Rick Berry was born in Calgary Alberta in 1956 and raised on a farm in New Brunswick. His father, Bud Berry, drove long haul when he wasn't working on the farm or cutting trees in the woods. Bud had a crew that cut the trees and Rick’s job, when he was ten years old, was to skid the logs out with a team of horses. From there the logs were loaded on a truck and delivered down to Portland Maine.

When Bud drove long haul he would occasionally bring the rig home and Rick was always thrilled to see the big cab over Mack parked in the yard. Rick drove his first truck on the farm in the hay fields when he was eleven years old.  It was a 5 ton 1954 GMC with a five speed and a two speed axle. Rick explained that after driving that that old GMC, “I was hooked.”

This is His Story 
“My mom and dad split up and in 1971 my mom moved me and my two brothers back to Calgary. I quit school at 15 and went to work for Crystal Glass installing windshields in big rigs and heavy equipment. George, one of the guys that worked in the shop, had a class one license. He used to run doubles with another guy but then quit driving when he got married. He always talked about life on the road and told me to stay away from trucking because it gets in your blood. I guess he was right because shortly after he trained me at Crystal Glass he quit and went back on the road. 

“I stayed another two years and all the time I kept thinking about George driving the big rigs. I’d talk to the truckers that came into the shop and ask them how they got started driving. When I turned 18 I leased a 5 ton truck and went to work for Black top messenger service. I worked 10 hours a day doing local pick up and delivery and furniture moves - what ever it took to make a buck.

“While I was there I met a couple of guys with class ones that were willing to teach me how to drive. Red and Al where in their mid thirties and they had lots of trucking experience between the two of them. I’d rent a tractor on Saturday and one or the other would take me out and show me how to shift and back up.

I took to it pretty fast, after all it was the prairies and it was in town so it seemed pretty easy.

“I got my class one but in those days the companies wanted someone that was twenty-five years old and had five years experience. There it was - the old rookie trucker’s catch 22. How was I going to get five years experience on the highway if I had to have five years experience to get the job?

 “I left Black Top messenger and went to work for Towpich trucking in Calgary but old man Towpich wasn’t going to let some 18 year old kid drive one of his tractor trailers. The only driving experience I got there was driving from the yard to the warehouse. Then I’d spend all day hand bombing freight. I was working eight hours but only driving for one.

“After a few weeks I left and went to work for Bow Valley Transport. All the drivers there were between 18 and 25 and we were all there to get some experience. And experience is what we got. In the morning, between 5:00 or 6:00am, they had us punch in under a company called Cal Ed Freight and we’d make deliveries in town. After your deliveries were made, you punched out of Cal Ed Freight and punched in under Bow Valley Transport to make your pickups. That way you worked 12 or 14 hours a day and they didn’t have to pay over time.

“I started there driving a 5 ton and went to truck and pup and then to tractor trailer. The tractor I drove was an old 1963 International V Liner Gas pot with a 13 speed. I worked there for a year and half until one of the guys started signing drivers up for the teamsters. Management found out about it and fired the whole crew. That’s when I first heard the phrase, “drivers are a dime a dozen”. 

“After Bow Valley Transport I went to work for Northern Industrial Carriers. There I got to drive some big Power 1966 conventional Kenworth with 220 Cummins and 5 and 4 transmissions. It was also around this time that my father and I became re-acquainted. Dad was working on the west coast for McGavin’s Bakery hauling ingredients out of Vancouver to every major city in Western Canada, as far east as Winnipeg.

“I moved to the west coast in 1975 and went to work for a lease operator hauling cable up to Mica damn. Shortly after that my father got me into McGavin’s running double to Winnipeg. It was here that I would get the experience that I needed. I was twenty years old and I had the privilege of meeting and running with some of the best operators of the day. Guys like Bob Canning, Jack Vleeming, Bob Begin, Seth Fletcher and Brian Milson to name a few. Some of the guys are gone now, Seth Fletcher and Bob Begin but the others are still trucking. 

“After running double for 2 years I decided I wanted to work in town and have a little more of a social life so I went to work for Aggressive Transport. It was just my luck however that after just 10 months being there the company sold all its trucks and went all Owner Operator. I didn’t have the means to buy a truck at the time so I went to work for BC transit driving trolley bus. I hated it. Split shifts all the people and traffic.  I can honestly say that I think I would rather haul pigs than people. Some pigs have better manners.

