Made the Macon Telegraph

[Bredehoft]

wow, great story! BTW, me and MY dad looked for your truck at SB - I think you had moved it or something

--george

[Bredehoft]

wow, great story! BTW, me and MY dad looked for your truck at SB - I think you had moved it or something

--george

[52hawk]

Great Pic and Great Story!!

LaSalle,Il
61Hawk

[52hawk]

Great Pic and Great Story!!

LaSalle,Il
61Hawk

[shugnshay]

Congrats, Mr. Burnette. Glad to know it's not just me that thinks you're a really cool guy!

Shay

Expert Daddy's Girl
Louisiana
1950 Commander

[shugnshay]

Congrats, Mr. Burnette. Glad to know it's not just me that thinks you're a really cool guy!

Shay

Expert Daddy's Girl
Louisiana
1950 Commander

[mbstude]

Made the Macon Telegraph

Quite an honor for me and my family...
(And the Stude marque!)

http://www.macon.com/194/story/160312.html

'It just gets in your blood'
Love of Studebakers is all in the family


Beau Cabell/The Telegraph
Clockwise from lower right, Neil Thornton, Matthew Burnette, Edie Thornton, Rebecca Burnette and Jack Burnette, seen Thursday in Hazlehurst, are all Studebaker lovers and drivers.

HAZLEHURST --A few years ago, my wife bought a 1999 Toyota Camry. The only problem with owning a Camry is there are so many of them. It has been the best-selling car in America the past four years.

To further complicate the situation, she selected a gray Camry. I am convinced three out of every four Camrys are gray. We used to keep a scraggly decal on the back window just so we could tell our Camry from the other 33,462 gray Camrys in the parking lot at the mall.

Matthew Burnette does not have this problem.

He drives a 1959 Studebaker truck. He has the only Studebaker in the parking lot at Jeff Davis High School.

It is orange. Bright orange. Omaha orange, to be precise. It doesn't just stand out. It radiates.

Other students park close to him just so they can find their own cars. There is probably a spy satellite out in space running a background check on the orange spot along latitude 31.869 north.

By his own admission, Matthew was "born into this madness." He is a fourth-generation Studebaker owner.

His grandfather Neil Thornton learned to drive in a 1948 Studebaker Champion ragtop that his own father paid $35 for in 1965. Matthew's "Papa" is still driving them and is an authority on everything Studebaker. He owns about 50 of the cars, either whole or for parts scattered across the county.

Matthew's mother, Rebecca, came home from the hospital in a Studebaker and was the only girl in the Jeff Davis High School class of 1987 to drive one. Except for when the trunk flew open crossing the railroad tracks or the humiliation of her sisters refusing to ride to school with her, it was a wonderful vehicle.

"It builds character," Neil would tell her when she complained about having to hand-choke the 1963 Lark Daytona.

It certainly must have built character. Rebecca is now the executive director of the Hazlehurst-Jeff Davis County Chamber of Commerce.

Her husband, Jack Burnette, has purchased two Studebakers - a 1956 Champion and a 1964 Wagonaire - since they have been married.

"I thought I had to own one to be in this family," he told Rebecca.

For Neil, wheeling around town in a Studebaker has always offered the kind of rugged independence he cherishes. He loves the history, the workmanship, the innovations and the loyalty of Studebaker owners. In the long line of makes and models dating back to the early 20th century, only the Avanti, which now owns the Studebaker trademark, remains in production.

"It just gets in your blood," Neil said. "Studebakers are fiercely independent, kind of like being a cowboy."

If it is at all genetic, then his 17-year-old grandson is a chip off the old engine block.

Matthew was born premature, arriving into the world weighing only 3 pounds, 12 ounces. Intellectually, he didn't develop slowly, just with a different gear ratio. Before he absorbed the cognitive skills of learning his circles and squares he could point out the difference between a Ford and a Dodge.

"Ever since, he's either been in a car or under one," said Rebecca.

The story behind the orange truck began in 1960 when a local tractor mechanic bought it from a Buick dealer for $1,389.64. He drove it for 14 years until the radiator hose blew and the engine started running hot. He pulled it into a barn, overhauled the engine, and left it there for the next 20 years.

In 1994, Matthew's uncle Mitchell Pair bought the truck and, for reasons unknown, changed the color from light blue to

[mbstude]

Thanks for the kind words all.

Matthew Burnette
'59 Scotsman
'63 Daytona
Hazlehurst, GA

[mbstude]

Thanks for the kind words all.

Matthew Burnette
'59 Scotsman
'63 Daytona
Hazlehurst, GA

[Mark57]

Excellent story![8D] Great picture of the family and vehicles... like that the Scotsman is front & centre.[^]

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar
3E-6/7-122 </h5>

[Mark57]

Excellent story![8D] Great picture of the family and vehicles... like that the Scotsman is front & centre.[^]

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar
3E-6/7-122 </h5>

[jjones]

Cool Matt

[jjones]

Cool Matt

[studegary]

Excellent coverage on your family and Studebakers.

Now to be me &lt;G&gt;, a few nits.
1) Why picture five of you and only four Studebakers? I know that you own more.
2) Avanti does not own the Studebaker Trademark.
3) Avanti is not still in business (as in making cars).
4) The SDC Convention is not merely national, but is an International Convention.

I was one of those people that went to your truck in South Bend to meet you. Your grandfather sent me off on a wild goose chase because he described what you were wearing as what you had on the previous day. I even bothered some young guy that I came across that was dressed as your grandfather described. I did later meet up with you at the Forum meeting place. It is hard for me to refer to him as grandfather because he is a decade younger than I am &lt;G&gt;.

To me, Matthew is not a star just because of his age, but rather because of his Studebaker knowledge, at any age, and his participation on this SDC Forum.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer

[studegary]

Excellent coverage on your family and Studebakers.

Now to be me &lt;G&gt;, a few nits.
1) Why picture five of you and only four Studebakers? I know that you own more.
2) Avanti does not own the Studebaker Trademark.
3) Avanti is not still in business (as in making cars).
4) The SDC Convention is not merely national, but is an International Convention.

I was one of those people that went to your truck in South Bend to meet you. Your grandfather sent me off on a wild goose chase because he described what you were wearing as what you had on the previous day. I even bothered some young guy that I came across that was dressed as your grandfather described. I did later meet up with you at the Forum meeting place. It is hard for me to refer to him as grandfather because he is a decade younger than I am &lt;G&gt;.

To me, Matthew is not a star just because of his age, but rather because of his Studebaker knowledge, at any age, and his participation on this SDC Forum.

Gary L.
Wappinger, NY

SDC member since 1968
Studebaker enthusiast much longer