Milk haulers compete
EAST EARL Two milk
haulers, more accustomed to
navigating their big ngs over the
narrow back roads and tiny farm
lanes of Eastern Lancaster
County, took part in a different
type of driving experience today.
Instead of maneuvering around
slow moving vehicles on the roads
and being particularly alert to
Leroy Smith, of Landisville, covers a route in the White
Horse area for the milk hauling firm of John S. Ewell, Inc.
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young animals or small fry around
the farmstead, they matched their
driving skills and knowledge
against other truck drivers m a
“rodeo” held at the Lancaster
Treadway Inn.
Taking part In the competition
were two drivers for John S. Ewell,
Inc., of East Earl. They are:
Lowell C. Kurtz, of R 3, Narvon,
in Lancaster truck
whose milk pickup route covers 17
Anush dairy farms in the Bird-m-
Hand and Leola area.
And, Leroy Smith, of Lan
disville, whose route covers 10
dairy farms in the White Horse
area.
It was the first such competition
for the two drivers in the truck
rodeo, which is held by the Lan
caster County Chapter of the
Pennsylvania Motor Truck
Association.
Both participated m the tanker
category of competition. Other
divisions of competition include
box trailers, flatbeds and straight
trucks.
“We’ve been looking forward to
enjoying the competition,” Smith
said.
“And, also to learning something
about competitive driving.”
The competition includes both
written testing of vehicle, driving
and safety knowledge, plus
operation of a rig through an ob
stacle course.
“One of the operational tests is
parallel parking in a space only
four feet longer than your rig,”
Kurtz explained.
“To do that, your turn must be
just right.”
On their regular routes, the two
truckers serve Lancaster County
dairymen who ship to Inter-State
Milk Producers Cooperative.
The provide that vital link
between the farm and the
processing destination of the milk,
which might be Philadelphia,
Carlisle or, as around the
Memorial Day holiday, out-of-state
to places like New York or even
Wisconsin.
Both Kurtz and Smith were
raised on area farms, the former in
the Oley Valley of Berks County,
and the latter m Lancaster County.
Smith’s parents have retired from
farming.
“I still farm about 30 acres of
soybeans and corn on my parent’s
farm,” Kurtz said.
“I do it more or less as a hobby
now.”
Kurtz has been hauling for the
Ewell milk transportation firm for
seven years and Smith for about
four years.
Both report that their duties on
the road and at the farms have
been pretty much routine on then
route days, which can stretch from
7 a.m. to 10 or 11 p.m., depending
on the milk’s destination and the
Lowell C. Kurtz, of R 3 Narvon, prepares to climb into the
cab of his rig for milk pickup route through the Bird-in-Hand
and Leola area.
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muster Fanning, Saturday, June 6,1981—019
rodeo
number of tankers waiting to
unload.
“About the only thing unusual
that ever happened to me,” ac
cording to Kurtz, “was helping out
with the delivery of a calf.”
And since he grew up on a dairy
farm, he knew just how to pitch
right in and help the farmer.—DA
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