Final send-off for a Maine log-hauling legend

Jan 12, 2013

Updated Jan 14, 2013

It’s been nearly three years since I wrote about the log-hauling Crawford family of Maine, the last time being a detail of a sort of grand gesture of a prank the Crawfords performed on their rival logging family, the Pelletiers, when the latter opened their own restaurant.

Yesterday, Crawford family member Julie Crawford Howland wrote in with news her father’s passing — former small fleet owner and operator Dale Crawford, 68, went out “in a blaze of glory,” Howland wrote. “A proper send off, for sure!”

The funeral procession was a 37-truck convoy led by Percy Crawford, Dale’s son, carrying “Dale Crawford’s ashes from Robin A. Crawford & Son trucking in Chester to Wytopitlock Baptist Church,” reported the Bangor Daily News. “It was a fitting tribute to the late logging and chip truck driver.” Read more about the “Big C.,” as he was sometimes known, in this story.

Following, find vid of the convoy. And safe hauling to you and yours this winter weekend!

[youtube YmpuwemWPAQ nolink]

Ron Kelsey, pictured here with his 'Sunrise Express' 1981 Peterbilt 359, is Overdrive's Trucker of the Month for July, putting him in the running for the 2025 Trucker of the Year award.

Owner-op holy grail: Decades of direct freight in a custom '81 359

Owner-operator Ron Kelsey has been hauling for the same two shipper customers since he got his authority as an independent in 1994. Managing those relationships, and his award-winning 1981 Peterbilt 359, keep his business running strong.

Cameron Bagely's 1999 Peterbilt 379 parked at the Gear Jammer Magazine Truck Show in Epping, New Hampshire.

23-year-old Cameron Bagley's 1999 Pete 379 carries on father's legacy

California Highway Patrol said it won't enforce President Donald Trump's English language proficiency mandate as it's 'not part of California law.'

Enforcing Trump's English language mandate 'not part of California law': CHP

If finalized, this proposal would remove all greenhouse gas standards for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and heavy-duty engines, starting with EPA’s first greenhouse gas regulations set in 2010 for light-duty vehicles and those set in 2011 for medium-duty vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles and engines – which includes off-cycle credits like the much hated start-stop feature on most new cars.

EPA set to unravel 'disastrous' federal trucking emissions regulations

Dezl Trucking Headsets 100/200 Series - Life on the road never sounded so good

Truck-ownership traditions staying alive: Owner-operators Lucas Zach, Harlan Martin

More episodes »

Pride & Polish

Overdrive’s annual Pride & Polish virtual truck show attracts entries from across the nation showcasing show-quality design, mechanical ingenuity and plenty of trucking-business pride. Find recent-history awards shows, in-depth features about the winners, and more.