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Celebrating 25 years as a Local Landmark !

What’s That?

Perhaps you’ve seen pictures of the “Truck in the Tree” before on the Internet. Or, maybe you’re one of thousands of travelers daily who’ve seen this amazing landmark as you tool down Interstate 43 near mile marker 6, just outside Clinton, Wisconsin.

“Madman” Mark Madson is the creative genius who put his 1959 1/2 ton Chevy Fleetside pick-up truck 50 foot up in a split forked tree – as a tree house for his son Luke. Read more about this Truck in a tree, view some pictures, and visit Mark’s other websites.

Just make sure to pick up a copy of his book: “Creations of the Wisconsin Mad Man“. Come to understand his “Upside Down and Backwards” philosophy and how he uses it to create his modern day masterpieces.

The World Renowned “Truck In The Tree”

As printed in the Clinton Topper, March 17, 1994

When Luke Madson told his dad, Mark, he needed some help to build a Tree House, he had no idea what he was in for.

It seems as if the tree was made to hold this truck, because it fits perfectly between the two massive trunks of the tree. It fits so tight in fact, that Luke and his buddies have to crawl in through the windows, “Dukes of Hazzard” style.

Once they are inside, they can drive anywhere their imagination can take them. With the sounds of Interstate Highway 43 and the sway of the tree in the breeze, it’s not hard to make believe that you are Peter Pan.

Of course, you have to provide your own engine sounds, with the help of your vibrating lips, and the radio will play any song you like, as long as you know the words. The box provides plenty of room to play, or to just lay back and watch the clouds drift by.

Last summer, Luke’s dad got a rare opportunity to buy this 1959 1/2 ton Chevy Fleetside pick-up truck that was in mint condition. At first he planned to sell the truck for 10 times what he paid for it, but then as we worked on it, to get it ready to sell, it just started to grow on us.

“It is one of those neat old trucks that you can’t forget. Since we didn’t really have the time to restore it right now, we thought we would store it in a safe place that we could enjoy,” says Madson.

It seems like Mark Madson, from rural Clinton, likes to come up with at least one KOO KEY PROJECT every year.

In the last five years he has built “The World’s Most Famous Automobile Mail Box”, “The Answer is Blow’n In The Wind” big block Chevy engine weather vane, “The Make Hay While The Sun Shines” big block lawn mower, “The Low Mower” lawn mower, and “The Tree Truck Tree House.”

He has also invented the Madson Crossfire distributor cap, and Madson Power Blasters, the cutouts that don’t leak!