OOIDA’s tour trailer’s ready for Tower Tree Truck Classic

August 6, 2020

Chuck Robinson

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OOIDA’s tour trailer will be polished and primped for its second truck show of the year when it stops at the Tower Tree Truck Classic at the Decatur County Fairgrounds in Greensburg, Ind., on Friday and Saturday, Aug 7-8.

The Decatur County Fairgrounds are off of Highway 3 south of Interstate 74.

A show truck competition, light show and truck parade are planned for the Tower Tree Truck Classic, which began in 2006.

The name of the event may seem strange for a truck show. The name references a symbol of pride for the Greensburg community, which claims a certain amount of fame for having trees growing from the roof of its county courthouse tower, according to a Decatur County, Ind., online history.

Citizens in the 1870s noticed a small tree growing on the northwest corner of the 110-foot tower. According to the Greenburg Country Club, a small grove took root there and a steeplejack was hired in 1888 to remove some of them. Two original trees survived many years. When one died, it was removed and place in the Decatur County Historical Society Museum. Another tree, however, took root, and the courthouse tower retained its distinctive embellishment.

At The Spirit’s last stop at the Chicago North TA at I-94 and Russell on the Illinois-Wisconsin state line, drivers were a little restless about the continued closings mandated by Cook County because of the coronavirus crisis.

Restlessness at the last stop

“Everyone’s mad because the restaurants are closed, and everyone wears a mask in this county,” said Jon Osburn, skipper of OOIDA’s tour trailer, the Spirit of the American Trucker.

Osburn can at least help with the masks. He says he has a good supply of free face masks to hand out. OOIDA is helping to distribute masks supplied by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Osburn said drivers had some “attaboys” for Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of OOIDA, for talking straight to lawmakers at the FMCSA Truck Safety Summit on Wednesday.

Pugh laid it on the table about drivers being forced to haul cheap freight, the need for a national training standard for drivers, the truck parking crisis and more.

Osburn also relayed kudos from drivers for the most recent The Parking Zone column by Staff Writer Tyson Fisher about battles with NIMBYs to get more truck parking spaces.

Stop by when you see The Spirit

If you see OOIDA’s tour trailer, stop by and say hello to Jon Osburn, its skipper. He enjoys visiting about the Association’s activities and current issues. He usually has copies of Land Line Magazine to hand out. You can join or renew your OOIDA membership for $10 off the regular price there. Free face masks are available at The Spirit. You also can get vouchers for flu, shingles and pneumonia vaccines from Jon.

After the Tower Tree Classic, OOIDA’s tour trailer is scheduled to stop in Portage, Wis., and then at the Waupun Truck-n-Show in Waupon, Wis. Here is the schedule for The Spirit.