Commercial Chaos for a Cure draws OOIDA tour trailer back to Iowa

If ever he or the OOIDA tour trailer had neglected the state of Iowa in the past, this summer Marty Ellis is making up for it.

The next stop for Ellis and the Spirit of the American Trucker tour trailer is Sanborn, Iowa. The reason is to be part of the Commercial Chaos for a Cure fundraising event, as mentioned last week on LandLine.Media. Proceeds will benefit the June E. Nylen Cancer Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Ellis plans to have the OOIDA trailer at the event in Sanborn on Friday and Saturday, July 22-23. The event takes place on Profit Street on the edge of Sanborn.

That is part of the reasons, at least. Another reason is to view the Vander Haag’s truck collection at the Yesterday’s Memories & Truck Museum. There are 300 vehicles there, most of them trucks.

The caretaker of the museum is Denny Postma, who Ellis knows from other events from the many years Ellis has supported and organized the South Dakota Truck Convoy for Special Olympics and other events. Most recently, they were both at the Walcott Truckers Jamboree in early July.

“I’ve known Denny for several years now and haven’t had a chance to see the museum, so I am really looking forward to taking a tour,” Ellis said.

In addition to those Iowa stops this summer, Ellis had the Spirit of the American Trucker at the Midwest Pride in Your Ride in Earlville, another fundraiser to help the fight against cancer. As it happens, the scuttlebutt is that the founder of the Midwest Pride in Your Ride event, Eldon Jaeger, is bringing his pulling truck to Commercial Chaos for a Cure, Ellis said, to give people a chance to drive it to help raise more money to treat cancer.

Be careful with the heat

Last weekend, Ellis was at the Walcott Truckers Jamboree and had a great time. He snapped some photos and talked to lots of people. He made sure he had some cold water to offer anyone who wanted it.

Having water to offer people may have seemed more important because of a recent experience Ellis had at the stop in Mount Vernon, Ill. He related the story of what happened on last Friday’s Land Line Now podcast. Ellis regularly discusses what he sees on the road and hears from drivers on Friday Land Line Now broadcasts.

A driver pulled up on the edge of the parking lot and began yelling, Ellis said, so he went over to see what was going on. The guy needed help getting out of the truck.

“What had happened, come to find out – because he was in a bad situation – he had worked out probably about an hour ago, and then all of a sudden he got cramps, and his hands would not turn loose of the steering wheel,” Ellis said.

It was a younger guy, and this was the first time it had happened to him. He wondered if he was having a stroke. He hadn’t worked out in a while and the exercise coupled with the heat and humidity caused some scary problems.

“We really have to be careful out here, especially in these high-degree days. You know, you get up there in the 90s and 100s and the big humidity factor – even if you not physically going out there doing pushups or running or whatever, you can get yourself and your body in a bad situation,” Ellis said.

Listen to the Land Line Now podcast

Stop by when you see The Spirit

If you see the OOIDA tour trailer, stop by and say hello. Ellis looks forward to visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. There are copies of Land Line Magazine to pick up there. You can join or renew your membership for $10 off the regular price at The Spirit. Face masks are available at The Spirit for anyone with a commercial driver’s license.

After the Commercial Chaos for a Cure in Sanborn, Iowa, Ellis plans to haul the OOIDA tour trailer to Monee, Ill., and then he has a date at the TopGun LargeCar Shootout in Rantoul, Ill.

Here is the schedule for The Spirit. LL