The Grumpy Pete

Every labor day weekend the normally quiet streets of St-Joseph de Beauce, Quebec, Canada, come alive with the sounds of diesel engines pushing huge horsepower much to the delight of twenty thousand screaming fans standing mere feet from the tractors and combos. For the past six years, our neighbors to the north have put on one of the more mind-blowing events in big-rig motorsports the  TRUCK PULLING AND ACCELERATION COMPETITION.

Loaded trucks drag each other uphill over a 900 feet street course, and these are normal working trucks with some tweaking.

The  event came into being back in 2004 and  owes its success to the efforts of sponsors, volunteers, visitors and especially the competitors. In the beginning, the competition attracted over 10,000 visitors a day – this year over 20,000 fans and competitors are expected. The Truck Pulling and Acceleration Competition at St-Joseph de Beauce is a non profit organization with part of the proceeds given to charitable causes such as the Heart Foundation, Saint-Vincent de Paul and local charities. Pictures and Editorial supplied by Mike Bradford – legendary big rig journalist.

The 7th annual Berube’s Truck Show was another success in what’s becoming a New England tradition. Trucks came from CT, ME, MA and New Hampshire (of course), and there was a real mix of old and new – ‘B-Model’ Macks from Skip McLean and R.J.Loiselle, W-9’s and 379’s from W.L French and some very ‘Large Cars’ from Mark Hoyt and Dean Croke (both had 379’s).

The entire Berube Family and Staff worked tirelessly from sun-up cooking the spectacular array of pork ribs, burgers, steak and hot dogs. Of note was the rib cooker complete with dual chrome stacks from Berube’s – Vinnie also  looked a treat in his cowboy BBQ hat. Also on hand was Mr & Mrs Berube (founders), Don Jnr, Dick, Dave, Shawn plus lots of other staff and friends (sorry, can’t remember all of the names).

The entire day is all about Berube customers and we were told before coming, “it’s the only time you can come to Berube’s and not spend money” – and they were right! Free food, drinks, t-shirts, hoppy houses for the kids, crane rides and thousands of dollars in giveaway prizes were all provided.

For all of the hard work that goes into making the big rigs shine, having other hard-working truckers admire the work of their peers is reward enough, but to have the crowd line each side of the road and cheer on the ‘LargeCar’ exodus is definitely the highlight of the day.  At least it was for first-time attendee The Grumpy Pete who had a smile on his face all the way back to Boston MA.

I guess today will be a very quiet day at Berube’s in Bow NH – New England’s premier one-stop shop for truck accessories.

Every truck and machine your child has ever dreamed of…all in one place! Bulldozers, excavators, backhoes and dump trucks from K S Carroll & Daughter, wreckers from CBK, police cars from the Littleton Police Dept, fire trucks from the Littleton Fire Dept., steam-powered cars and big rigs including The Grumpy Pete  were at the Littleton Parks, Recreation and Community Education Department Touch-A-Truck event.

It was a perfect Saturday Spring morning and even though the event only lasted 2 hours, there were hundreds of children and parents enjoying the spectacle. The Grumpy Pete had 70 children plus parents all take a turn at looking inside the big rig – the biggest hit was the “Cars” movie bed linen on both beds. Yes, there’s two beds, a refrigerator and coffee maker for that home away beds from home. Even some very big kids (aka parents) couldn’t wait to take a turn and marvel at the size of this classic American LargeCar.

And to think everything in your home arrives on the back of a truck. Until next year…TGP

The weather was perfect for a fabulous day of fun for

Acton locals and the many passers-by (who just happened upon the fun event). Along with the huge number of trucks, fire engines, earth-moving equipment, wreckers and EMS vehicles, there were many  very interesting emergency response vehicles for all to learn about. The SWAT-type truck was a big hit as was The Grumpy Pete – over 50 kids had a chance to sit (and play) in the big black Peterbilt, and for some it was a dream come true. There were even some much older “kids” who got to sit in the drivers seat and wonder at how they might see over the extended hood and around “Grumpy” the hood ornament.

There was even a dunk-tank with Acton police officers gladly offering their services to get wet in the name of fundraising for the 10th anniversary of the tragic 9/11 event.

The 9/11 Memorial Fund needs to raise $20,000 for the new memorial and the fundraising effort don’t stop with this wonderful event. Donors can buy a “brick” for $100 each and put their own custom message on it, and of course all other cash donations are more than welcome. A big thanks to all of the organizers including Jon Stackhouse and Brian Richter.