“In the mean time my father had bought a truck and was running Toronto for Intercity. He called me up one day and said that his driver quit and asked if I would run double with him. It was a dream-come-true for me, having the privilege of running double with my Dad. He’s a great operator and I learned a lot from him. He must have passed that trucking bug on to my brother as well because Jeff now runs double for SLH.

“He loved trucking but I worried about him. It was too much to do one a week to Toronto so I guess I have to take the blame for talking him into giving it up. My Dad finished his driving career as a company driver at AllTrans in 1987 and is retired and living the life of Reilly in Parksville on Vancouver Island. I don’t see him as much as I would like but we talk on the phone at least once a week. 

“I ran double for a lease op that had six trucks and worked for Kingsway. I did two trips a week to Winnipeg but after eight months and too many partners to remember, I’d had enough. I’ve never wanted to run double again. 

“A change of pace was definitely required, so at twenty four years of age I went to work for a company called Dell Transport running solo to California. It was a great run back then. There was a little place in Oregon called T&R Truck stop that was a combination truck stop, hotel and nightclub and all the Canadians stopped there. When the Canucks came through the door they would all head to a section called the Canadian Corner.  The T&R is gone now but I have a lot of very fond memories from there and I’m sure there’re a lot of guys out there who will remember it with a smile.

“I worked for Dell for over a year before I moved over to Lester V Moznik Trucking. It was here that I felt I had found a home and was comfortable.  Lester worked you hard but treated you fair and never asked you to do anything that he wouldn’t do himself. He paid you after every trip. Some times you got 2 or 3 pay checks in a week.It was also here that I met George Bonneteau. We chased each other up and down I-5 for 4 years.  He taught me the meaning or putting some pride in your ride.  Any truck he drove was polished to the nines. He’s a great driver and I’m proud to say still my best friend.  

“After Moznik Trucking I bought my own truck and leased to a company Called STS running California. I ran California for another 3 years or so.  I hit the Canadian border one morning and found that it was closed. W.O.O.A (western owner operators association) had closed the border as part of a demonstration demanding more money and rightfully so for owner operators.  After clearing the border and unloading my freight I joined the boys on the front line and I was there when the riot squad came in and moved us out.

“On one of my last trips coming out of California I witnessed one of the most incredible accidents that I have ever seen. I believe it was early 1991 and I was north bound out of California via highway 97 through Klamath Falls Oregon. I pulled into Lakeshore a truck stop just north of Klamath Falls where I saw Jim Hagen’s big shiny1986 yellow freightliner. Jim hauled paper down to California and brought produce back. You may have seen Jims truck in a movie called “Christmas comes to Willow Creek” staring John Schiender and Tom Wopat. 

“I walked into the truck stop expecting to see Jim but instead I found his driver Bob. Jim had decided to take some well deserved time off. Bob and I had breakfast and did our log books, then we went out to the trucks and with Bob in the lead, we headed north. We were cruising at about 60 mph and yakin’ on the CB and as we traveled north on highway 97 a fellow Canadian in a new Audi with BC plates slipped in between us.

“Unknown to us, at that time approximately 40 or 50 miles to the north there was a southbound 67 Chevy half ton pulling a single axle utility trailer, grossly over loaded with firewood. It was so over loaded that, as it traveled, the steering axle was barely touching the pavement. 

“Just before the pickup reached Bob in the north bound Freightliner, the pickup hit a frost heave and the driver lost control. The pickup ended up crossways in front of Bob. He never even had time blink let alone hit the brakes. Bang! Bob nailed the pickup so hard that the fire wood exploded up and over the tractor trailer unit showering down in front of the Audi. Everyone came to a stop and I jumped out or the truck and ran up past the Audi. There was fire wood everywhere.

“The pick up was all over the north bound ditch. And I mean all over. It came apart like it was made of Lego.  I ran past the front axle which was still attached to the frame. The hood and the fenders were laying a few feet away and to my right I saw the engine and transmission sitting in the ditch smoking. It honestly looked like it had been removed and set there. 

