Saturday, November 21, 2009

Travis' "hay history"



While Travis and I dated, I was waitressing at the Duke Restaurant in Lynden, WA, which my parents happened to be managing at the time. One day, a regular coffee drinker named Kim was in and asked my mother if she knew anyone that could maybe buck hay. Lynden Hay Company was looking for hay bucks. Mom mentioned Travis. That was the beginning of Travis' life in the hay business! He started out as a hay buck. Decided he wanted to earn his CDL to drive truck, but he was only 21 years old, and the insurance would be expensive for any male under the age of 25. Travis was given an offer from Bogaard Hay Company, so he changed employers. Months later, he was driving the hay truck to and from the farms and hauling hay from Eastern Washington! Eventually, Travis went back to working for Lynden Hay. This would be where Travis eventually learned how to SELL hay as well as haul an unload. He just gradually learned the ins and outs of the hay company.

While working for Lynden Hay Company, Travis would meet a farmer named Curt Lagerwey. Curt had a relative that passed away, and he had inherited some family money that he was interested in investing. He offered to invest some of this money in Travis by helping him buy a truck of his own so that he could go into business for himself. Travis was a very proud man. He wouldn't even consider borrowing money from his mother to purchase our first home. He wanted to be self-reliant and do it on his own. When Curt offered this investment, Travis said no thank you. About 8 months later, Travis changed his mind, and took Curt up on his offer. This was the beginning of J & L Express! The "J" stands for Jackson and the "L" stands for Lagerwey. This was approximately 15 years ago!

A lot of people have asked what will be with the business now that Travis isn't here. J&L Express shall continue! All of Cole's life, he has been going to get loads of hay with his father and visiting farmers. He has gotten to know the business as well as you might imagine. Because of this, he is working on earning his CDL license so that he can start hauling hay in place of his father. As proud as Cole has made me and Curt with his determination and hard work for the company since Travis has passed, I am sure that Travis is smiling down on Cole with pride!

1 comment:

  1. My eyes are filled with tears. I can remember you telling me you were pregnant with him(Cole) and I can remember hearing through the family grapevine you had him. God has blessed you with beautiful children who will continue to pass on their father and their mother's legacy..I love you.

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