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ALONG
for the ride
the 1980s rolled around she was driving her own truck, a used
Peterbilt. In 1985, she bought her first brand-new truck, an International
Eagle. In the early days, she mainly ran west coast
routes from Wisconsin to California for ATX, a division of Snyder
National. Those runs are still her favorites to this day.
Today, as an owner-operator leased to Bob Erickson Trucking,
Norton hauls refrigerated poultry products from Minnesota
and Wisconsin to Los Angeles, usually returning with a load of
fresh produce.
“Even though I basically run the same route all of the time, I
always try to find something new,” she said. “(In springtime) I always
like to see the baby animals being born and the leaves coming
back on the trees. I love the flowers and the different scenery,
especially the cactus when they are blooming in the desert.
Norton relishes the freedom she feels on the road.
“After 40-something years, I’ve made a lot of friends on the
road, and I’ve met a lot of interesting people,” she said.
Norton also shared the feeling of family that has grown over
her years in the trucking industry. The people she has met over
the years were there for her during one of the most heartbreaking
times in her life — the death of her husband Jack in 2015.
The couple had driven as a team for three decades.
“We did a celebration of life for him. We didn’t really have a
lot of friends in the neighborhood, but so many of our trucking
friends made it up here for the celebration of his life,” Norton
said.
“It was unbelievable. Even the local people commented on
how we had friends there from all over the country. We had
people fly in from as far away as Arkansas and Texas,” she said.
We had grown into such a big family. It was such a nice feeling.”
Norton is doing her part to inspire the next generation of
truck drivers, partnering with local schools to visit thirdand
fourth-grade students a few times a year. Norton, Karhma
and Casey Aaron, along with their eye-catching rig,
are always popular with both the youngsters and faculty.
“I give all the kids a treat and they get to tour the truck,”
Norton said. “It’s funny, because as shy as Casey Aaron is, he always
picks one person there and that’s his person. Karhma will
just run from person to person, but Casey Aaron will pick just
one. This last time, it was the teacher. He wanted the teacher. He
fell in love with her, and the kids were so jealous.”
Norton collects different trinkets throughout the year to make
sure she has something to give each student at the school. The
treats range from pencils and pens to coloring books to handcrafted
items created by Norton. Each student receives a goodie
bag.
“I always try to make something that they can keep for a long
time,” Norton said. “This year I made blankets. Last year I did
beach towels.”
Because she enjoys embroidery, she often stitches her name,
along with Karhma and Casey Aaron’s, onto the items she
shares with the kids.
“I also make the kids ornaments at Christmas time — just
something they can keep if they want to,” she said. “I see these
kids grow up. Whenever they see me later, they always come up
and give me a hug and tell me about the time I visited their class
when they were little.”
Although she only brings the truck at the end of the school
year as a special treat for the students, Norton and her fourlegged
friends stop by a few times a year to visit the kids and
answer questions about both her dogs and her travels. She also
sends pictures and postcards from her travels throughout the
year.
“Sometimes this is the only way some of these kids will get a
chance to see faraway places,” Norton said.
One thing is for sure, this Packer proud family loves their
time together on the road — and they are always ready for the
next adventure.
24 THE TRUCKER JOBS MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2022 WWW.THETRUCKERJOBS.COM