August 2009 TRUCKER TALK
THE WORLD OF LARGE CARS
BY WRITER & OWNER OPERATOR KIM GRIMM
There was no rags down, no judging and no trophies – and I heard no complaints! This year’s World of Large Cars show, held in Carlinville, IL, on July 3-5, was instead more about friends and family remembering not only our friend Bette Garber, but also Jake Eilen and all of the other friends that we have lost too soon in the past months. It seems like we’ve had way too much loss lately, but none will be forgotten as long as we can share our memories of them with their families and each other.
The Gwillim family did so much to put this show together – Mickey and his son Tyler went above and beyond to make this a great event, with the help of Mickey’s brother Scott. Mickey and his family have been trucking for some time now – in fact, Gwillim Trucking Inc. has the oldest ICC number in Illinois (#798) and they have held the same contract with Prairie Farms Dairy since 1942 (both of these companies have been passed down through three generations). Mickey wanted to thank Charlene Testerman for bringing her infamous 359 Peterbilt “Rollin’ Thunder” to the show. This was the first time Charlene had taken the truck out to a show since her husband Leonard passed away two years ago. Leonard was yet another fallen friend that we remembered in Carlinville.
Featuring green grass instead of a black parking lot and plenty of room to spread out, the Macoupin County Fairgrounds was an excellent venue. Last year, I talked to Bette as she was leaving Mickey’s first World of Large Cars show and she was just raving about how nice Mickey had been and how great the trucks (and people) were. When I got there, I understood why she was so excited about the whole set up – it was perfect! About 90 beautiful trucks and their owners and drivers gathered together for this show to remember all our friends. If you were a Peterbilt fan, this was the place to be.
Bette’s entire family was at the show, most for the first time. Her niece’s Jenny and Stacy Friedman have attended shows with Bette before and were actually with her at the last show she attended in Kasson, MN at the Big Iron Classic, last September. They said, “Aunt Bette was like a rock star at a truck show, with everyone trying to get her to come over to their truck.” Bette’s brother and sister-in-law Joel and Sam Friedman were first time show-goers, so it was fun to watch them. Joel was taking pictures and saying things like, “This is so cool,” and, “Isn’t that neat!” I could see Bette standing there and taking some of the same pictures.
Bette’s family members loved all of the stories that the drivers told about her – they got a look into a part of Bette’s life that they really hadn’t seen before. Her stories, pictures and books aren’t like the experiences she had getting those pictures and stories. Talking with Joel about the show, he said, “It was awesome, oddly enough, I found myself wanting to take pictures of trucks. Setting up a shot of a detail – it was something that Bette would’ve done. It was both funny and sad.” Joel told me that their father was a hobby photographer that started taking pictures in college. Bette was a journalist first, and then picked up the photography later. She started talking to truckers on the CB and became fascinated by the trucks they drove and started taking pictures. And as they say, the rest is history. Using her journalism skills and perfecting her photography, the trucking industry benefited immensely from the niche Bette found in life.
Bette’s sister Mikie Friedman was “blown away” by the trucks and the drivers she met – she now understands why Bette loved both so much. Mikie shared stories of her big sister with drivers, and then enjoyed hearing the stories about how they met Bette or “the time when...” Visiting with Dave Marcotte, he shared a story about Bette hanging out the window of my truck, shooting pictures of his truck and trailer, while going through Echo Canyon in Utah. Carole Zipperlen, who had been an assistant to Bette years ago, was also at the show. She would be at home in the office while Bette was at a truck show or out on the road. Pulling pictures for requests while Bette was gone, she was Bette’s right-hand woman and she trusted her with getting things done in her absence. Bette’s longtime companion Leo Trotman drove out from Pennsylvania and it was obvious to all how much he misses her. Leo’s brother Tom and his family also flew in from New York. A little boy from Paris, Nebraska told his mother that this show is where he wanted to go on vacation this summer – I hope he was not disappointed, and that he will want to come back again next year.
