November 2014 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 5. By Lee S. Wilbur


70s MEMORIES - Boat Trucker Nick Moody er.


“Well” Nick says as he drops heavily into the chair across from my desk, tired. “Your sailboat (?) is on the truck outside. What do you want me to do with it?” Grin spread- ing over his face. “I was you, you’d probably want to hide it up back somewhere.”


I laughed, stood up and looked out the window. Wasn’t too pretty, big hole in the side. Covered in bar- nacles. And here I’d dragged home something else to further congest the back storage area, already lit- tered with “projects and moulds and beat up boats”. Problem when you’re affl icted with “boatitis” Not a few days had gone by af- ter Hurricane Andrew or Charles had passed through Florida than one of our “34’” owners had called to come down and look over their boat to do repairs. While in that particu- lar yard, and looking over the num- bers of wrecked and not so wrecked boats I had spotted off in the man- groves a partially sunk “J-24” sail- boat built in Rhode Island by the brothers Rod and Bob Johnstone. Mast was still in it. Fiberglas and we could repair anything fi berglass. Made a mental note to check on it before leaving. So, when I called Nick about picking up the “34”, asked him if he’d have room on the truck for the J-boat as well. Allowed he’d check it out when he got there. Figured our children, Ingrid and Derek could have some fun with it when and if repaired.


This September 15, 2014, after a spirited battle with Parkinson’s Disease at 82, my good friend, guy who got me out of many schedule dilemmas, Arthur “Nick” Moody passed on. As Pastor Chuck Ives said several times throughout a very moving and special service, Nick was a “Trucker”, a dedicated truck- er who when he told his clients he’d be there to pick up a load or have a deadline for delivery, you could go to the bank with it. Fascinated from his young life on, Nick loved ve- hicles powered by combustion en- gines including race cars (self-built of questionable vintage) to the big rig haulers.


From Massachusetts, Nick moved to Southwest Harbor, Maine in 1955 to work for Joe and Miri- am Klausky (“JK”) hauling lobsters from Nova Scotia to Boston for Look Lobster Co. Southwest Harbor is where he met his wife of 57 years, Pauline Dunbar. Dave Benson tells the story of being in a car with Nick and two other guys returning from a trip and coming around Manset corner and Nick saying, “who’s that pretty girl walking with so and so.” Dave replied, “That’s Pauline Dunbar.” Nick’s immediate answer, “I’m going to marry her.” Wasn’t long before the lobster trucking business began to change for Nick and he purchased a gar- bage pickup business, soon calling it “ Southwest Disposal”. James “Crow” Thurston, one of Nick’s ear- liest employee/drivers also known


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as “Jimmie Crow” remembers those early days when Thursday of each week was “Beer Thursday” at our local dump. The boys would gather for a few beers and Nick would have a fresh pint of whiskey in his truck for Harley Butler, the dump manag- er. Always important to keep Harley in “Good Spirits”. (Another story perhaps)


Nick, in the mid 70s when we were still shipping hulls and fi n- ished boats on 2 ½ ton pickup trucks and fl at-bed utility trailers, talked with several of us builders in town and asked if we’d be interest- ed and would we give him our haul- ing business if he decided to buy a professional boat hauling rig. Re- sponse was immediate and hearty. Positively “Yes.” “SWD Transport” was soon on the road and Nick was in business. The colorful “Jimmie Crow”, working on being Nick’s longest termed driver for 35 years became known all over United States boatyards. In conversations with several yard owners over the years I’d inquire if one or another had met Jimmy, Answer was invari- ably “Yeah, and what a character.” No question but SWD became one of the best and for several compa- nies, SWD was their only boat haul-


For the uncountable long hours Nick worked, Nick always had time for his Polly, daughters Cheryl and Lynne, grandchildren and related family. Family meant everything to Nick and he was proud as hell of them. Could tell it in his voice. Polly can relate today of several memorable trips with Nick when they’d take a boat delivery in lieu of a getaway vacation. One such was a contract delivering a vintage Rus- sian warplane from Halifax, Nova Scotia to a collector on the West Coast. For some reason, probably some specious government red tape, the plane had to go through Cana- da. Nick and Polly got as far as the Quebec border, which the last time I checked was part of Canada, where they were held up for something over a month. SWD rig and the plane. Nick and Polly had to rent a car and drive home while French Canada had their way. Needless to say, it was an expensive “vacation”. Several times over the course of our doing business together, es- pecially in later years as SWD grew and Nick hired more drivers to man more rigs, Nick would come into


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