“I couldn’t believe the fire wood. It covered both lanes. The cab of the pickup truck had been spinning like a top and was slowing as I approached. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I can’t stand to be the first one on the scene of accident. I was thinking at best somebody is going to be hurt real bad and at worst - well you know. I mean they had just been hit broadside buy a loaded semi doing 60 Mph.

“There was gas every where. I looked in the cab of the pickup and there were three guys that were in their mid 20’s to late 30’s. They were obviously in shock. The first guy I saw was on the passenger side and he had a little bit of blood coming from his right ear. I looked around expecting to see more blood but that was it. All three of those guys walked away from that wreck! To this day I bet there is no way in the world you could recreate that and come out with the same results.  

“Bob, on the other hand, limped away. He hit a couple of trees and a big rock on his way into the ditch.  The clutch pedal hit his leg and he bruised his ribs on the steering wheel. I told the guys in the pickup they should go buy a lottery ticket because today was their lucky day. Even now when I think about that wreck I can’t believe how that pickup came apart so perfectly.  Could you get any luckier?  I don’t think so.

“Eight months or so after the W.O.O.A strike I found out that I was going to be a father. I had been looking for a reason to come off the road and this seemed like a real good one. I went to work for Clark Freightways in July of 1991 and my daughter Breana was born in August. I worked for Clark until Dec 96 when the economy and my seniority forced Clark Freightways to lay me off.”

Life After Trucking
“After Clark Freightways I went back to school and got my diploma. From there I started studying computers at Joslin College in White Rock. I went to work for a company called Microcorp Computers in Langley and got my A+ certificate, MCP (Microsoft Certified Professional) as well as becoming a MCSE. (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) In 2000 I bought 50% percent of the company and I thought that I would never drive another truck again. In 1998 the CBC even did a story on me about Trucker goes Hi tech. from trucking to computer tech.   

“However two years after I bought in I sold my interest in Microcorp and took some time off to contemplate life. My marriage had ended and I wasn’t interested in computers anymore. I found the business changed too quickly. In that business you have to be on top of all the new things coming out which meant there was lots of very boring reading.

“I knew I had to go to work and trucking just seemed like the logical thing to do. I ran in to an old buddy of mine, Randy Peluso, in a coffee shop Langley and we started to talk about Clark Freightways.  He suggested that I talk to Marcus Clark about putting a truck on with them. It made sense; I had a history with the company and Clark Freightways is one of the best companies to work for as an owner operator. After getting the O.K from Marcus I bought this 2001 Peterbilt 378 with a 475 Cat and 18 Speed Transmission and in Dec 2003 exactly 7 years after I left, I returned to Clark Freightways as an owner operator. 

This Truckers Opinion
“In my brief time back trucking around the lower mainland. I have noticed a drastic increase in traffic, both car and commercial truck traffic. In my opinion the highways in the lower mainland are 25 to 30 years behind the times. Over the years we’ve gone from the best road system in Western Canada to the poorest. Old Wacky Bennett must be rolling over in his grave.

“Here’s my wish list for what it’s worth. The Pattulo Bridge was never designed for 4 lanes. It should be made into three lanes and then twinned. The planned twinning of the Port Mann Bridge is welcome relief but the Number One Highway should be 4 lanes each way to Abbotsford and then 3 lanes on each side right through to Hope. Highway 10 should be a freeway with no traffic lights from the new Maple Ridge crossing right through to Highway 99. There should be a freeway from North Burnaby through to Richmond and the North end of the Queens Borough Bridge has to be widened enough the allow trucks to pass each other.

“These are just a few things that have to be done and its pay now or pay a lot more later. We are already paying now with the millions of liters of fuel being wasted going now where. The changes that I suggest will cost billions but they won’t get any cheaper. The governments own estimates are that we are losing 1.5 billion dollars a year because of road congestion. It’s time this province got back into the business of building infrastructure.

Almost Done
“I’ve got twenty-two payments left on this old truck and then I’m going to buy a Dually Diesel pick-up probably a Ford or Dodge and a fifth wheel trailer with a section in the back that I can drive my bike up into. Then I’m going back on the road again. I promised my daughter I would show her the old homestead….