FIXTITLE Tom & Jessie Nolan.docx

SIDE BY SIDE

The Story

Of

Thomas & Jessie Nolan

We have all heard of the phrase, ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ right? This expression is self-explanatory, meaning; that if something is working well, then leave it be. After forty years of running as a team, the Nolan duo has earned the respect of their fellow co-workers at TSMT, located in Joplin, Missouri. Jessie and her husband, Tom first joined the crew at TSMT back in the December of 1974. Taking this leap as a team was Jessie’s first introduction into the world as a professional driver. Tom however, started his career in the trucking industry working as a mechanic in his early twenties. With forty successful years under their belt I asked Tom what was their secret. How are they able to commit not only to a job that is physically enduring but remain loyal to a company for so long? Anybody that knows a truck driver, you’ll understand when I say that life on the road can be demanding in many ways. It’s all about maintaining strong relationships. Professional and personal. For either to work you have to put forth the effort. “The people within the company are nice. From the dispatch to the safety department…they’re all good to us and that means a lot.” Then Tom goes on to say that when it comes to their duties, “There is no monkeying around! We get the job done.” Guess that’s one of the main reasons of how the Nolan’s are able to stay on top of their game. They treat their responsibilities with a no-nonsense attitude that is acknowledged and proven effective. Both as a team on the road and at home. When you look for positive qualities in an individual, a good, hard work ethic is expected. But when you factor in dedication and commitment to a person’s way of life, excellence is bound to show up in their performance. When and if you’re able to find a match of two people that possess the same demeanor, realize quickly that you’ve hit the honey pot. It’s not very often that you meet an individual, or two for that matter, that can say they’ve devoted the majority of their life to one particular company. To be proud as an employee to have their name intertwined with a business brand, speaks highly of a company. When the recognition is equal and runs both ways, to be chosen to represent as the face of a company is considered an honor. That’s exactly how Jessie and Tom carry themselves. As if the life of the business, in each assignment given to them is their top priority. A partnership like this heaps many rewards on both sides of the table and answers my question pertaining to their long term success.

Tom was a middle child, born on October 2nd, 1942. He was raised on a farm in West Point, Mississippi. “I was a farm boy… I remember as a kid having to get up at 3:30 in the morning to milk the cows. There was about 25 to 30 of them and this was back when we had to milk them by hand. Then come five in the evening, we just turned around and did it all over again.” He laughs as he mentioned when his family invested in a milk machine. He didn’t have to try and convince me when he said that it was much better with the machine! I can imagine that it was. He speaks with love and admiration as he goes in to details about his parents. His mother retired after thirty years at a local department store, while his father tended to the family farm.

By the age of fifteen, Tom hit the road and never looked back. He landed a job with a logical survey team and began traveling from state to state with another fellow about the same age. “We were just a couple of kids driving around, surveying land. I’d walk around with a pole, holding it up.” Sounds simple enough. Either way, this was Tom’s ticket to see what life had in store for him away from the farm. After the young men ran their course of ten months with the company as part-time help, Tom was on the lookout for his next move.

Coming from a strong family oriented background, starting a family of his own only seemed natural. Soon Tom married and had two girls and a boy. He relocated his family to Seattle so his wife could be closer to her relatives. When it came time to pursue a job, Tom ventured towards working on vehicles as a mechanic. It was then when his curiosity for trucks entered the picture. In the year of 1972, Tom separated from his first wife and moved back home to Mississippi. When I asked him what was next, he mentioned a conversation that he had with two men at a local rest stop that changed his life forever. “One of them told me that I should go buy a truck and come drive with them.” …I kind of sat there, on my end of the phone waiting for more specifics but that was it. These two gentlemen suggested that Tom go out and purchase a truck and hit the road too. They even told him where to go and so that’s exactly what he did. “In 1974, I drove to Seattle and bought my first truck, then immediately went to work with them.” Talk about going out on a limb. He knew that he could perform the job and set his goal to obtain it. “It was a turquoise and green, 1973 Freightliner Cabover. Over the past forty years I’ve had a total of fourteen trucks but I’ll never forget that one.”

