Take a look back at the early days of the industry that would grow into the primary method of freight transportation, trucking.
The photos chronicle one man’s journey as a truck driver in the mid 1900s. That man is Sam Wilson, who was born in Park Rapids, Minnesota on Aug 10 1917.
Sam bought his first truck in 1939 to haul various types of loads in Park Rapids, Minnseota.
Finding very little opportunity driving his own truck in a small town in Minnesota, Sam moved his family and started driving for “Jones Transfer” out of Hartford, WI.
Sam was only there for a short time however. “Jones Transfer” proved to be a very poor outfit, according to Sam and other drviers. Their trucks were in very poor condition and many times money wasn’t available on payday.
Fortunately he was able to find a better gig when he moved on to became an owner-operator for “Morgan Drive-Away” in Wisconsin. He was hauling prefab homes due to a house shortage after World War 2.
Delivering freight in the ’50s wasn’t as simple as traveling over the interstate. Many times, Sam had to go through unpaved, treacherous territories to get to his destination.
A brand new Mack truck that one of Sam’s fellow drivers purchased. Sam preferred his lighter truck, because the heavier Macks were more prone to getting stuck in the mud.
Sam getting unloaded at the scene of a new house construction.
The manager of Sam’s company abruptly quit, which thrust Sam into a manager position. He used his experience on the road to make upgrades and changes that would improve efficieny and propel his company. One of the first changes was a storage box underneath the trailers that he built himself.
Next, he set up a maintenance service company to take care of all the trailers. He knew from past experience that lack of maintenance on the trailers sometimes caused late deliveries; and in order to get more of the business you need to trailers to be there on time.
Under Sam’s management Morgan grew from three states to the entire Midwest, eventually to include 28 states. At the same time the size of the fleet grew from 17 old mismatched trailers to 100 new highway trailers.
In 1989 after a lifetime in the trucking business, Sam was award the “Founder’s Award” by the American Truck Historical Society, which is given out to members who were instrumental in the early development of the transportation industry.
Over the years many things have changed, but many still stay the same. Hard work, honesty, and ethics are the pillars of a long term-successful career.
Those who are bold enough to try to improve the way things are usually have a good chance at succeeding. If you enjoyed this look back at the early days of trucking, make sure to share below.
Source: [The Diesel Gypsy]
