Somewhere along the way, major car manufacturers stopped making green trucks. Like many modern things, the color green seems to have been lost amid a dozen shades of gray and a few blues. 

There are some exceptions, and when they are sighted along East Texas roads, people take notice.

One such truck is a 1959 Chevrolet Apache owned by Ken Pearce. Even in the easy morning sun, the brilliant color of Pearce’s Apache demands attention. The combination of color and classic curves of the ’59 pickup is at the same time comforting and awe-inspiring.

As in many cars and trucks of that era, the designers incorporated aesthetics into every angle of the vehicle.

“Those designers were certainly influenced by the evolution of aircraft in the Second World War,” stated Pearce. He offered that the accents on the front fenders and the fins in the back are reminiscent of WWII warbirds. “Even the metal detailing atop the fenders were called ‘gunsights’ by the automakers,” Pearce noted.

Old cars and trucks have a particularly powerful place in the collective memory of America, an automobile nation.

When automobiles, however, can be resurrected from youthful memories to an active hobby to a personal connection with one’s life – that is a unique thing.

Ken Pearce attended Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio. At age 16, Pearce took a part-time job at a local barbecue place. There, he became friends with two co-workers, Mark and Scott Bowdoin.

The twin Bowdoin brothers drove a 1958 Chevrolet Yeoman. It became the trio’s wheels for their youthful adventures. 

The Yeoman was produced as a working-man’s station-wagon.

“It was only made that one year,” Pearce noted, “…there were around 26,000 built, and I expect half of those were the more unique two-door model.”

What Pearce most remembered of that Yeoman was the condition that Mark and Scott kept it in.

“It was absolutely immaculate,” he recalled. The Yeoman spurred in Pearce, a life-long interest in automobiles.

Pearce headed to college at Texas Tech – selling his Pontiac GTO to fund his education – and the Bowdoins went on to Sam Houston State. 

Life intervened; the friends fell out of contact. Decades passed.

A successful career in accountancy followed for Pearce, as did raising a family. With extended family in the Tyler area, Pearce relocated to Wood County.

One day he managed to contact his old high school buddies.

The conversation soon turned to the Yeoman, “What ever happened to the ’58?” Pearce asked. It was yet in their possession, resting in a pole barn in Pleasanton.

That question launched a quest. As Pearce explained, “It took me three years to convince them to sell it to me. Once they did, it took another year to take possession.”

Eventually, Pearce signed the title of the ’58 Yeoman, and that prized conveyance of his youth was his.   

As with most all car-aficionados, Pearce has his own philosophy about working on old cars, “I want to drive it, anywhere in the United States.” 

That often means replacing the engine and the transmission and installing power brakes, power steering and air conditioning. He related that, luckily, there are conversion kits available for such modifications.

Of course, the work is not without challenges.

As Pearce admitted, “I am not a fabricator, so the kits work for me.” He then added with a smile, “Whatever a mechanic can do in an hour, I can do in five.” 

No doubt, Pearce is well-practiced. He has four automobiles in his collection: the ’58 Yeoman, the ’59 Apache, a ’65 Pontiac GTO and a ’76 Chevrolet Camaro.

Pearce ran down the prime mover changes which have transformed each of the cars. The Yeoman originally had a 283 motor with a 3-speed on the column and is now running with a bored-360 and an automatic transmission with overdrive. The Apache’s original 6-cylinder was replaced with a 350 Ramjet fuel-injected V8. The GTO’s Tempest custom 326 has been replaced with a 6.0 LS engine, and the Camaro is powered by a 5.3 LS in place of the factory 350.  

He has indeed taken his cars on the road. Pearce drove the GTO to a national car show in Louisville, Ky. and the Camaro to shows in Houston, Austin and Lubbock. The Yeoman has been displayed at the Lone Star Round-Up in Austin.

The Yeoman appears to be a favorite in his collection. It is also the only car which has its weather-worn exterior preserved.

“I keep the patina as is,” he said, “and treat the car with linseed oil periodically to give it a bit of a sheen and to slow rusting.”

That weathered patina draws attention at car shows. Folks come to see the patina and then discover that the car is a Yeoman – and a two-door Yeoman at that.

Pearce doesn’t make as many car shows as he once did, but a couple of select shows yet make it onto his calendar every year. He is hoping to make it to the national show ‘Cruisin’ the Coast’ which is a traveling show which runs along the gulf coast. 

And the green Apache? It too, was obtained via an old friend, who’s extended family had it on a ranch in Dripping Springs. Pearce first sighted that truck in the ‘80s. It came to him after long negotiations with his old friend.

The hobby which keeps Pearce busy is one of diligence and patience. As he summarized, “The effort is rewarded by taking one of those classics down the road.”