FIXTITLE Ted Dykes.docx

LIVING A LIFE-LONG DREAM

The Story

Of

Ted Dykes

By the time you’ve reached your sixties, I imagine a person’s memory bank to be completely full of many life experiences. I’m sure some flashbacks may not be as pleasant as others, but almost always, when looking back at one’s journey through life’s ups and downs you then realize exactly how your present day was created. To be able to recall a life full of moments that impacted a person’s understanding, knowledge and maturity as an individual is a life well lived.

When I reached out to this nominee, our meeting felt familiar. In a matter of minutes, what started as the initial beginning of a regular interview quickly turned into a surprising conversation. By surprising, I mean I was engaged to listen to his story, not only as a writer, but as a friend. Everything that he discussed, from his early career as a truck driver in his teens, to his beloved family. I found it all extremely heartfelt. He spoke with a soft tone and could remember vivid memories back to the 50’s. With distinct details, as if they happened yesterday. So many recollections that shaped his life at an early age.

However, don’t let Ted Dykes’ age fool you! I caught on pretty soon. With his southern, Louisiana accent and humble demeanor, I could tell he was the real deal right out of the gate. Very seldom are you given the pleasure of getting acquainted with people that truly make you smile. After wrapping up our lengthy talk about Ted’s life, I knew we had a special someone on our hands.

Listening to how Ted explains his point of view on how the world as a whole, along with the industry of trucking has evolved over his past 45 years in the business, is very interesting. Yet he keeps a positive outlook on all of it. It’s like he is literally surfing through life. Not paying attention to the water falling in his eyes, or the amount of times he has fallen down, but instead he chooses to see himself through and makes it a point to simply enjoy the ride.

Ted is an only child, born in Mississippi. His mother stayed home to tend to the house and raise him hands-on, as most moms did back then. I was also raised in a similar situation, but by my grandmother. The house was always tidy, laundry was hung outside on the line and just about each meal was homemade and set on the table for a family dinner at precisely the same time every day. It’s a type of upbringing that isn’t as common these days, due to the household needing to make more money. I’ll say though, it’s that southern hospitality that I recognize in Ted that I can relate to. His father worked in the oil field as a young man, before going into the logging business. Ted states that he can remember his dad talking about his truck. “First he used horses and mules to log with. Then later on he got his International, but he told me that it wasn’t much use for anything.” By the time Ted came into the picture, his father was working for the state. He drove a dump truck occasionally, but that was not how Ted was introduced into trucking.

The Dykes family lived out in the country on a farm. Ted grew up around big trucks and began riding before he was nine. His older cousin, Charlie was a cattle buyer and he would often tag along during Charlie’s routes. “He was my hero. Charlie took me under his wing and was like a brother to me,” Ted says. Everything about Charlie fascinated him. Especially his big cattle truck. Charlie picked up cattle from stock yards throughout Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Ted joined him every chance he had. He continued to ride with Charlie some days during the week. On the weekends he rode with another driver, Billy Varnado. Charlie did some jobs for Billy and introduced the two. On Saturdays, Billy gathered up the cattle from Charlie and hauled them to Dallas, Texas. The fact that Ted had been living the country life added to the excitement of escaping on the road. Ted says, “The first time I saw Dallas at night, my eyes were real big!” At first, Billy would swap seats with Ted for a little bit and let him drive. Ted was an excellent student, picking up on the ropes fast. With each trip, Billy would allow Ted more time behind the wheel and eventually trusted him completely. “Billy began teaching me how to drive when I was 10 in his International Emeryville. We would leave out on Saturday and return on Sunday, traveling to different stock yards throughout Dallas. I loved it! Being able to go places and see new things was the best.” Both Charlie and Billy were veterans of the Korean War. That alone earned Ted’s respect at an early age. In his case, he did not enlist into the military due to him being born the only son and single birth, he was classified as IV-A. Unfortunately, his friend Billy had lost his left hand in combat and was given a prosthetic hook, which earned him the nickname, Captain Hook. “I was so amazed as a boy at what all Billy could do with his truck and one hand!”

By eleventh grade, Ted dropped out of school to pursue his love for trucking. Later, at the age of 40 Ted went back to earn his GED. At 16, he had landed his first job as a truck driver. He says, “I remember they put me in a small truck with a gooseneck trailer. I drove through Texas up to Oklahoma.” The next year, he switched over to hauling cattle. Now Ted was pulling a 40ft single axel cattle trailer, with a 210 International or as he put it, ‘a gas burner.’ His route still consisted of Texas and Oklahoma, but also Louisiana and Florida. He pauses to go more in depth about what was going on in his mind at the time. “I asked myself, how cool can this be? I’m getting paid to see the country and have fun …and let me tell you, back then it was fun! I loved it! Nobody messed with you. When I passed through Arizona I would travel miles and miles without seeing a law man.”

