10-4 Magazine November 2023

10-4 Magazine / November 2023 71 In the store, she took notice of the aquariums filled with piranhas and the great inventory of shirts. After Jesse James’ wife Karla helped her with her purchases, she went outside and got to meet Jesse himself. She remembers the tattoo on his hand that said “Pay Up $ Sucker” when she shook his hand. All the time she had no clue about the show and how famous this place really was until she got back home and presented the guys with their shirts and told them about her experience getting them. At that point, they filled her in about the show and who Jesse James was. She delivered to Long Beach, CA often and, after this meeting, she would occasionally see Jesse at a light in one of his cool old low rider cars and he would always give her the thumbs up when he saw her. Her favorite trucks over the years were “Pinocchio” – a custom 1987 359 Peterbilt with a 147” hood and a 320” wheelbase pulling a 48’ stainless spread-axle reefer, a 1957 Peterbilt 281 with a butterfly hood and a “coffin” bunk with a crawl through hole, and a 2007 Peterbilt 379 Legacy (#417 of 1,000). Susie was hoping to have her truck stop dedication ceremony on her birthday, but because of a collapsed lung she was unable to fly, so the date was set for October 12, 2023. When she called John and I to invite us, John told us that it would coincide with the truck show and NASCAR race being held in Las Vegas that weekend, so we decided to make a week-long vacation of it. We got a group of friends together and John and I, along with Eva Knelsen and Mark Harter, flew out to Las Vegas to help Susie celebrate this awesome honor. How could a trip out west not include taking a detour to Huntington Beach, CA to see Jean Osugi, one of the founders of 10-4 Magazine, and having a wonderful visit at 10-4’s southern headquarters. So many great memories are in that house and office, and we even took a little time to remember Bette Garber and Erik Sieben. Tons of original 10-4 Express Magazine covers are hanging on the walls from before the name was changed (back) to 10-4 Magazine in 2000. The day Susie had been waiting for was here! Norma Bradford and her dog Atlas surprised Susie, who thought she was still in Florida, and Jacob Murray drove up from his home in Ontario, CA to join the celebration, as well. Rick White, General Manager of the TA, along with the District 32 Manager Pete “Wicky” Wickramanayake, met us and took us to the room at the Black Bear Diner where they had set up for the reception. Chuck and Sarah Fiske drove down from Montana to be there, while David, Carol and Martin Kohn drove out from Southern California. Rich and Debbie Weger from Barstow, CA (who have helped with security at the Truckin’ for Kids shows over the years) also joined us. Steen Gronlund, who was a 2019 Citizen Driver Award winner from Denver, CO, had his company work out a load that would get him in Barstow for Susie’s dedication. His truck stop is the Petro in Laramie, WY. Chris, the official photographer from Long Beach, CA, told Susie, “If this trucking thing doesn’t work out, you can be a model.” At 2:00 PM Rick took us out in the area by the Subway and gave a speech before unveiling a poster with a picture of Susie and her information on it. Then, we went outside, where they unveiled two beautiful bronze plaques – one at the front entrance to the truck stop and the other at the driver’s entrance, featuring Susie and her story. Back inside, we had a nice dinner and a yummy cake. With such a diverse group of old timers present, we had some great conversations between the drivers and shared memories of “how it used to be” out on the road. Rick White, the General Manager, shared with us a lot of Barstow, CA history that most of us didn’t know. It was really cool. Then, it was time to leave and go off on our next planned adventure – the truck show and race in Las Vegas! Look for that story next month. But for now, here’s celebrating “A Memory Every Mile” in honor of the late Bette Garber and our dear friend and awesome trucker Susie De Ridder. n