COVER STORY Ken Stabler, owner of Miles City-based Ken


Stabler Trucking, who took his first real driving job for Jerrel out of high school, remained friends with the family through the years. Stabler said his old boss demanded excellence and wasn’t patient with drivers who didn’t want to work. “He was old school, and you did your job,


and if you didn’t, he was riding you,” he said. “His favorite saying was, ‘Every time you left the shop, remember, head out of ass.’” However, for those drivers willing to work,


driving for the Jerrels could be a learning experience. Stabler, who now hauls steel and


recyclables and owns what used to be Jerrel’s shop, said he learned to tackle problems on his own, to be prepared, and of course, to save money. “Raymond always said that you make your money by nickels and quarters,” he said. “And watch the little things. The big things will take care of themselves.” At the same time they were building their


business, the Jerrels also were building a family. They adopted the first of two children, Shawna, in 1960 when she was seven days old. Two years later they adopted a son, David, when he was 16 days old. Peggy said they knew they were fortunate to adopt their


children at such young ages and raise them throughout their childhoods. “It’s just a a thrill that you can’t explain. ... They were just our babies, you know,” she said. Peggy became the second woman to serve


as president of the Motor Carriers of Montana in 1981. She helped lobby Congress against the deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980 and remembers leaving meetings with elected officials and touringWashington, D.C. “The men would get through with the congressmen, and they’d go to the bar, but I saw the cab and I went somewhere,” she said. Meanwhile, David grew up in the


company.He started learning how to drive a tractor when he was 10 and by the age of 13 was running local routes. “He drove before he even had a license. ...He just grew up in it,” Jerrel said. “From the time he was big enough to walk, why, he was out around the shop.” Today he lives across the alleys from the


Jerrels and hauls livestock, heavy equipment and agricultural commodities in the western United States as the owner ofWest Best Transportation.He says he learned many important lessons about trucking from his parents. “Probably one of the best educations


I learned from them, you couldn’t buy in a college. ... Just the way to conduct business, how to be honest about business, how to service and take care of your customer base in a timely and honest way, and how to protect your employees and take care of your employees as well,” he said. “And most importantly out of anything they might ever have taught me or told me, your word is your honor. You tell somebody you’re going to do something, you stick to it come hell or high water.” In 1990, Jerrel fulfilled a longtime dream


by buying a 39.5-section ranch in Cohagen north of Miles City – paid for in cash, of course. At one time he raised 900 head of Angus cattle and 2,400 acres of wheat and barley before leasing it out a few years ago. “I liked it until I got too old and lazy, but it’s awful hard to find ranch help,” he said. He and Peggy stay active even though


they are in their 80s. She plays a lot of bridge. A few days after they were interviewed, they were scheduled to visit Shawna in Seattle. Asked if he is enjoying retirement, he said, “If I ever get there, I will. I kept my old shop. I go out there every day and dig around there. Gives you something to do.” RW


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ROADWISE |


ISSUE 3, 2013 | www.mttrucking.org


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