In 1971, Ted came off of the road to haul local, pulling a gravel trailer for his uncle. They hauled clay back and forth to brick plants in the Kentwood area. The following year, at the age of 21 Ted purchased his first truck and became an owner-operator. It was a three-toned green, 1975 Freightliner Cabover. He immediately leased onto a company based out of Mississippi pulling dry box, hauling sugar and salt. He drove a tri-state route between Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

Ted managed to be home at least twice a week with his (then) wife and newborn son, Shawn. His second son, Ted Jr. was born in 1975. A year later he went back to hauling cattle for another company out of Jackson, Mississippi to several feed lots throughout California. This is the first opportunity Ted had to visit the state. “I loved traveling through the desert, country parts of California. In some places there was nothing, but it was still unique to me.” With the cattle business being seasonal, he stayed on for about two years.

In 1978, Ted bought himself a gravel trailer. At the time, gravel business was a prominent niche for the New Orleans area. Ted ran local to the cement plants nearby, so he could be at home with his family more often. He continued running his own equipment for ten years. His second purchase was a 1980 Mack R600, with a 6-speed 300 motor.

By 1988, the gravel industry began to run dry and Ted decided to sell his truck and trailer. He went to work for a large tanker outfit out of Baton Rouge. This company called for Ted to return to the road, all 48 states. The only catch was that he missed being an owner-operator. With that said, he fills me in on his next truck. “I bought a long nose Freightliner Conventional. A used company truck… and this ol’ truck made me a ton of money!” He leased onto a company in Texas that had one of the oldest tanker divisions in the country. He started hauling liquor to local paper mills from Louisiana to Mississippi. Ted realized quickly that this is where the money was at. When the company gave up their liquor haul, Ted wasn’t quite ready. In the liquor business he was making a nice living, earning good money.

A company located in Jackson, Mississippi that offered liquor hauling had caught Ted’s attention in 1995. “It was a fine company, known worldwide. I don’t have enough good words to say about them. I put in 16 years there,” Ted says. In 2011, the gentleman over the logistics department switched companies to L&B Transport out of Port Allen, Louisiana. He soon called in a favor to Ted. I hear him laugh, “He told me that he needed me bad. He went on and said that all I have to do is change the stickers on my door and I’d be hauling the same chemicals to the same plants that I am now.” Since joining the team he has found a new home. He describes L&B Transport as a hassle-free company to work for that pays well and demonstrates a friendly atmosphere. He adds, “The owner is a good man, too. They’ve all been good to me.”

Now when Ted heads out he is able to return home about 2 to 3 times a week. His routes range anywhere between North Dakota and Illinois, to Florida or Texas. He says, “We go out and come right back. Not everybody is that fortunate. Some have to stay out weeks at a time and that’s bad on family life.” He continues explaining, “It’s hard to get drivers and keep them because of that. I got in simply because I love it. I love trucking. It’s not a job to me. It’s a challenge and I still love it after 45 years.” When I inquired about how many lifetime miles he has accumulated over his entire professional trucking career, I finally stumped him. After some math he tells me that his current truck has close to 3 million miles alone. This is the 1992 berry red Peterbilt, known as ‘Old Baby’ that he purchased back in 1992. In all, we’re looking at about four and a half million safe miles to date. Speaking of his Peterbilt, he won a couple of awards, 2nd and 3rd place in his 92-93 class at the Great American Trucking Show in 2007 and 2008.

These days when Ted is not away on the road he enjoys restoring trucks, like his ‘Tru Blu’ or spending quality time with his fiancé, Sheila. He bought Tru Blu two years ago. It’s a 1985 359 Peterbilt with a 400 Cat, 13-speed transmission, 355 rear and 245 tires. Completely restored; Porsche baby blue in color. Soon his plans are to park Old Baby and take Tru Blu on the road for a while and let her rest.

Sheila and Ted have been together for six years. Ted says, “When we’re both off, I’m spending my time with her because to me I consider trucking my hobby.” I hear him laugh again before he says, “My hobby is collecting Benjamin Franklins!” Sheila is an LPN at a local hospital in Louisiana. The two tee off on a cruise every year, catch a movie whenever possible and love to take their Honda Goldwing trike out for a spin when their schedules and weather permit. “We get along real well and just like to have fun. Some days we’ll ramble about from shopping to eating. Who knows what we’ll get into,” he says. He admits that he dreads the day of retirement, but he does have a backup plan to keep him busy. He and Sheila are going to raise cattle on her farm, while he continues to play with his trucks.

He gives me one more last insight before we end our call. “Trucking has not always been wine and roses. There was a lot of struggle, but when I finally landed in the tanker business and began pulling hazmat, that’s when everything fell into place. I’ve had a good, long career. Trucking is my life and I love it!”