We also remembered Jake Eilen. I talked with his wife Anne and I asked her about Jake. She told me that they had grown up together and had loved each other since 7th grade. When I asked her to tell me something funny about Jake, she told me that in the winter he would always slip on the ice and fall on his butt. She also shared a story about when they were in bible class and Jake wrote something naughty on her hand, but she wouldn’t tell me what he wrote. And their son, Jaden, is an adorable little boy.
Jake’s first truck show was Louisville in 2003, where he won all of the awards for his class. He did that with his black truck with orange flames called HD 100. Contrary to what many people think, that “HD” doesn’t stand for Harley Davidson – it stands for Hundred Dollars – which is what he would spend (at least) whenever he went into the Harley Davidson shop. HD 100 was also picked that year to be in the 2004 Shell SuperRigs calendar. That kind of start would hook most any driver! Look for Jake’s last truck in the upcoming 2010 Shell SuperRigs calendar. The Eilen family brought this truck, and others, to Carlinville in memory of Jake.
The rain on Saturday put a damper on how some of the day was planned to go – the auction that was scheduled for 2:30 was postponed until Sunday and we didn’t get to have the planned convoy at all. But the fireworks that were donated by Jerry Kissinger of Cottage Grove, WI went off for a very nice show. Look for Jerry’s truck in Bette’s last calendar (2010) – it will be the lit-up Mack with “Thumper” cut into the bumper.
Carl Carstens and his son Carl Jr. were in attendance and not only donated Rockwood Products for the auction but also had prepared a poster featuring an old film stripe with several pictures of Bette. He gave one of these beautiful posters to each of Bette’s family members. Carl was always a big supporter of Bette and her work – he helped sell Bette’s books and calendars, and would often have her autograph copies of her books in his booth at the truck show in Louisville. Bette always told me how much she appreciated all that Carl did for her.
A special thanks to Joey and Vicki Holiday for coming out and singing and helping with the sound system for the auction. We even got Bette’s brother Joel to sing “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” for all to enjoy. There were also two birthday boys at the show – Bob Guy and Bill Hudgins. Bob’s birthday is on the 4th and Bill celebrates his a day sooner on the 3rd. Both of these men hit the big 6-0 in a 45 mph zone!
Round decals with Bette’s image and her famous saying, “I can’t make you rich, but I can make you famous,” along with her signature, were made and donated by Scott Bouma of Scotts Signs in Grandville, MI. Scott was the one who painted the fabulous murals on Bette’s old van. It was really nice to meet him and his wife Kim. Taking a mini vacation, they made the trip down and were glad to be able to meet Bette’s family.
Mickey Gwillim would like to thank everyone else who donated to the auction, including Truck-Lite, Larson Group Peterbilt, Peterbilt of Joplin, F&C Mack Truck Centers, Quick’s Shine Shop, Pittsburgh Power, Truk-Rodz, Freightliner Truck Centers, CAT Scale, LargeCar Magazine, Central Illinois Kenworth, International, and 10-4’s own “Poetry In Motion” writer Trevor Hardwick, who sent a hand-drawn picture of Jake’s truck for Anne and Jaden Eilen, along with two enlarged posters featuring his poem “Small Screen Heroes” for the auction. This poem was first published in the November 2007 edition of 10-4 Magazine and was written in honor of our veterans. The proceeds from the auction were divided between the Bette Garber Memorial Fund and the Jaden Eilen Trust Fund, with each receiving over $2,500.
Last year, Mickey had show attendees pick the three trucks that would go on the T-shirt for this year’s show, and this year he asked Bette’s family to pick one of the trucks for next year’s shirt – they chose Brad Caton’s blue and silver Eilen truck. In addition to Brad’s rig, Mickey chose Jake Eileen’s truck and his brother’s (Jonathan Eilen) car hauler to be on the 2010 shirt. The one award that was given out at the show, the Truk-Rodz award, went to Jarrod Russell and his rust-colored Peterbilt and cattle trailer.
Mickey has next year’s show scheduled for July 16-18, 2010. Mark it on your calendar and plan to come and enjoy a really fun truck show. We at 10-4 supported this show, and with the feeling of family we have here at the magazine, it makes us sad to have so many lost friends to remember – but remember, we will. After all, it’s the people who make these trucks into the magnificent machines we want to take pictures of and read about.