Convoy Story
| SFC HOUSTON D. WEDLOCK
SOLDIER FIRST - TRUCKER NEXT
SFC Houston D. Wedlock was born in White Post, Clarke County Virginia. He attended White Post Grade School, Millwood Middle School and the Johnson William High School in Berryville, Virginia.
SFC Wedlock spent more than twenty years in the United States Army. His assignments included the 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division and the Army Elite Special Forces with the Green Berets. He served as a Platoon Sergeant in the Airborne Divisions, an instructor at the Army Airborne School training troops for parachute jumps, instructing at the John F. Kennedy Center for Military Assistance and the Third Army Noncommissioned Officers Academy. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam. The second tour of Vietnam with the Elite 5th Special Forces Green Berets was as a Senior Military Advisor to the Vietnam Special Forces LLDB.
He has been honored with many military awards and commendations doing his tours of duty:
The Combat Infantry Badge
Master Parachutist Badge
2 Bronze Star for Valor
2 Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry for Bravery
Vietnam Parachutist Badge
5 Good Conduct Medals
National Defense Medals
Special Forces Tabs
Expert Infantry Badges
Jungle Expert Tabs
Campaign and Service Medals
On completion of his military career, SFC Wedlock was an owner operator for the trucking industry for five years, leading to a management position as a Regional Safety Manager with a large trucking firm located in the Midwest. Following his retirement from trucking, SFC Wedlock joined VisionQuest as the Transportation Manager and a Buffalo Soldier Re-enactor.
He holds the title of First Sergeant in his Buffalo Soldiers Research and Re-enactor group and has a special interest in Black Military History. This hobby has led to a comprehensive research of the Civil War, Buffalo Soldiers in the old West, the Spanish American War, World War I, Black Paratroopers, Tuskegee Airmen, and the Red Ball Express of World War II.
During the last ten years Trooper Houston Wedlock and his Buffalo Soldiers Re-enactors have presented this history through presentations and exhibits to many military bases, schools, universities and communities throughout the Eastern United States.
SFC Wedlock has been the exhibitor for the VisionQuest Mobile Museum since it was first opened in 1998.
Posted: 06/09
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| CONVOY
THE JOHN YOWELL STORY
My name is John Yowell. I was born into an Episcopalian family
in Old England over a hundred years ago in 1907. As a young man, I purchased a horse and a cart for the purpose of hauling groceries. In doing so, I started my first transportation business. As my little business prospered, I saved what money I could. Gradually, I had enough money to travel like my forefathers across the seas to America.
After arriving in the USA, I reentered the transporting industry where I became acquainted with three other men who eventually became my partners in a corporate venture that took us beyond our wildest dreams. We named our little trucking company "Consolidated Freightways". We hauled a large variety of freight eventually growing into the third largest transportation company in the USA.
In the 1930's, we started our own truck manufacturing operations and called it "Freightliner Corporation". We ceased production of trucks during World War II only to start up again after it was over. At which time, "Freightliner Corporation" was relocated to Swan Island - an island located on the Portland, Oregon side of the Columbia River.
At some point, I decided that I wanted to strike out on my own so I maintained my interests in "Consolidated Freightways" and purchased a boat transportation company. Eventually, we ceased moving boats and started the manufacturing of auto transporters and the transporting of vehicles, of which, most were automobiles, pickup trucks, and vans.
In the USA, my company was called "Convoy Company" and headquartered in Portland, OR. Above the upper forty-eight, we named her "Canadian Auto Carriers". My manufacturing company was Westland Trailer. Even today in 2009, one can see automobile transporting equipment and accessories attached to both the eighteen-wheelers and above her cabs. These are designed engineered in the likeness of those built by Westland Trailer.
In the manufacturing of the automobile transporters, we bought the trucks and cabs from a variety of manufacturers - some, of course, from Freightliner; others, from our customers like Ford, GMC and Dodge. By 1975, and probably long before then, "Convoy Company" was the largest auto carrier west of the Rockies. At one point in time, Convoy Company was the only automobile carrier with government authorization to transport every type/model of automobiles built. We, also, built auto transporters for our competitions. Among competition, even today if you live in Southern California, you might see a PTM transporter hauling vehicles. No, we did not build today's, however, we built yesteryear's.
Convoy Company did what is in the industry called "piggy back". Our drivers picked up vehicles that had travel via railroad cars some across the nation while others shorter distances. These vehicles were then unloaded from railroad cars and there loaded (drove and anchored) onto Convoy trucks. Some of our drivers drove back East to "Detroit's Big Three", loaded our transporters, and then drove them West.
We picked up vehicles that were unloaded off of ships docked in ports all the way up and down the West Coast from Seattle, WA
to the Port of Portland, OR to San Diego, CA. Convoy Company had trucking terminals and repair shops in Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, Portland, OR,
Tigard, OR, Seattle, WA, Spokane, WA, Denver, CO, and Kansas City, MO. From there, the trucks were
dispatched to thousands of automobile distributors where people like you purchased new vehicles.
Once in awhile, there are men and/or women who are blest in the fact that they have a passion for their life's work and, fortunately, what they do benefits many, many others. That was the case for me. During my lifetime, Consolidated Freightways, Freightliner Corporation, Convoy Company, Candian Auto Carriers and Westland Trailer provided tens of thousands of jobs for household providers that paid incredibly good salaries enabling our employees and their families to be housed, feed and enjoy the benefits of a good life style. What an absolute gift to be one of the captains of these teams.
For the last time, one sunny day in Portland, OR in 1977 seventy years after my birth, I walked down the halls of Convoy Company passing a dedicated employee and had the need to ask one question of which I did. "Are you and the girls going to be okay?" Satisfied with the answer of "yes", I walked out the front door of my beloved Convoy Company never to return. I drove home to my lovely wife of decades. Soon, thereafter, I laid down and died.
I, John Yowell, lived a full and spiritual life and worked with many fine spiritually-connected professional people. Convoy continued without me for a few years before selling to Ryder Trucks. At some point, Freightliner was sold to Mercedes Benz.
While still Convoy Company, my people like so much of the world to come, computerized and became the first automobile transporter in the USA to become computerized and tied into Detroit's Big 3 with a Material Management Systems (MMS). This MMS both tracked the automobiles we hauled for Ford, GMC and Chrysler and, also, streamlined our Accounts Receivables. Secondly, MMS was installed into place for Purchasing, Materials, Production, and Maintenance Control for our manufacturing factory and maintenance shops. Full computerized accounting systems followed.
I, also, did not live long enough to see Dick Swennes, my Executive Vice President of Operations for Convoy Company, receive his appointment as Chairman of a Transportation Committee that reported to the Secretary of Transportation under the Carter Administration.
By: Joanne F. Robinson
Posted: 02/09
...and it all started with a horse, a cart and a young, working man.
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