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By John White
Andy Clark is our May 2007 Rig of the Month and this is his
story:
Andy’s Uncle Jim started Clark Reefer Lines back in 1957 and
Andy’s father Paddy later became a partner and remained one for
many years until they had a falling out. As Andy puts it, “They
divorced in 1991.” Andy’s Uncle Jim passed away about ten years ago
and today, in 2007, Clark Reefer’s 50th anniversary, Jim’s son
Marcus is running the company.
This is Andy’s story:
On October 6, 1986, I was fifteen years old when I headed down to
the family business to retrieve my bicycle. Earlier in the day my
older brother Colin had thrown me off it in a hurried effort to get
to work on time. When I got to the yard I was put to work on the
spot, greasing trucks and recapping brake shoes. This was a big
surprise for me because I didn’t have any experience at all. It
seemed to be a day for surprises and the next one was having my
hands and face stuck in a grease barrel by two guys, Archie
Kieswetter and Dean Cadwalder, who have become great friends after
that messy welcome to the company.
In 1987, while still in school, I worked the afternoon shift in the
warehouse loading and unloading trucks. I did that for the next
three years and during that time no one missed an opportunity to
terrorize the youngest family member.
Sometimes people assume that because of my last name everything was
handed to me on a silver platter, but anyone who really knows Clark
Reefer also knows that if you are family or got a job through a
family member, you have to work twice as hard to prove
yourself.
In 1990 while on afternoon shift I saw that my cousin Danny, who
also worked for Clark, was selling his 1981 Ford cube van. This was
back when you had to buy a truck even if your name was Clark. One
of the main attractions for me was that it was a steady day shift,
something I couldn’t wait to be on.
After two years of running around the city in the truck that my
fellow employees referred to as, “The wheelbarrow” I was anxious to
get into something that was dock height. I sold the cube van and
bought a 1987 Ford five ton reefer. I drove that truck for two
years and pride myself in the fact that I had it paid off at the
age of 23. That was a big accomplishment for me but little did I
know that not two weeks later I would blow the engine. Luckily (if
anything can be lucky right about then) I was only two blocks from
my Uncle Jim’s house so I grabbed another Clark truck that had been
left there from the weekend and continued on with my day.
I was hanging out with the boys while my truck was being fixed at
Belletts truck repair when I commented, “Why am I Trucking?” and it
sort of stuck. Over the years it has been shortened to “Y.M.I.
Trucking” the name you see on my truck today. To be quite honest
the question still raises it’s ugly head now and then and it has
never really been answered.
After six years of headaches with the five ton the company
approached me and asked me to buy a single axle tractor. My
immediate response was, “No roll up door or reefer? Where do I
sign?”
The next day I traded in my Ford for a 1987 International and
$3400.00 cash that I used to cover my down time while I went and
got my Class 1. Talk about putting the horse before the cart!
Ernie Glue, who trained me back then, is still with the company
today. We call him the Glue that holds the company together.
This truck was a textbook power unit with Armstrong steering, 250
horses and a top speed of about 50mph. After only 6 months it
needed an in-frame so I parked it and purchased a 1986 Ford single
axle – another bad move! After a year of driving the Ford and
spending all my spare cash rebuilding the International, the engine
in Ford went. Again the nagging question came up, “Y.M.I.
Trucking?” I decided that in order to survive I needed to upgrade
to something you could still find parts for, so while the Ford was
being rebuilt, without missing a beat, I stepped back into the old
International.
There I was nine years in the business, the proud owner of two very
old trucks with new engines. Realizing I had to make some changes I
put everything up for sale. This included my prize 98 inch Harley
and 2 of my 3 cars. The trucks paid themselves off and the Harley
and the cars were the down payment for my 1996 Kenworth. I
purchased the Kenworth through Ray Cotton when he was a salesman at
Freightliner. Ray is now at Inland Kenworth and he wisely kept me
in line by not letting me buy a truck that was more than I
needed.
