This gallery comes to us through the kind courtesy of Bob Byron III, who was willing to chat with me about Skagit yarders. Luckily
for me, the conversation ended up drifting to the subject his father, longtime Washington State log trucker Robert Byron Jr.
I am always fascinated by stories of the pioneers who made the way for us, and I feel fortunate every time I hear a new one.

Thank you Bob, there are many of us still in awe of these unsung heroes, and I am proud to share this story of your father!

The following was written by Patrick Byron, young Bob's brother- I hope you enjoy it as much as I did:

-- Trucking Through the Years in the Great Northwest --

The Trucking Life of Robert E (Bob) Byron Jr.
Submitted by Patrick H. Byron

My dad Bob was born in Everett, WA on February 19, 1917. He was raised in Machias, WA and graduated from Snohomish High School in 1934 in the depths of
the Great Depression. He went right from school into the logging camps, setting chokers (steel cables that pulled the logs to the loading site), and in 1937
started a trucking career that would span 40 years.

I remember as a boy asking my dad why he started trucking. He replied that it was winter and when the truck drivers closed the door and turned
on the heater, it looked very appealing when you were working the "rigging" soaking wet and bone cold.

I think it was more than just wanting to get out of the weather though. In my countless hours of watching him steer and shift, you could tell it was something
he was very skilled at, and he loved the trucking life. If I had a nickel for every time I watched him shift a gear in his 1956 GMC 950, I would probably be retired
today. The sound of a 2 valve 6-71 jimmy wound out, pulling a grade, still rings in my ears.

Dad started trucking with a 1934 Ford single axle and single axle trailer. It broke down so much that he took it back and told the dealer he couldn't make it, he was done.
The man must have seen something in this young kid, because he sent him out with a brand new 1937 Ford and told him to go to work.

At the time truck logging was just coming on real strong, trucks were replacing railroads, and the equipment as well as the roads left much to be desired. Four inch
hydraulic brakes on the truck, and vacuum brakes on the trailer, were very inadequate when you ran out of power pulling a hill. The engine would die and you soon
lost vacuum, and most of your braking. There was one grade on a county road in Snohomish County, WA that by ordinance you had to pay a 25¢ tow fee to be snapped up.
The County did this because so many loaded trucks came down backward out of brakes and jackknifed.

In the woods it was common to have a small "donkey engine" (cable winch) on the top of a very steep grade, it would pull you up empty and let you back down loaded.
The trucks had water tanks with lines running to the brakes for downhill cooling. You had a limited amount of water, and if you were not off the hill before you
ran out the results were usually catastrophic. My dad hauled mainly in the Sultun basin area of Washington, and up on Stevens pass until he met and married my mom,
Mary Carnino, in 1941. They settled in Black Diamond, WA and he hauled in that area until World War II broke out. Unable to serve in the military because of a
prior illness, he parked his truck and worked at Todd's Shipyard in Seattle, WA until the war ended.

After the war, he entered into partnership with his brother-in-law, Angelo Carnino. They ran a Dodge chain drive, and since my uncle was a mechanic he did
the maintenance and my dad drove. They eventually ended the partnership and my dad was on his own once again.

In 1948 there was a strike at the log dumps on Lake Washington and no logs could move. Dad heard of work in Grays Harbor, WA and went for what he thought would be
two weeks, with his new K-8 6-wheel International. He never left Grays Harbor; he said it was the greatest place on earth to haul logs, mild winters meant year round
work. It was also a great place for a family; my dad and mom raised a family of eight children. My dad was still trucking in Grays Harbor, running three log trucks,
until his untimely death in 1977. My mom is still active in the family business, working in the office daily.

Dad's trucking career spanned quite a variety of equipment. He started with single axle Ford flathead V-8's 85 HP, 5 speed transmission, 2 speed rear axle, and
water cooled brakes. His last new truck was a 1975 Peterbuilt with 350 HP, 13 speed roadranger, Eaton two speed tandem rear axles, and a Jacob's compression brake.
He was amazed at the power the "new" equipment had. I often wonder what he would think of trucks today, with 600 HP and an auto-shift transmission!


My brother (Robert E III) and I followed our father into business in 1973 and have continued in his trucking ways. We expanded the business, and
by 1990 we were hauling logs to mills throughout the Northwest with 23 log trucks.

After the spotted owl and timber downturns, we phased out of log hauling. Our company, Byron Bros. Inc., currently hauls bulk commodities to Grays Harbor Paper Co LP.
We also have ownership in Hometown Sanitation LLC, which collects the solid waste in our city of Hoquiam, WA.

2010 marks the 73rd year that the Byron family has been employed in the transportation industry.