Category Archives: Trucking History

Truck Drivers Helping in Making History

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Truck Drivers in the Vancouver, British Columbia area have the chance of helping in the 2010 Winter Olympics.  Because Cypress Mountain had had such a warm winter this year, snow needs to be brought in by trucks and helicopters for the snow events.  What a great opportunity to tell your grand children what you did for the Olympics!

These drivers haul the snow in dump trucks from about 100 miles north of the Olympic events.  In fact, it looks like when it is said and done, there will be about 300 truckloads of snow that will be moved.  Cool, don’t you think?

It reminds me of stories of my grandfather who, as a truck driver, hauled dirt to help build the Golden Gate Bridge during the depression.  He felt fortunate to have the job to help feed his family and plus, he was involved with something greater than himself.  I’m sure that’s how these dump truck drivers in Vancouver feel, having this great opportunity.

And think about the military truck drivers.  They risk their lives for us through hauling food and ammunition to our troops.  That is something to be proud of.

Truck driving has been a huge part of key moments in history for the past 100 years.  I mentioned the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and the Building of the Golden Gate Bridge in.  Vital transportation of the food we eat and the products we need to live are just as important.

So hats off to those drivers making our lives better.  And hats off to those truck drivers risking their lives to protect ours.  And hats off to truck drivers helping in momentous moments in our history.  Your grandchildren will be proud.

http://www.inhabitat.com/2010/02/12/are-the-vancouver-olympics-still-green-after-trucking-in-snow/

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5ipuYUcmTH91-5KghTwjilb-MhofA

First Woman in Trucking History

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Since our last post was about a couple of famous male truck drivers I though I’d devote a post to the first female company truck driver.

Trucking and Women are 2 words that were never put together at the beginning of trucking. Not until 1929, about 30 years after trucking started, did the first woman get her license and her own trucking company. Lillie Elizabeth Drennan, from Galveston, Texas, was the first frontier in this man’s world. Given up for adoption at three weeks old in 1897, she was raised by a couple that divorced when she was 17 years old. In fifth grade, Lillie dropped out of school and when she was thirteen, she became a telephone operator until age 22 when she lost her hearing (most people believe from scarlet fever as a child). She wore a hearing aid for the rest of her life.

From age 20 to 32, she was married to her first husband, Willard Ernest Drennan. She then married S. B. Boulware at age 34 and divorced at age 46. She co-purchased a trucking company early in her second marriage, and when they divorced, she gained the company, Drennan Trucking Line, along with a bottling plant.

It wasn’t easy gaining her license, as the Railroad Commission was concerned with her hearing as a safety risk. Lillie’s response to this was “If any man can beat my record I’ll just get out of here.” Then she got her CDL.

Her safety record was awesome and she got safety awards from the Texas Motor Transportation and the Railroad Commission. And in 1950, she drove an obstacle course in the Dallas state fairground, showing how good her driving skills were. Isn’t that amazing?

As a frontier in the trucking business, Lillie not only went into the business, but she also did better than the guy drivers in most areas of the field.

Now days, women are 200,000 strong in the 3.2 million drivers in trucking. Thank you Lillie.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=170623,00.html

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/fdr15.html

http://www.jobmonkey.com/truckdriving/women-in-trucking.html

Great Men From the Depression Changed The Trucking Industry

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A great man in the trucking industry passed away on February 13, 2010, at age 96.  John Ruan, of Ruan Transportation, not only was in the trucking business; he also was very involved with his community of Des Moines, Iowa.  Former Governor Robert Ray of Iowa, is quoted as saying:

“John was a visionary and when he set his mind to something, he found a way to do it.”

One of the things that made this man so great was his beginning.  Born in Beacon, IA, in 1914, his father was a doctor.  John planned on becoming a doctor, but when his father passed away at a young age during the depression, John needed to help support the family.  He sold one of his family cars and bought a truck and used it to haul gravel for a friend’s father.  From there he built a company that is now 4,700 employees strong.

His story is much like that of CR England Trucking Company.  Chester Rodney England was born in 1896 in Plain City, Utah.  He bought his first truck in 1920 with the intent of transporting produce from nearby farms to the stores.  His children kept the business going after his passing away and CR England Trucking Company is 5,600 employee strong.

There are many brave entrepreneurs built from the Depression times and Trucking Companies were filled with men and women both that conquered a bad depression with hard work and entrepreneur spirits.  Men like John Ruan and Chester England ( CR England )changed the Trucking Industry for the better.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-obit-johnruan,0,4665855.story

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100215/BUSINESS03/2150325/-1/caucusright/Elbert-Ruan-bettered-Des-Moines-with-his-drive-his-vision