thankfully, it didn’t. Driving an A-model KW truck and trailer for Whitley, on its last trip before it was to be traded in for a new truck, a young driver fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning and crossed the center line. John tried to avoid the oncoming car, but there was nothing he could do. The car struck the driver’s side steer tire, causing the fuel truck and its loaded trailer to explode, and then sent it off the highway into a ditch, where everything burned down except the cab. John does not remember much of anything, but he miraculously survived the wreck after being thrown out of the truck and clear of the fire. Paramedics found him some time later when he wandered out of the woods, with a bloody head, clutching the truck’s single stack. He ended up with 13 staples across the top of his head and lost half of one of his ears, but with all things considered, that wasn’t too bad. John stayed at Whitley until 1996 when he got the itch to buy another truck – Girdy 2 – which was a teal blue 1986 Peterbilt 359 short hood with a 60” flattop. He used that truck to haul wood pellets in a dry van for a while and then went to Rees Transportation, where he pulled a set of their A-trains, hauling “maxi loads” of various building materials. In 1998 John bought a set of brand-new Western A-trains (40’ front trailer and 20’ pull trailer) which his son Josh owns today (and has since restored). He drove that truck for several years until he decided it was time for an upgrade in 2003. Girdy 3 was ordered brand-new in 2003 and was delivered in August of that year. The 2004 Peterbilt 379 was loaded with all the goodies, including an American Class interior package. With metallic silver paint and metallic black fenders with gold flake, a 250” wheelbase, and a 475-hp CAT “Bridge” motor hooked to an 18-speed, Girdy 3 cost $110K new, and, oddly enough, some 21 years later, is valued at $120K today – she was a good investment, for sure. John drove that truck until 2019, putting 1.2 million miles on her. Unfortunately, John was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) in 2018, which forced him to sell the truck in 2019 to one of Josh’s friends (Aaron) and retire from trucking. Born in 1986 and raised in Omak, WA, Josh spent a lot of time on the road with his dad. At about ten years old, he started going out with him in the summers, and they were often out for weeks at a time, but Josh loved it. At around 13 years old, John started letting Josh jump into the driver’s seat and pilot the truck along quiet stretches of open road, and by 16, Josh was driving and shifting on a regular basis. After graduating high school in 2004, Josh got his CDL permit and went to work for a man named Joe Philleo, who continued Josh’s driver training in a really nice 2000 Peterbilt 379 daycab, in exchange for Josh washing all his trucks and trailers. He learned a lot from Joe! One of Josh’s friends had a used car lot, and at just 18 years old, Josh was selling cars and managing the place, and also trucking on his days off. At 20 he took a job at David Hannah Transportation of Tonasket, WA as a co-driver, getting experience and seat time, and at 21 he finally got his CDL. His very first solo run was a load to Trail, B.C. (Canada) in a 2000 Peterbilt 379, pulling a set of double hoppers filled with acidic fertilizer. And, if you know anything about that town (Trail, B.C.), it’s located at the bottom of a very steep hill, and since it was winter, Josh got a lot of experience, very quickly. Later, he started doing the I-5 shuffle, hauling apples to Southern California and produce back. In 2010, at 24 years of age, Josh was approached by Gene Thornhill and his son Chris and offered a driving job at their company, PGH 10-4 Magazine / October 2025 11
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