The first day that I had the Kenworth I had to drop a trailer in
the busiest part of the yard. With way too many witnesses, and me
trying to look cool, too late I realized I had not dynamited the
tractor brakes. Having to chase my new truck across the yard
qualified me as the instant entertainment for the day. The guys had
a field day with that one and I don’t think I’ll ever live it
down.
Kenny Marwood, an old veteran at Clark that I have always admired,
has just retired. I’ve heard countless stories about Kenny but the
one that comes to mind is that when he was on the highway his
pre-trip included a ladder – that pretty well tells you what kind
of driver he was. One of the most important things that Kenny
taught me is that you never quit learning.
Kenny drove an old GMC General with a screamin’ Jimmy as did
another veteran, Harry Griffiths. I credit Harry with teaching me
that a positive attitude can fix almost anything. Harry is a man
with great patience and he personally taught many of the fine
veteran drivers at Clark that are on the road today. He is
definitely a legend at Clark and in this industry.
In September 2002 I unknowingly hooked up to a trailer with an
expired inspection decal. By the time the General Manager Huibert,
(now retired) heard about it I was over at the fuel pumps. He went
up one side of me and down the other and then he jumped into his
pick up and roared out of the yard throwing gravel and leaving me
standing in a cloud of dust. Safety has always been the top
priority at Clark and I’d never seen him that mad either before or
since. Now whenever we need to discuss a safety issue someone
always pipes up, “Should we head over to the fuel pumps to discuss
this?”
By 2003 I had had enough of the traffic in our beautiful city so I
put in a request to work afternoon shift. They said no at first but
a month later they gave me a twelve noon start time and I was in my
glory. I truly have not had a bad day since. My idea of a hard days
work is putting in long hours in a non-stressful environment and to
me that is when there is the least amount of traffic to contend
with.
Sometimes it’s hard to see the other fellow’s point of view but I
was lucky enough to be able to work my way up through shop and the
warehouse before I started driving. As an ex-warehouseman I know
how difficult things can be on that end. Knowing the inner working
of the warehouse I try to load the trailers in a way that the
forklift drivers never have to get off the machines. Because of
this Brent and Roy, two old time employees, started calling me
“Flawless.” The name sounds corny but I take pride in sending them
picture perfect loads 3 times a day. I’ve also taught my friend
Johnny, who has recently come off the highway, to do the same and
now the guys call us the “Port Kells Dream Team.”
My one and only attempt at running on the highway was when I ran
team with Johnny for a while. The only problem was I seemed to be
doing all the work while he watched DVD’s all night. It didn’t take
me long to get tired of that and I’ve been back in town ever since.
My intention is to stay driving in town but if ever I get the urge
to be on the big road I would do it just like another friend of
mine, Lester, who in my opinion is “The Man” when it comes to the
highway.
Like Kenny has always said you never quit learning so if I ever
have a real dumb question I call my friend Glenda who has been
driving for a lot longer than me. (I think she is secretly proud
that I call her when I have a problem.) When she is finished
laughing she always has the right answer and she has a way of
making me feel that I’m not quite as stupid as I thought.
My Dad has been a big influence in my life and he always said, “You
only get out of it what you put into it.” Although I had heard that
all my life it took a while before it really sank in, but better
late than never. I’m happy to say its working for me.
At this point in my career I’m able to put all the time and effort
into my truck that I want and it really is my pride and joy. It is
my life and my main source of income which is my way of justifying
pouring money into it. At least all the expenses are tax deductible
unlike my younger days of Harleys, cars and women.
I’ve learned that you’re always going to get some bad days but if
you keep a positive attitude things will usually work out given a
little time. There have been people in my life that I have had to
walk away from due to not being able to agree on things but that is
what makes me who I am today. I’m sure anyone who knows me will
agree that loyalty to my job is number one with me.
Over the years I have been blessed to work with some fine
professionals and I take pride in the fact that I have worked my
way up to the job I do today. Twenty-one years after going to
collect my bike I often reflect on the times in the warehouse or in
the shop and I still can’t help asking now and then Y.M.I.
trucking. Unlike a lot of people, when I started out I never had
any intention of being a truck driver but I’ve grown to love the
job. When I finally made the career choice I set out to do it like
Harry would, to the best of my ability.
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