|
By John White
Heath Hurlburt is our April 2007 Rig of the Month and this is
his story:
It all started on December 5, 1966 when I like to think that the
first noise I made was to try and imitate an engine brake. At which
point I can also only assume that my parents would have thought,
“Oh Crap”. Okay, maybe it was just the normal wailing; the details
of my first few moments are a little foggy.
I was born and raised in Fort Macleod, Alberta, the last of six
kids to Ken and ReNée Hurlburt. I was introduced to a variety of
business’ at a young age as my father owned Fort Macleod Auction
Market, was Mayor of the town, a former Member of Parliament, and
we had a ranch and gravel business located west of town, which we
still have today. You may ask with all that going on at home what
am I doing driving a truck. Well, my parents always taught me to
follow my heart, and the wind in Fort Macleod blows way too much
for my liking.
It was at the ranch and gravel pit where my interest in heavy
equipment started. I remember driving Dad’s pickup while sitting on
his knee at about six years of age and I’m sure I drove more miles
back then than I will the rest of my life. Eventually I moved up to
the 3 ton silage truck, tractors, various pieces of farm equipment,
and finally the loader and trucks at the pit.
After High School I attended two years of Agricultural
Mechanics in Lethbridge but my real passion was for the trucks. As
with a lot of prairie drivers my first trucking experience was
hauling hay and cattle. We bought a ’78 Freightliner cab-over and
hired a guy by the name of Tony Purves to run it. Every chance I
had I was in the jump seat soaking up every ounce of information I
could get out of him. Thankfully he was willing to share a lot and
he even let me drive as a learner under his license.
If you ever meet him you’ll never forget his laugh. I should
warn you though; if he offers you a donut you should probably
inspect it real close because he may have injected it with a grease
needle. He has a great sense of humor and I learned a lot from him.
(A lot more than just checking your donut for the correct number of
holes)
I turned 18 on a Thursday but they only tested for Class 1
licenses in Fort Macleod on Tuesdays. Not wanting to wait the five
days, I convinced my brother Thane that I was ready so he ran the
truck out to Pincher Creek for me to give it a go.
I guess I wasn’t quite ready since he also drove back after I
blew a shift starting out on a hill. Strike one. On Fridays they
tested for Class 1 in Lethbridge. About five minutes into this test
I made a left hand turn, swung wide so the trailer would clear the
median and pulled into the inside lane. The tester asked why I took
the left lane and not the right and I informed him that not only do
you turn into the inside lane but it was also the courteous thing
to do and then signal over to the right when it’s clear to do so. I
guess I was wrong. His response was, “I didn’t tell you to do that,
you just failed”. Strike two. On Tuesday, back at the home base, I
ended up getting the same tester I had in Pincher Creek but I aced
that one. (Yeah I know, ‘bout time).
After hauling cattle, hay and gravel locally I was ready to move
on. Just before the fall run in ’87 I went to work for Art
Wamsteeker of Art’s Cattleliner Service. Art’s sons, A.J. and Brian
and I had been friends for many years. It was here that I had my
first real lessons in trucking.
We were all running on just a few hours sleep each night during
that fall run and finally, toward the end, it caught up with me.
While on my way to my last stop near Picture Butte, on a gravel
road, I saw two animals in my headlights that were starting up onto
the road. Not a big deal, start jaking down, come to a stop, wait
for them to cross and then carry on to the feedlot. But to this day
I swear there are two Polar Bears living near Picture Butte… it was
time to get some much-needed sleep!
While at Art’s I worked with two brothers, Ted and Stan Gugala.
(I was their paperboy as a teenager). I was with Ted when I made my
first trip to the U.S. We were hauling fats to Hyrum, Utah when I
asked him if he could give me any advice on trucking. He responded,
“Sure, keep your eye’s and ear’s open and, unless you’re going to
ask a question, keep your mouth shut. At least until you’ve been
around the block a time or two”. I don’t think I said another word
the rest of the trip. Thanks Ted, that was probably the best thing
you could have said. That ’78 Freightliner that I learned to drive
on was purchased from his brother Stan. I wish we still had that
one.
A year later I made a big mistake while working for Art…I quit.
But my need to learn new things was getting the better of me so I
went to work for Bruce Hannah Truck Lines in Acme, Alberta. That’s
where I was introduced to B-trains, Super-B’s and Reefer’s.
I thought I had hit the big time running an ’81 Kenworth with a
600 K-block and propane boost. Unfortunately I realized a bit too
late that you shouldn’t B.S. your employer about running over the
rocks as one of my first loads was with a set of B-trains destined
for Vancouver. By the time I got to the bottom of Field hill I
would have made Gord Coopers “Smokin Gun” look like a dud
firecracker. (Good thing I had a duffle bag full of shorts.) It was
on that trip that I came to the conclusion that trains were meant
to be on tracks. After that I started pulling reefers to sunny
California and suddenly I found I was getting less sleep than when
I was hauling cattle.
As you’ve probably noticed by now I’ve a long list of previous
employers, which I guess would make me the infamous, “Jack of all
trades, master of none”. Although this doesn’t necessarily look
good on a resume, I can honestly say I’ve never been fired from a
job. There are such a variety of things to learn in this industry
and I’ve always wanted to experience as much of it as I can.
Like many drivers, I’ve also tried to do other jobs. I tried
being a car salesman but it wasn’t my cup of tea. I tried water and
air filter sales but I didn’t have the charm to sell something
people didn’t really need. Being a dispatcher nearly drove me crazy
as I sat looking out the window watching the trucks pull out of the
yard. I even went back to school to become an Emergency Medical
Technician but I finally came to the realization that I was
destined to be a truck driver.
