Remember the story we told you last year about the old truck door that Tim found in the woods many years ago? And kept it for decades, because, well, that’s what we do.
That door and the truck it belonged to – owned by Old Mission Peninsula pioneer Chum Reay – has a long and storied history on the OMP, and it led us to interview Chum’s son, Marty Reay, who told us more about the origins of the door and the Reay family.
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Read Tim’s interview with Marty here. It not only tells the story of the door, but also of Chum’s ice-cutting business and a lot of OMP history, weaving in many pioneering families through the years. Oh, and of course, the door was returned to its rightful owner – the Reay family.
Marty’s son, Matt Reay, runs a trucking and snowplowing business in Portland, Michigan, and he had some signs made and adopted the original logo into his business.
And Marty’s granddaughter, Belle, even painted a picture of the door for me and Tim, and we couldn’t have been more excited to get it.
Well, the story of that door continues on as we head into 2020. Around Christmas, I spotted a picture of Marty that Matt had posted on Facebook. “Look!” I yelled at Tim. “Marty got a birdhouse for Christmas, and it’s the truck with the logo!”
It was indeed a birdhouse shaped like the Reay truck, and it had that “M. Reay & Son” logo on the side of it – just like the door Tim found in the woods decades ago.
And so, the story of the iconic Chum Reay truck door continues to give us all joy into the new year. And we’re pretty sure the birds who get to use it will be super happy about it, too.
A NOTE FROM JANE: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers like the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, and magazines like Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So of course, I started my own newspaper. Because the Gazette is mainly reader-supported, I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks my way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the Old Mission Peninsula. Check out the donation page here. Thank you so much for your support. -jb
What a fun story….continuing, and uplifting. Heartwarming on a cold and blustery day! Thanks for the smiles.
[…] off a series of other events … the year following Tim and Marty’s interview, Marty got a new birdhouse for Christmas – in the shape of the truck with the iconic door! Matt, who runs a trucking and snowplowing […]