driving in the 'good ole days'

Parking could still be a pain, depending on your location. But is was much easier for the most part. The trailers were shorter too 4 wheelers had a bit more respect for drivers, as a whole. But, there were less of us and them at the time.

What I miss? The "community/family" approach that used to be in the trucking industry. If someone broke down, or had a problem. There would be another driver (if not 5 others) pulled over to offer any assistance they could give.

Trucking in the earlier years was considered a job of last resort for many people. But, they still got respect and professional courtesy extended to them by others outside the industry. They were doing what needed to be done, to support their families. And staying off of welfare.

Overall, the job wasn't any easier. But it sure as hell was a lot more fun/enjoyable.

 

Period 1953 to late 59- Lets use 1953 and 1954 for this one:

Mostly gas burners and all 6 volt electric systems. 34' was a LONG trailer.
Slack adjusters had a little cross piece cotter pinned on the bolt. You pushed in on the bolt and could turn to adjust. Turn loose it locked. Sears was not selling a lot of Caftsman 9/16 combo wrenches then.

In southeast most large stops were 1 to 2 acres of good hard gravel. Buildng in center with resturant in one side, service supplies in other. Coupla pair (Regular/Ethyel) gas pumps in front. Diesel was just coming in and its pump usually off to one side. You pulled in round back or across front and parked headed out. Next rig pulled in and lined up alongside you. Those going other way did the opposite.Nobody seemed to crowd. (FYI the Triple T in Tuscon had gravel front still in late 58)


Alabama had no scales. Cheap tags. All produce "wildcatters" (O/O's now)
tagged themselves as Name, Rt2, Loxley, AL. MO broke this up in 54-55.
Scales at Sikeston, MO set up with a crowbar and an oil drum. AL truck came thru and could not substantiate domicile there, they pried off his tags, threw in the barrel, and sold him MO plates right there. Big Jim Folsom was gov of AL. He was called on this problem. Big Jim put ALL law enforcement in AL on alert. Stopped ALL MO trucks AND tourists and sold them AL plates. It got settled quickly. Beginning of recipocal tags/fuel.

Arkansas scales stuck you tanks with a coat hanger, estimated your incoming fuel and you paid him the tax in cash-Right then. Also could buy AR drivers license there for $5.00 by showing your present ones and telling them you were moving to Rt. 2, Searcy, AR. Good set of back ups for Hartford, CN.

KYand VA, did not recognize a tandem trailer. Could always make a buck hauling somebody 2000 lb over the scales for him.

Few sleepers. Beds in our old IH's usually consisted of the split seats, your bag set between them to fill the gap, good quality "furniture pad" folded across them as mattress and a blanket and pillow. Go to sleep curled up, switch to your back, curl again, get up and go. Never overslept.

 

I miss being asked for my union card. Construction workers would not unload the truck if the driver was non-union. I suppose they would unload if the driver bought a temporary card in their union. While hauling pipe-laying equipment under Parkhill authority, we showed our Teamster cards. They seemed surprised that we were Teamsters. Of course, Parkhill was owned by Tri-State Motor Transit.

JolliRoger, I remember the IH V8 model in your album. I was a wash-boy then. My employer had one of those V8s. It would leap out of the terminal every Sunday night, and limp back in on Saturday. Then the mechanic would change plugs and points so that it could leap out again.

 

Speaking of the good old days, i remember when the OTR guys would come into the grain elevator i worked at. I seem to remember a main state tag, then there was one next to it with usually with a bunch of stickers that resembled miniature license plates of different states. I figure it was an early form of state permits. Any old timers out there with the low down on this?

 

Another form of state permits was the "Bingo Card", an 8 x ll card with a square for each state's postage-stamp-size sticker.

We had call signs and CB licenses from the Federal Communications Commission.

Out west, truck stops gave free popcorn, S&H Green Stamps, and discount steak dinners. Fuel island attendants not only pumped the fuel, but vacuumed the floor, washed the windshield and tail-lights, and pulled the rig away from the pumps while the drivers ate steak.

