Big Toys

When I was in college, I had a part-time job driving a truck.  Back then, the state didn't have a Commercial Drivers License, or CDL.  They issued what was called a commercial chauffeurs license.  You didn't have to take a driving test; only answer ten questions in addition to the standard test and pay them a few bucks more.  This license made it legal for you to drive any truck on the road.

Because they were so easy to get, I had a commercial chauffeurs license.  Dad always had a truck around the place which we used to haul hay or other things with so the truck license came in handy.  When I went down to Stillwater Milling Company during my junior year in school, the people there found out that I had a truck license and asked me if I wanted to drive a truck.  I told them that I would love to but I only had experience with "straight" trucks, not semi-trailer trucks.  They replied that that was fine; they had a lot of loads that were in straight trucks.

Because I was in school, the boss would call me when they had a load.  If I had the time, I would go down to the mill and take off from there.  Sure enough, within a couple of weeks, he called with a load to go to    Perry to the company store up there.  When I got to the mill, I discovered that it was a semi load, not a small
straight truckload!  I protested but the boss said I could do it so that was the beginning of my short lived truck driving career.

After another month or two, I worked my way up to a somewhat regular run to Muldrow, Oklahoma, just west of Ft. Smith.  The truck I drove was a 1964 Mack, Model B61.  This truck had a five-speed main transmission with a 4-speed auxiliary transmission behind it.  The B Series Macks were made from 1953 to 1966 and were probably the most recognizable trucks of that era.  By the time I started driving this truck (in 1968), it had become outdated and slow.  I could reach a top speed of 64 miles per hour on the Interstate and get my doors blown off by all the other trucks out there!

Even though the driving job only paid $1.85 an hour, I felt like I was a big shot truck driver.  I did wind up quitting though, when my boss told me I had to choose between my job and my girl friend, Louise.  I chose Louise and it has been a good deal, since I've been married to her for 43 years.

Let's shift to the current time.  For the past several years, Louise and I had a 1999 International truck to pull our fifth wheel RV with.  I also used it occasionally to pull the small dozer around.  When we traded the trailer off on a motor home, I didn't really need the International other than for the dozer.  I thought about an older truck (we've always liked older vehicles) but couldn't find one I liked.

One day at the doughnut shop, my friend Wayne mentioned that his cousin in Owasso had an old Mack B61 and that it might be for sale.  This got my attention big time and I started asking questions.  Wayne assured me that the old truck was in pristine condition so I conned him into going to Owasso with me to look at it.  Well, it was in excellent condition and I wound up buying it from Wes, Wayne's cousin.

This truck is a blast to drive!  Its big, loud, and attention-getting.  I've got some work to do on it but not so much that I can't get out and herd it down the road some.  The other thing thats neat about it is the Tulsa Model 34 winch.  Having worked for that company for 28 plus years, its fun to have a truck with one of their products on it.

As the old saying goes, the only difference between men and boys is the size of the toys.  I guess this one is probably right!