10-4 Magazine August 2022

Cover Feature: By Daniel J. Linss Dave, told Jerry who he was, and then bluntly asked him, “Is this son-of-a-bitch for real?” I’m sure that many of you out there are imagining this scene, and maybe even reliving times that Erik said (or did) some things you couldn’t believe. He was kind of famous (or maybe infamous) for that. Obviously, Jerry set Erik straight about Dave, because the two had dinner together that night. When I asked Dave for his thoughts about that first meeting with Erik, he said, “Well, he bought me dinner that night, so I guess he made up for it.” The next day, on a cloudy Sunday, after the show had ended, Dave and Bryan Mar tin drove Dave’s two trucks out to the Mar tin Family proper ty just outside Joplin to do a photo shoot for their upcoming 2010 calendar. Erik tagged Honoring the past is something we take pride in here at 10-4 Magazine. The latest and greatest “cool” stuff is fun to feature, too, but remembering where it came from is impor tant for preserving trucking’s history and appreciating where we are today. This month, we wanted to honor the past and feature not only a neat old (and rare) truck and its owner, who has a bunch of unique antique rigs, but also the man who took these pictures – our very own Erik “Big E” Sieben. This month marks the third anniversary of his passing, so we dug out these old pictures, which he took back in 2009, that have never seen the light of day. This month’s cover feature is dedicated to honoring the past – trucking’s past and 10-4 Magazine’s past, as well. It all star ted when Bryan Mar tin at 4 State Trucks decided to host a truck show at his location in Joplin, MO. The year before, in 2008, they hosted an invite-only customer appreciation event with about 30 trucks, and it was such a rousing success, they decided to do it again the following year and make it open to the public. Held on October 9-10, 2009, this first-ever Guilty By Association Truck Show (GBATS) drew in about 100 trucks and was an amazing inaugural event, even though the weather was not always cooperative (rain plagued much of the show). Our very own Erik Sieben (Big E) flew out to be a par t of that first show by himself, but the rest of us here at 10-4 haven’t missed one since! During the show, Erik met Dave Schroyer of Celina, OH who was there showing off this 1986 GMC General pictured here, along with the matching 1983 Peterbilt 359 he hauled it to the show with. That first meeting of Erik was memorable for Dave, as it was for most people, because Erik could be quite obnoxious (for lack of a better word) when out and about. Dave recounted the story to me in great detail, even though he had trouble remembering some other simple things from his past, which illustrates just how memorable and impressionable – good or bad – that first encounter was with Erik. Walking up to Dave’s GMC and asking lots of questions, Erik eventually asked, “What else you got?” Dave proceeded to answer the question by telling him about the various trucks he owned. Erik was impressed but didn’t believe him. He then asked Dave, “Why don’t I know you?” Dave said, “I just work hard and don’t get out much, I guess.” Then Erik asked him who he knew in Ohio, and Dave said he knew Jerry Howard, who also owned a bunch of neat old trucks. Erik said, “Call him!” So, Dave proceeded to dial up Jerry, and when he answered, Erik took the phone from 10 10-4 Magazine / August 2022 HONORING THE PAST