The following year, Tom ran into a woman that would become a special part of his life. “See, I like to dance… and one night I went out to a bar and there she was.” I’m noticing that Tom likes to keep things as simple as possible; nothing complicated. He wants to become a truck driver…done. Meets the love of his life…done. “If you want something, you make it happen. There’s no need in waiting for someone to do things for you. It’s your life.” Tom and Jessie were married the next December in 1976. That same year, Jessie earned her license and Tom began teaching his new bride the tricks of trucking. Ever since then, they’ve been running side by side, racking in the miles by the million. Then he beats me to the punch, “The thing is, I enjoy being around my wife.” Considering the pair are confined to a cab 24 hours, seven days a week, you have to have a meaningful relationship to withstand each other’s company under them circumstances. The two not only share a common interest in trucking but they both like to hunt and fish together. The more couples do together, the more they grow together. I truly believe that and this husband and wife are a great example of that.

They travel all over the country, typically staying on the road for over two months and then back home to relax for about two weeks. Sometimes up to a month. Right now they’re in a 2005 Freightliner, with a 326 wheelbase tractor that is white with red, gold and silver stripes on it. Their primary destinations are located on bases, transporting all classes of explosive materials, including toxic and hazardous radioactive materials. Tom’s favors the upstate area of New York and Washington. “The people are nice and you can find decent southern food around there.” When I let out a laugh of surprise, he agreed that it shocked him too. He admits that with all of his years spent on the road, he doesn’t need a road map anymore. It’s all in the memory bank. His wife’s favorite place to visit is Kentucky. There’s a few quiet areas that she makes a point to stop by and plus she has a brother that lives in Louisville.

Jessie comes from a larger family with six sisters and three brothers. She was the fifth in line, born and raised out in the country of Texarkana, Arkansas. Jessie is also familiar with the farm life. “I grew up in a saw mill, working with my dad. If I wasn’t in our garden or chopping wood, then I was feeding the cows, chickens and hogs.” She had a typical teenage life, playing volley ball and baseball. Her first job was at the age of 12, in 1960 working at a pharmacy located inside of a nearby restaurant. She often made errand runs for her mother to pick up her prescriptions and noticed they were looking for good help. It was less than two miles away from their house, so she walked to and from every day. Jessie worked there for two years before swapping over to the restaurant side to serve as a waitress. In 1962, her mother passed away and Jessie decided to move out on her own. She continued to work at the restaurant, making decent money. It was on a regular night, she and friend went out to a local bar. Their intentions were to unwind and have some laughs after work. It was then when Jessie met Tom for the first time. Tom was in town just for a stop and was headed back for the road soon. This time taking him all the way to Canada. Once he took off, he was gone for almost three months. However, time didn’t escape Tom. As soon as he could, he returned back to Texarkana and got in touch with Jessie through a mutual friend.

They exchanged their vows in a small, intimate ceremony that included only close friends and relatives. Thirty-seven years later, with Tom’s three children they now have seven grandchildren, three girls and four boys. Along with six great grandchildren, whom are all boys. Tom has received a plaque for both, his one million and two million safe miles. Jessie has also been awarded with a ring for her one million safe miles and is currently working on reaching her two million. She likes 40,000 of hitting her mark. The way these two keep the roads hot, it’ll be no time before she’s checking it off of her list. With their history of growing up on farms their whole life, it’s no wonder the Nolan’s went back to their roots. You can find them on their 100 acre cattle farm in Tom’s neck of the woods, West Point, Mississippi. It’s been their home since 1975. Ten years ago, in 2004 they had a new house built on the same property and tore down the old one.

When it was Jessie’s turn to describe the last forty years of her career with TSMT, riding alongside her husband, she had nothing less than praise for both. “I didn’t know a thing about trucking until I met Tom. At first I was like, ‘Hey, this is cool!’ and Tri-State has been good to us ever since.” The main thing for Jessie is that she likes the fact that she is allowed to work the hours that she wants. When Tom’s parents were sick, she was able to come home. During the summers she kept their kids at home while they were out of school. Then Tom chimes back in, “…and the people at TSMT never hassle us. When we’re ready to go back on the road, all I have to do is call them up and they recognize my voice right off the bat.” Jessie makes a good point though, she states that the world of trucking is a lot different than it was forty years ago but it will never go back to the way things were. “You can’t go backwards. It’s the way of nature. All you can do is work to improve.” I think these two have everything figured out and we can all take a note.