10-4 Magazine January 2025

Cover Feature: By Daniel J. Linss at 84 years old. His mother Royene is still alive and lives at home. Kent has two brothers that live near her that stop by every day to take care of her and make sure that she has everything she needs. Later, Kent named one of his sons Trader, in honor of his father. Born in 1961, Kent grew up in the tiny town of Eagar, AZ. After graduating high school in 1980, he went off to UTI in Phoenix to study diesel mechanics and graduated the following year. Then, from 1981 to 1994, he worked at Industrial Fleet Repair, where his specialty was rebuilding Cummins diesel engines. Over his tenure there, he rebuilt hundreds of these engines. In 1994, needing a change, he went Kent Swapp is known for being an excellent engine builder and a big fan of old trucks. Over the past four decades, he’s rebuilt hundreds of Cummins engines and owned and operated many cool classic trucks, but that is not why he is known as a “Miracle Man” to many – especially those in his local medical community. Kent (63) nearly died from covid back in 2021 and has quite an interesting – dare I say “eye opening” – story to tell about it. And this “Miracle Man” has done more than just survived after God hit the reset button on his life... he has thrived. But this story is not just about Kent and his struggle with covid. He is a fifth generation freight hauler, star ting with his great great grandfather Melvin Swapp, who “drove” a team of mules pulling wagons. Living in Luna, NM in the late 1800s, Melvin hauled mail and other general freight between Luna, Alpine, AZ, and Magdelena, NM. This was his regular route, and even though it was only a couple hundred miles, it took him about three weeks to complete the trip. His great grandfather Mel was a cattle rancher in Luna, who probably did a little cow hauling along the way, as well. The next in line was Kent’s grandfather, Don Swapp, who hauled logs and lumber in and around Luna, NM. Kent’s father Horace Swapp was born in 1939, and in the mid-50s he began driving a log truck at 17 years old for Whiting Brothers. A few years later, Kent’s grandfather, father, and uncle (Melburn) all began working together at Southwest Forest Industries, hauling lumber between Reserve, NM and Eagar, AZ, doing three rounds a day. At that time, they were the only three lumber trucks in the area. Kent’s dad and uncle both eventually quit working for Southwest in the mid-1970s and became owner operators, leasing on with Roadrunner Trucking, which was based in Albuquerque, NM. When Kent’s dad first star ted trucking, they called him “Trader” on the CB, because of his “Swapp” last name. Later, one of Kent’s kids began calling him “Pop Swapp” and that became his new nickname – and it stuck. Kent’s father retired in 2015 and just passed away last year 10 10-4 Magazine / January 2025 MIRACLE MAN