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I worked for Bob James at Checotah, Ok from'78 to about the middle of '84. Most of the hauling I did was for Okmulgee Ready-Mix. When that work was slow we did some flat-bed freight, but in about '82 he was moving toward more reefer and van operations. |
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In '84 I bought this '74 Freightliner and leased out to Mercer Transportation in Louisville, Ky. It was flat-bed freight and for several monthes I worked between Tulsa and Houston. Aside from getting to go to Louisville and seeing the area where my Grandpa Woods was born, I also hauled freight in the area where he had hauled over 50 years earlier. |
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For a month or so in '86 I was back in California and drove one of my brothers trucks. He has trucks leased to Cherokee Freight Lines in Stockton, Ca. |
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In '87 I was no longer an owner-operator and went to work for Dewey Browning at Checotah, Ok. We hauled asphalt, sand and gravel. The next 7 years I drove several different tractors pulling 24 ft. Hilbilt trailers, although the last 3 years of this period I drove a Mack Superliner truck and pup trailer. It was then and still is a very classy looking truck. |
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If you remember when the truck loaded with bombs exploded on I-40 at Checotah, OK. These are some of the trucks that hauled the material to repair the overpass. |
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These two 4300s belonged to Dewey's brother Don Browning |
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In January of '94 I left Browning Trucking to work on the Zenith relay that moved electronic parts and components south from Chicago to their assembly plants in Mexico. The north bound freight consisted of finished products and materials to be returned to Chicago. Oklahoma was a relay point with trucks running between Springfield, Mo and Ft. Worth, Tx. |
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The Zenith relay was shut down in December of '97. In April of '98 I returned to Browning Trucking. I've hauled sand and gravel for Foresee Ready Mix in Eufaula, Oklahoma since '98.
In February, 2003 Browning Trucking was bought by Roger Graves Trucking, and I continued hauling for Foresee. I've enjoyed my job very much and took a great deal of pride in the work and the truck I drove for the first 10 years. It was a '98 Peterbilt with all the features you could want on a truck, but in 2008 I became a full fledged employee of the ready-mix. The new truck is a Freightliner Columbia,and a new Travis end dump. It may seem like a long trip from the first picture of me in my fire truck to the truck I'm driving now, but it's only been about 62 years, and I've got a ways to go so stop in again. |
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I'm still on the road at least five days a week between Muskogee and McAlester, Oklahoma. If you see me be sure to say hi. If you need help I'll try to help. Happy Trails, Tom |
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Oklahoma "TrailBlazer" still runnin' hard in 2009. |
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