior has 110 and 12v lights.
I bought it in June 2009 from a man in Mt. Vernon, WA and had grand plans to turn it into a camper. For the next three years it served as a fine piece of yard art (not so much appreciated by my next door neighbors, however). Then I bought a house elsewhere with not enough space to park the bookmobile. So I sold it on Ebay in June of 2012 to a man from California, who also had grand plans for it but to my knowledge has never seen it in person. Now, almost two years of monthly storage fees later it remains languishing where it is now. I have told the storage lot owner that if he ever defaults I will buy the bookmobile back.
My ex-husband once told me that the ’52 Bookmobile was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen! I am trying to persuade him to relocate from Eugene to Seattle and get a large piece of property where all our huge old rigs can peacefully spend the rest of their years, and we can spend the rest of ours collecting and restoring them.
Fantastic to hear a little more about it, and even more fantastic seeing the extra photos! Seeing them shows even more how good a camper conversion it would make.
Thanks for checking in and giving us the rest of the story. Any idea where it sat for 3 or 4 decades after it retired? It’s amazing that the shelves and fittings are all intact. That would make a really cool RV!
Thanks very much for the additional info on the bookmobile. I love the interior shot. If it was mine and I had a spot where I could park it, I’d probably leave the interior as-is, and fill the dang bookshelves with books. I’d keep it in working order and drive it a little bit from time to time, but mostly it would just sit; a sort of semi-portable bookworm’s man-cave.
“A sort of semi-portable bookworm’s man cave”. Love it.
I more envisioned it as a woman cave! 😉
Hi vickmason,
I am quite certain I know this bookmobile. It lived in my backyard for several years, in the late 90s and early 00s. My older brother owned it and converted it to a camper. He lived and travelled in it for a while but those plans got waylaid and it sat for many years. I haven’t checked to confirm with him, but one day in about 2012 I saw it in Mount Vernon just off Hoag Rd and recognized it. Brought back a lot of memories of me and my younger brother playing in it!
I’d kind of like to see if we can confirm it’s the same vehicle. If we share contact info I can give you his name and see if we have a match.
Hey Charlie, yes! I am the aforementioned brother and this old beauty is indeed the one I had. I lived in her for two years! I painted that ceiling with the blue sky and fluffy clouds…it is a ‘52. I understood it used to be owned by the State of Washington and went all around as a Library On Wheels (which is painted on the sides).
I will post a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure…
It was always my intent to put in a diesel engine and new running gear, and to leave as much of the original exterior patina as possible.
Here’s a view of the starboard side. There are chrome-plated handles inside the door that operate swing-out steps. It is on this side that there is the most rust. But the panels are flat, so would be easier to replace.
An interior view of the cab, where you can also see the front check-in counter.
Now there’s a picture that brings back a lot of memories. I grew up in Pacific County WA, and the bookmobile that I got books from was a Ford from the local Timberland Regional Library, but it of course had the checkout counter in the same spot. I can still remember how the librarian chuckled at my choice for a book. I forget the title, but it was written by “Kilgore Trout,” which I found out years later was actually a pen name used by Kurt Vonnegut.
I tried really hard to find the right home for the bookmobile. I was contacted by SO many people, but not many serious ones. I even contacted half a dozen auto museums, including LeMay and a truck museum somewhere in Washington (I can’t remember where now); but none of them wanted it in its as-is condition.
Some of the great ideas I heard for its use were: leaving it as a bookmobile, either as a lending library or a mobile bookshop; traveling crafts fair rig; foodtruck, taking it to car shows and selling auto parts from its shelves; using it to haul a vintage trailer; and, of course, campermobile.
I don’t know anything more about its history other than the couple that owned it before me used it to haul their wares to antique shows. It’s a shame that it still sits, unused to its full potential and garnering more rust by the year. Such an unusual gem.
I wonder if any school buses were manufactured on the cab over chassis. It would be wonderful if some good hearted soul decided to restore that marvelous GMC bookmobile back to its original splendor. It’s pathetic how so many of those great old trucks have been ravaged by tasteless hotrodders who are completely deficient in design asthetics.
Is there a current update 2015 for location / sale / donation ?
Would love to know if available 2015 – please e-mail ;
Steven Willhite try phoenix craigslist 51 gmc bookmobile…………