Not long after returning from California my dad needed a steady job. Living out west had taught him that a good job was the  real key to a better life. Dad and uncle Bill were natural truck drivers if such thing exist. I guess its more to the point to say they had two highway rigs  looking for work. Uncle Bill handled the buying of equipment. Sometimes a feller misreads the signs and goof's. Bill had done it when he let somebody sell him two Dorsey flat bed trailers. There weren't nothing to haul. The railroad was already hauling most of the freight that a flat bed  could haul.  Our own home town was a prime example. All the coal and lumber was shipped by railroad. My dad and uncle Bill set out to change the lumber part.

On the west side of town was a big lumber yard. It was called the Early lumber company. The owner of the lumber yard was an old man named Bill Early. Old Bill is a whole "nother" tale. For now I'm gonna concentrate on his dealings with my dad and my uncle.

There was a building boom going on in the northern states and lumber was getting hard to get. The post war boom in full stride. Lots of ex-G.I.'s using government help and GI benefits to buy new houses. Old man Early needed someway to move lumber faster. The demand in the Chicago area was especially high. My dad and uncle could cut the waiting time in half for the lumber buyers. The profit killer with the flat bed was not having a suitable load to haul once the lumber is delivered. Flat beds are limited to items that wont be harmed be exposure to the elements. My dad and his brother were independent truckers which meant they had to broker all their own loads. If they were going to make any money they would have to find loads coming back home once the lumber was unloaded. Running any distance with no load was called "Dead Heading". Something you had to avoid if at all possible.  

Used cars. The perfect return home load. Chicago was over run with used cars. People were still replacing cars that they had driven during World War Two. The flat beds could carry two or sometimes three cars. Old man Early "bank-rolled" the Ennis brothers so they had dealing money. Bill and Bert commenced to hauling car's back home and selling them. They could sell you a decent older car for three hundred dollars. Not a bad price for a decent ride.

Locals bought a lot of the car's but there was also several out of town dealers that came once a month to look and buy. I was taken "aback" a few years ago when during a conversation My last name came up. An older feller sitting near us said "Hey, I know that name"! He told me about him and his buddies driving to my uncles farm and buying cars. I had to "Fess"up and admit I was from the same tree. Turns out this old man had gone to the farm on several occasion's and remembered me as well as Bert and Bill.

Car dealer day was a big deal for my dad and uncle Bill. They would buy a bunch of Falstaf beer, Doctor Pepper, hot dogs and a cooked side of beef.(Bar-B-Q). Also the ever popular "White Lightning moonshine. The plan was simple. Wine and dine them good old boys and then sell them a bunch of cars.

Used car salesmen in the old days were all pretty much "con artist" but there was a certain amount of honor that went unsaid but was never the less present. I really had a genuine like for everyone of them we dealt with. Their vists were kinda like the National Lampoon's Animal House Movie. We always sent them home with hang overs and empty pockets. They would buy as many cars as we had. Most of the time they drove the cars back to their lots. One driver could take two cars by using a device called a tow bar. The used car salesmen must have been happy. They always came back and we were always glad to see them.