I’ve often thought about what lures people to this profession.
For some I’m sure it’s simply the freedom or the chance to travel
and get paid for it. For others it seems to be seasonal or
something to temporarily fall back on. For me I have say it’s the
freedom and independence as well as the memory of being a kid,
standing on the corner of the highway in my hometown, pumping my
arm up and down like a madman just to hear the sound of the air
horn and watching that truck disappear off over the horizon. Today
when I see a little kid on the side of the road pumping his arm I
give a blast and then watch for that grin. They think that I do it
just for them - they don’t realize that they’ve also made my
day.
After an unsuccessful kick at the cat as an owner operator in
the late 1980’s, I decided that, with a little more smarts and a
bunch more age, it was time to try again. In 2000 I purchased a
body job bulk feed truck working for Feed Rite in Lacombe, Alberta.
A few months later I bought a second truck that was hauling bagged
feed pulling a dry van. Things were going good until a few months
later when cattle prices dropped and feed prices went up. It was
easy to see that before too long my little empire was going to be
in trouble if I didn’t do something fast. To stop the bleeding I
sold the bulk truck and purchased a 7-car hi-mount auto carrier
that I leased on with Kee-West Auto Carriers out of Winnipeg.
After being there for about a month I went to the auto auction
in Airdrie where I met the best friend a guy could ever have, Frank
Garcia from Penticton BC, another owner-operator with Kee-West. I
could tell right away that this guy was as honest as the day is
long. A couple weeks after we met I was concerned that my revenue
wasn’t quite what it should be so I called him to see what he
thought. By the end of the conversation I had mixed emotions. I
felt both better and bad as he informed me that I was ahead of him
by a couple thousand bucks for the month.
Since that phone call we talk two or three times a week and go
for dinner anytime our paths cross. I hear now that he has decided
to make a career change and move out to Vancouver Island. I’d like
to take this opportunity to wish Frank, Grace, and the kid’s the
very best in their new endeavors.
After a couple of years at Kee-West I was feeling the urge to
get back on the big roads across the line, so I sold that truck and
trailer and bought a new Freightliner and a 9-car hi-mount trailer.
Then I made the move to Car Couriers out of Cremona Alberta so that
I could hang some Alberta tin on the truck again.
You know that feeling you get when you’ve been on the road for a
week or two and you finally pull in the driveway, pull the brakes
on and your whole body gives that big “home at last” sigh? That’s
exactly how it felt working at Car Couriers - just like home.
I fully intended to retire there but hauling vehicles into the
U.S. with a volatile dollar can be very unpredictable and sure
enough I had no choice but to sell the truck when that market came
to a screeching halt. I decided to take that winter off as an
owner-operator and hauled directional drilling tools out to the
rigs for a company out of Calgary.
In the spring of 2005 the itch to get my own iron again was so
bad that no amount of Gold Bond was going to provide any sort of
relief. On top of that the oil patch was going like wildfire so I
purchased a 2000 Western Star with an aluminum box and quad axle
wagon and I was off to the bush to haul gravel and contaminated
soil.
I was in a good position now after having gone through a divorce
a few years earlier. I met a wonderful girl (Corinna) and since
neither one of us could decide where we wanted to plant roots we
purchased a 5th wheel to call home. With me in the truck and
Corinna pulling the house with the 1-ton we were off to wherever
the work was. (You know you’re a redneck when you live in a house
that you don’t take the wheels off.)
We ended up in Fort McMurray for three months until the
campground shut down and then we headed back to the Olds area.
While up north I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know
another independent, Ron Campbell, from Sherwood Park, AB. This is
a guy that, when he speaks, I would suggest that you take the
trucking advice that was given to me. I guarantee that if you shut
up and listen you’ll learn something. I’d be willing to put money
on the table that this guy knows more about Peterbilt trucks than
Peterbilt does!
Back in Olds, I sold the 5th wheel and bought a house. At the
same time a guy came along and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,
so I sold my gravel truck too.
Early in 2006, planning to continue hauling gravel and
contaminated soil, I ordered a new truck. But when I went to the
dealership to finalize the spec’s I saw the truck that I currently
own. It’s a 2005 Western Star Lowmax that a guy had ordered two of
but only took one. A couple of phone calls later and the decision
to go back to work in forty days rather than wait the four months
for the other truck wasn’t hard to make.
I started back hauling cars on my own but I found it was too
hard to work out of the truck on a cell phone, so I put the Car
Couriers sign’s back on the door. I can’t imagine a better place to
be, Gerry, Gail, Mike, Marv, Darryl and Nolan, not only make my job
easy and rewarding, but most important, relaxed.
Before I finish I’d like to mention reading the letter in the
February issue of Pro-Trucker written by, “The Kids,” from Calgary
(Tamara and Mark). It’s great to see new young drivers out here
with a professional attitude such as theirs.
In everyone’s life there are people who have helped him or her
along the way. If you’ll indulge me I’d like to take this
opportunity to thank some of those people who have helped me, both
personally and professionally. Art and Tina Wamsteeker, Bruce and
Eileen Hannah & Son’s, Rocky Downton, Corrie Key, Ken Konrad,
my good buddy Ken Wright, my shop helper Corinna’s Uncle Wally, Mom
& Dad, Sisters Jody, Darcee and Kim, Brothers Brant and Thane,
and last but not least, my soul mate, Corinna.
Return to
top of page
|
