writing a story about a trucker in 1974

Arkansas we found it to be relatively... varied in it's good and bad things. We consider ourselves lucky so far.

There were a few other places that could be slower and better (Peaceful) than Arkansas would be still in these United States. It's getting scarce. Like anything it has its pluses and minuses. Such as the pending US67 construction to finally pave 6 bridges with polymer several inches and diamond the plates that have come up for 20 miles past the Lonoke County Line. roughly. Using in some cases mostly original plates since 1962, that would be quite enough.

 

Maybe try to go talk to some truckers at your local truck stop. But in the day time of course. Or go walk around the truck stop get a good wiff of all the smells, to get a good feel for your story.
Do not eat the rollor dogs unless you are brave. Some older truck stops also rented rooms. There still are a few that do that.
I also just remembered drivers used to wait in line for the payphone for an hour or so if it was crazy busy.

 

If you can find some old ones, into the 60's and 70's if not beyond, they probably will be happy to pass on what they remember from those days.

Several times in my life I have stumbled onto small old independants from that period and back even further; one still exists on US 40 near Joppa the other side of the Gunpowder. It's strictly for parking and maybe a roach coach if you are lucky. Called the Villages. Across from the big 76 chain back in my childhood. The 76 is paved over and developed. I think one fueling building is still there. I'll have to take a trip on google earth along there. The place would be older than we are. But for whatever reason it's was still in use and from time to time get a good night sleep when the major truckstops on 95 and 70 were too full. Up till 9-11

But everyone in that age group pretty much is dying off almost by the day. It's up to our generation to remember and pass down some of those stories.

A story about the Gunpowder river. The original Indians about the 1620 time period (Maryland's first governor is buried in Joppa from that era) they thought the European gunpowder must be really good strong medicine. And so planted it along the corn in the spring. Obviously it did not grow. I think somewhere there is a sign that describes the situation that far back.

 

The "10:00 am check call", which was a thing well into the 1990s.

As companies started installing Qualcomm, the lines for the phones started thinning out.

The final nail in the coffin for the phone room was the advent of the inexpensive cell phone.