The Rural Voice, 1986-02, Page 18HE JUST KEEPS ON TRUCKING
It's been 30 years in the trucking business for Charlie
Hischon of R.R. 1, Sebringville.
by Phyllis Coulter
One pig here, two pigs there, one
pig here.... When Charlie Hischon
started trucking farm produce
more than 50 years ago, some
things were vastly different.
Hischon often made 18 stops to
pick up only 30 hogs. Today he
picks up as many as 200 pigs at the
same farm weekly. In the 1930s
Hischon had more customers than
he does now, but his volume has
increased dramatically.
Hischon's very first trip to
Toronto with a load of steers was
an eventful one. It could have
discouraged him from the profes-
sion. "But I was young then and
didn't worry too much." You
guessed it — the tailgate opened
and a steer strolled off. Hischon
had to go back 20 miles to round
up the independent animal. The
steer was fine. With the traffic to-
day, the steer probably wouldn't
have been so lucky. At that time, it
wasn't uncommon for Hischon to
drive all the way from Kinkora to
Toronto and only meet half a
dozen cars and trucks. He general-
ly took a Toad of cattle and return-
ed with a load of fertilizer or other
such material. Today, there are
local fertilizer plants, and the
trucks most often come back emp-
ty.
Trucks have changed as much as
the traffic flow. Hischon once even
took pigs to market in a station
wagon. He recalls paying the total
sum of $15 for his first truck, a us-
ed half -ton pick-up. A few years
later Hischon spent $1,500 for his
first brand new truck "with rack
and all." Today, C.I. Hischon
Transport Inc. of R.R. 1, Sebr-
ingville owns three tractor trailers
(two 46 -foot and one 42 -foot
trailer).
Hischon has about 125 regular
customers, mostly in the Mitchell,
Sebringville, Gadshill, Bornholm,
and Monkton areas. Few of his
customers are cattle producers to-
day. "Quite a few gave up cattle.
Pigs are steady business." His
company trucks pigs Monday
Charlie Hischon, R.R. 1, Sebringville, paid 315 for his first truck. Now,
C.I. Hischon Transport Inc. owns three tractor trailers.
16 THE RURAL VOICE
through Friday, often starting as
early as 4 a.m., but he only trucks
one load of cattle each week com-
pared to four loads weekly in the
recent past.
He still drives the smaller stake
trucks occasionally, but hasn't
driven the big rigs for several
years. His full-time truck drivers
take that responsibility today while
77 -year-old Hischon does book
work and scheduling.
Hischon rents out the land sur-
rounding his farm. Until this year,
he was also an active participant in
the beef industry. "We usually had
400 to 500 cattle. Recently we were
losing 10 to 15 cents per pound. I
lost my shirt. I didn't want to lose
my pants too," he says with a
twinkle in his eye. "I think I've
quit. Unless something changes.
Maybe people will start eating
more beef again."
Hischon's cattle barns stand
empty today, with a few excep-
tions. A horse and her foal stand in
one stable. A weighing room in
another barn is adjacent to a
holding pen for animals to be
trucked.
Holding pens and cement
loading chutes on other farms
make the job of loading easier.
"Loading pigs is a trick in itself.
Some are as stubborn as a mule.
Others walk right in." Hischon's
truckers often help to load the
animals. Some farms with a closed
herd policy don't allow the
truckers into the barn. Hischon
respects herd health programs. In
many cases these farmers have
holding pens for loading conve-
nience.
As trucking on the farm has
changed, so have the destinations
of the trucks. Trucks often rolled
into a train station with farm pro-
duce as one part of the transporta-
tion chain. Now trucks often take
the product to its final destination.
During more than half a cen-
tury, the farm -product trucking
business has changed. Hischon
changed with it. ❑