A
Man and His Dream
Don Mayton, a consummate professional and a
superb ambassador for General Motors, dreamed to restore a
Futurliner. In 1998 Don began his quest with an adjunct that it be
shown at his favorite car show, the AACA Regional Meet in Hershey,
PA. On October 7, of 2006, Don’s dream was realized as he stood
before it on the Hershey show field and AACA judges went over it
from stem to stern.
It was 1953 when John Falter rendered a cover for the
GM Annual Report depicting the Parade of Progress with the GM
Futurliners showing off their displays of technological marvels to a
large crowd of onlookers. The painting was entitled, "We hope
to set a boy to dreaming." One can’t help but see the
correlation between a visionary dream of the future and a visionary
dream to preserve the past. The Futurliners and the Parade of
Progress captivated Don Mayton to dream of preserving its historical
significance and show it off for the world to see and remember and
maybe even be inspired by it.
As with many visionary leaders there are men and women
who will tirelessly work along side them to bring their dream to a
reality. The all-volunteer crew sometimes joked that it could never
be done, but they plodded on, week after week and year after year.
They met their obstacles head on and conquered them one by one. Don’s
unfailing leadership never faltered and the volunteers began to envision
not just the restoration of Futurliner #10 but the lives of the men
who originally navigated the behemoth over the back-roads of North
America and brought technological wonders to common people whose
lives would be changed and challenged forever.
When Don first spotted Bob Valdez’s Futurliner
in California, converted into a customized motor home, he dreamed to
restore one. Don, probably more than any of us, grasped the
historical significance of the Futurliner in GM’s history and the
impact the "Parade" must have had on those that viewed it
and those that worked on it. The Futurliner wasn’t the only marvel
on the Parade of Progress and maybe, because of its restoration,
more of its history will be remembered and told. A man standing in
the shadow of the Futurliner on the Hershey show field turned and
said to me with a look of resolve, "GM doesn’t do that
anymore."
For those that supported Don’s dream the
occasion was very special as they realized the magnitude of what
they had all accomplished together.
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