 

Hope springs eternal with union organizers. In the NY city egg market I learned you could "rent" union. Guy comes around, wants to see card. Oh, no card. Well, you need to "get in the book." Apparently the racket was he collected from the non union drivers hitting his area of docks, someone else worked further down the street, and so on to cover all of NY city. I paid him $10.00, he wrote my name, company name, tlr tag # down, in his nice little leather bound book (Looked like a Daytimer). Any one asked, I was to tell them I was "in the book". Was asked an hour later, told them, guy says, fine. Goes on.
The V8's:
We had two. Other one burned valves at 10/12K. IH found out these engines were running too cold, so they put out a radiator shutter kit.
Cleared up the valve problems and the plugs fouling in mine. One thing:
Anytime I wanted to see 70 MPH on a speedometer, in the MS delta (40 miles to the nearest hill), with 400 bags of cottonseed meal on a flatbed, just drop the RR in 8th and press down on the gas ,be right there soon.

 

1st truck was a IH KB5 20' straight cattle truck. Worked thru high school at a livestock auction in West Point, MS on Fridays, noon "till the work was done". Pay $10.00. Loaded up the old truck and drove it to South Memphis Stockyards (150 miles) one way. Got back around 2-3 AM Sat.
Pay $12.50.
Man from Indiana moved in down there and was buying stock cattle for relatives back in Indianapolis. He came up with a "470" GMC tractor and a 34' sinlge axle cattle trailer. Tractor was about like a C50 Chevy. He would buy cattle, haul them up and pick up a load of ear corn to haul back. Then he wanted me to go with him and "help keep him awake". Even offered to let me drive some if I wanted. Pay $12.50. Then after 3-4 trips he wondered if I might be able to find my way up there alone, in case he needed to be doing something at home. I'm 16 years old and bullet proof.
That is how I worked thru Jr and Sr year of high school - Going to the auction barn at 1 PM on Friday, working the sale ring auction, check up and pen the purchasers cattle by group, load up the GMC and head to Naptown. Get it there sometime Saturday, unload, then go out to his brother's place in Greenup, IN and sleep. Sunday get up at daylight, go out to a farm, load on ear corn up to the deck rail (Middle of tlrs height).
and head home. Get back to the auction barn usually by 2 AM Monday, walk across a pasture to our farm house, go to sleep. Get up at 6:00 and catch the school bus. Trip alone paid me $25.00.
So, I worked my way thru those school years making $35.00 a week in 1952 as a high school student. I have other pics of those 2 trucks. One of the V8's sister on side of road between Monterey and San Luis Potosi, Mexico with a flat tire and 6 drivers standing around waiting for it to "rise" I suppose.

 

Rules and regs never impacted me until I went with Beneke Corp running toilet seats west. All my jobs before were flatbed (bale cotton/bagged fertilizer) or cattle racks (hogs and cows) or produce (fruit from FL and potatoes back out of Scottsbluff, NB or Grand Forks, ND.)
In those years all agricultural products were "exempt" from ICC regs. No ICC #, no log book, buy some fuel in each state and show a receipt for enough gallons to run you aross his state if asked for at scales. Since we very very seldom hit scales, that was no problem.
Funny exemption- Haul ear corn from IN to Memphis, TN for Allied Mills.
Go on to West Point empty-OK But, wait for Allied to shuck, shell, and crack it to chicken feed (corn chops), load it back up in bags to bring on down and you were in DEEP DOOOEEEE.
It had become PROCESSED FEED and you had to have ICC rights to haul it.
Those were the basic "laws". But we managed to bring feed mills out of Chicago inside cattle trailers. Nice vans-Slat sides. You have to walk up close and peer in to see what we had on. Once brought 2 M Farmall tractor down from some dealer in WI. Removed sticking up mufflers and the actual steering wheels to clear back trailer door frame. Streer them in with Visegrips clamped on the shaft and low gear. Lock the brakes and drive like they were big Holsteins. Fertilizer was OK. Portland cement from Jackson MS to the susbdivsions on Loop 12 in Dallas was a no no..Lay out the load size tarp, load 355 bags of cement, fold the tarp sides up and over and neat. Bill of lading for 320 bags of 5-10-5 Royster fertilizer for the curious scale man. I did have trouble convincing a TX RR Comm man late one night that my boss was a farmer and dairyman and he actually bought this load of cottonseed and sold it to a farmer in Nogales, AZ and I was just delivering it. He kept wanting to see the "real" bills and "who" was paying for the trucking. These were safely in my suitcase under the tarp at the nose of the grain trailer,