Last Trip Out of Pine Knot

This is a tribute to Cecil Neal of Pine Knot, Kentucky and all the truckers our family has known over the past sixty years. Twenty one years ago, the truck we grew to call The Big Green Machine pulled into Pine Knot for the last time; and on August 11, 2009, the truck left Pine Knot for the last time, loaded on a trailer instead of piloted by lifetime Pine Knot resident Cecil Neal. Cecil bought the truck new in 1967 and began the last twenty one years of his trucking career in the 1967 Kenworth. It was this truck that carried Cecil from the south sands of Florida to the salts of Salt Lake City and all the places in between. When I was growing up, there were names like Fitts, Barker, Tatter, Hawkshaw, Beckett, Big Foot and Willie “Big Cat” Babbs who shared a love of the open road as drivers of the big rigs from the 50s to the 80s. These were the guys who drove the trucks without power steering, trucks without air conditioning, trucks with clutches that would wear on even the strongest man’s left leg and with transmissions that took a certain finesse to shift. These were the men that delivered the goods that kept manufacturing plants humming, kept food on our tables, and delivered the cars that were driven.

If you have a little time, you might ask Cecil to share some of his stories, because he has stories. He will share stories of the open road, the type of stories that you accumulate after being on the road away from home for some thirty eight+ years. If you ask him how he got involved, the name of his Uncle Alfred will come up. He hauled logs for his uncle and then one day he inquired about hauling cars for Dixie Transport. Rumor has it, he had to change his driver’s license to get in the seat of that truck for Dixie. He never seems to be able to answer the question of how many miles he drove. I believe he actually knows, but he is just keeping that number to himself. He spent time running with partners in the truck, but the last seventeen were spent as a solo driver hauling all sorts of steel products. Nothing delayed or slowed him down, whether rain or snow, he moved on.

Dad would spend at least five days a week on the road away from his wife and two boys. I would say that I regret Dad being away so much and I am sure we missed out on something, but he always made time for his family when he was home.

Saturdays were always filled with getting the truck ready for another week. Cecil not only knew how to drive, but there is not much he cannot repair. Mom will tell of winters when the house was a bit cold for a few days until Dad could repair the furnace. He can fix almost anything, actually, he can fix anything. Even with air compressors and impact wrenches, Cecil would change tires and wheels with a few simple tire tools, a bottle of Joy dish liquid and a great deal of strength.

When the truck was for sale on eBay in July, one person commented, “according to my calculations that truck would have run well over a 100MPH.” I asked Dad to confirm that fact and he simply replied, “yes, I suppose it might.” He never really admitted to going that speed, but just by the tone on the phone, I knew the truck had seen somewhere in the neighborhood of 100MPH.

This was one of the more interesting sells on eBay for me. I would not piece everything together until the gentlemen called Mom and Dad to make arrangements for the pickup of the truck. I only knew his first name, Sam; I never really asked his last name. He told mom he was in New York with his son who raced stock cars. I was thinking local dirt track racer. Then it dawned on me, NASCAR was in New York on Monday, August 10th, and the buyer was from Defiance, OH. I quickly checked my PayPal account for the name on the deposit. The name was Samuel Hornish, father of Sam Hornish, Jr., Indy 500 Champion, IRL Champion and current NASCAR driver. The truck now resides in the collection of the Hornish family and with it the spirit of Cecil Neal.

Every time I drive down the hill into Cincinnati or I happen to be on the Florida Turnpike in the early morning, I am reminded of the summer of 1970. It was the summer that I spent in the cab of the 1967 Kenworth as Dad and Willie Babb delivered produce and frozen fish around the Eastern part of the US. It was a summer that I will never forget. It was the summer when I first discovered my love for the open road and the beauty that our country offers if only we take the time to look around. There were times when dad would drive the back roads; it could have been to avoid the scales. I guess I always thought he liked the beauty of the older roads. It would be my guess if he headed out today for Atlanta, he might just run Highway 27 rather than the big I-75 interstate.

So the next time you are on the road and a big rig needs a little extra room, remember the driver is probably someone’s husband and father. For us, The Big Green Machine might have left Pine Knot for the last time, but the memories of the truck and its driver will live on forever.