A passion for driving

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
 
Covering a total of 5 million miles and seeing every state in the United States except for Vermont and Florida, Bob Case has seen a lot across the country in his 55 years of truck driving. 
If that alone weren’t an impressive feat, Case said, in all his driving experience, he has never received a ticket, nor has he been in any accidents. Because of that, he’s received several “safe driver” awards. 
“I’ve got two awards that I’m really proud of,” Case said. 
One was a safety award from North Dakota, and the other was a safety award from Wyoming. He also received a “driver of the month” award and was even offered “driver of the year,” but he turned that one down so he wouldn’t have to attend seminars and give speeches. 
Case’s love for driving started at age 13, when his great uncle taught him how to drive. He used his early driving knowledge to help his farmer friend haul wheat. 
When he was 19, Case had a contract with the government to haul sand for the construction of Pactola Dam, which was a three-year project. The Korean War was going on during this time, but Case said he didn’t get drafted because of his government hauling project. After his contract was done, Case served in the U.S. Navy, but by that time, the war was over. 
Case joked.
“I just went for an ocean cruise,” he said. 
Case said that he’s only owned two cars in his lifetime, one of which he bought right after he got out of the Navy in 1957. He stopped in Montana to visit his brother-in-law and noticed that bids were being taken for a 1951 Ford pickup, so Case put in a $250 bid. He was on his way home when his brother-in-law called and told him to come back and pick up the truck. 
However, Case didn’t have his pickup for very long before someone noticed his newly purchased vehicle and wanted it. The man offered Case a trade and Case agreed. In the vehicle swap, Case ended up with a 1956 Ford Fairlane.
Case has worked for several trucking companies, including Johnson Fuel Liners, Dixon Bros., Salt Creek Freightways, Ross Transfer Inc., and International Transport. 
His job with Johnson Fuel Liners brought Case to Newcastle in 1967. What triggered his interest in the job were the uniforms, he said. The truckers wore caps with the company’s logo on them, along with gray shirts and black ties, which struck Case as professional and “young and sharp” looking. 
So when Case got the job, he received his uniform, which he kept in his locker at work. Inside the locker was a mirror where the company had put the words “this is the way the public sees you” as a reminder of the importance of looking professional, he said. 
“I was proud to drive for them,” Case said, adding that some truckers look like “hobos.” 
Throughout his truck-driving career, Case has witnessed many things on the road. He recalled a time when he was driving over the Bighorn Mountains between Buffalo and Worland looking for elk when he saw a mountainside fall away. Nobody else was on the road at the time, he said, except for him and the elk. 
“I’ve seen a lot of interesting stuff on the road,” Case said. 
He’s had some pretty scary experiences while driving, especially when he drove for the refinery. He made five trips a week from Newcastle to Powell and back in both summer and winter. 
“I liked it, though,” Case said, explaining that the mountains will “take care of you unless you get reckless.”
Another crazy driving story Case shared was his trips hauling propane from North Dakota to Wyoming and South Dakota. With temperatures 40 degrees below zero, he sometimes had to sleep in his truck at night. At those times, he said, he put on insulated coveralls and a sweatshirt before climbing into his sleeping bag in an attempt to keep warm in the harsh arctic-like weather. 
“Somebody had to do it,” Case said. “It was my job.”
But Case has also had many good experiences driving. 
“I’ve seen some awful pretty sunsets and sunrises,” he said. He recalled a specific time when the sun set right between two mountain peaks, sitting like a ball between them. 
Case said that one of the things he enjoyed throughout his career was the camaraderie, meeting many new people and forming friendships with other drivers at the local truck stops. 
One should never talk with a truck driver because they will “gab on and on,” he said in jest. 
Case said his favorite truck stop was Southside Truck Stop in Lusk, where they had a spiral notebook for truckers to write down the time they arrived and where they were headed, along with their number. Every once in a while, the waitress mixed up the numbers and drew one out. That lucky trucker received a free steak. 
He never won anything, but Case thought it was a fun tradition. 
“A job ain’t work if you enjoy it,” he said. “We had fun.”
The truck-driving business is hard on the family life, though, and Case said he lost many girlfriends and even a wife because of it. His favorite song to listen to was “Long Black Ribbon of Lonesome” because of the accuracy of the song, he said 
After retiring in 2011, Case still worked part time for Dixon Bros. for a while. He stays active in the driving world by helping out with the Senior Center, transporting the people to Deadwood and delivers meals to Upton.
Even though he doesn’t use his commercial driver’s license very often anymore, he said, at age 86 he still renewed it for another five years so he can “help people out” with whatever hauling project that may arise. 
“I really enjoy driving,” Case said.