10-4 Magazine October 2021

Cover Feature: By Stephanie Haas the company. Driving a truck, however, was never far from Josh’s mind. While owning the septic company, Josh was also a paramedic. At one point, Don and Josh got into a yelling match over Josh wanting to go trucking. Josh finally asked (more yelled) that if he didn’t want Josh to get into trucking, then why did he teach him how to drive? Solemnly, Don responded that was all he knew and if he wanted to spend time with Josh, it had to be around a truck. As there is never enough time, Josh unfor tunately lost his father to a hear t attack in 2013. Most of the time our plans look good on paper, but how it actually works, is that we end up somewhere completely different. But if you are meant to do something or be something, time, life, circumstances and decisions made will lead you where you are supposed to be. Josh Branscome of Lawsonville, NC knew he was destined to be in trucking, but he didn’t get into it immediately. However, his path led him to this destination, and now he is along for the ride in the “boneyard built” Peterbilt 359 seen here. Since the age of three, Josh has grown up in Lawsonville, NC and from as far back as he can remember, trucking was all he wanted to do. Also, at three years old, his mom met and eventually married a man named Don Sheppard, who may not have been Josh’s bir th father, but he became his father from that point forward. With Don in Josh’s life, Josh would eventually go on to carry the tradition and become the third generation of truck drivers in the family. Riding along with Don whenever he could, Josh earned a CB handle that has remained with him to this day. Josh loved eating Cheetos and would always have it all over him. One of his dad’s drivers, Mark “Lightning” Boyer, gave him the name of “Big Cheez” when he was about four years old, and that name is still not only used, but it is hand-lettered on his truck today. At nine years old, Josh was put in the driver’s seat of Don’s 359 while Don sat in the passenger seat with a cooler to his left, drinking beer, and teaching Josh how to drive and shift the truck, running up and down their driveway. Josh wanted to finish high school and immediately get into trucking, but Don wouldn’t hear of it. He wouldn’t even go with Josh to get his CDL and went on to say it wasn’t no life for a person with a family. Don held firm to not going with Josh, however, Aubrey Kallam, one of the guys leased to Don, was more than happy to take Josh, in a 359 Aubrey had purchased from Don. Needless to say, Don was anything but happy about it. Although Josh got his CDL after graduating, he went to work for his aunt who owned a septic tank company and eventually ended up buying 10 10-4 Magazine / October 2021 BONEYARD BUILT