The Grumpy Pete was a huge draw card for a very successful event hosted by the Elementary School in Harvard. For 4 hours straight the big black shiny Peterbilt had a line of visitors – often 10 deep at times. At last count over 100 people got to see a big rig up close, and little and big kids alike loved the tour of the trucks sleeper cabin and driving compartment. The most exciting thing about the LargeCar was the “Cars” (the movie) bed linen on both bunk beds. Lightning McQueen and Mater are certainly huge favorites of Harvard MA families.

To help kick-start the fundraising effort for a new Acton 9/11 Memorial, the Acton 9/11 Committee are organizing an exciting day out for the family on Sunday, May 23rd. The “Family Fun Day” will include lots of fun things to do for both kids and parents,  and of course The Grumpy Pete LargeCar. Fun begins at 9 am at the Acton Car Wash on Rt 2A, so mark your calendar now and help our town honor those who lost their lives on 9/11.

The new memorial is being constructed to mark the ten-year anniversary of 9/11, and will use two pieces of structural steel salvaged from the World Trade Center  – the steel has been offered by the  The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for use in public memorials.

The new design will incorporate the existing memorial into the new one and will honor the victims in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The memorial is estimated to cost $20,000 and will be paid for by donations and fund-raising.

For more information go to http://www.acton911memorial.org/Home_Page.php

On a perfect sunny spring day in Boston, Greg, Julie, Keane and Cole took off on a very exciting adventure of a different kind. It is not every day you get to ride in a big black Peterbilt called “The Grumpy Pete”.  The Timbol family won a ride in the truck at the Acton Boxborough Youth Hockey Mosquito annual end-of-season tournament– aka ‘The Caldwell Cup’ held in Biddeford ME every year.

The ride lasted a couple of hours and began on Rt 111 West before a very quick run up 495 North to Rt 2. The acceleration of the big C-15 CAT caught Greg by surprise – zero to 60 mph in under 10 seconds is pretty good for a big rig!

Once on Rt 2, we traveled all the way into Lexington before heading south to Waltham via 95 South. From there we took Rt 111 for an ice-cream pit stop at The Dairy Joy. Because it was a wonderfully sunny day, the line of people was at least a half hour long. A quick vote for a change of ice cream venue and we were off to the local Timbol haunt at Erikson’s in Maynard. En-route we stopped for some family snap shots in front of the Peterbilt. At Erikson’s parking was interesting to say the least, there’s no lines or rules so you basically park wherever you can, which meant on departure we had some tricky maneuvering to squeeze our way out.

During the ride, Cole, Keane, Julie and Greg all got to ride up front and experience what it is like to change 13 gears and keep a big rig rolling along. Cole and Keene mastered the gear changing quite well and later proclaimed they were ‘naturally gifted truckers”.  Keane was curious as to why The Grumpy Pete had “an elf” for a hood ornament – obviously not a Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs fan!

When the Timbol’s were not riding up front, there was plenty to do with movies on demand and lounging around in one of the two beds complete with “CARS” bedding. Cool drinks were also on hand from TGP’s mini refrigerator, however, the new 12-volt popcorn maker refused to ‘pop’ the corn — back to the drawing board for a more powerful corn popper.

For the Timbol’s there was lots of fun and memories and an ideal way to end another successful Mosquito hockey season.

Last week I experienced a day of dreams coming true.  I had a real Australian call me “mate,” I got to snowboard on an actual super pipe, just like my role model Shaun White and, finally, I had the opportunity to ride in a big rig, 18 wheeler, a real actual truck cab.  I’ve always been interested in cars and motor vehicles in general.  But I’ve always had a unique interest in anything having to do with trucks.

I can remember waking up two hours early and heading outside 20 minutes before the Grumpy Pete was scheduled to arrive.  I heard it coming before I actually saw it.  From just outside our neighborhood came the low, unmistakable grumble of a truck.  I knew it was Pete because what other truck would be driving in a private neighborhood at 7:50 a.m. in the morning.  When it finally came into view, I realized just how big trucks really are.  The Grumpy Pete looked like a monster, towering over the tiny little convertible driving in front of it.  Engine screaming, Pete came closer and closer, growing bigger and bigger, until it stopped right next to me.  As I was seeing it up close for the first time, my jaw dropped.  Out of my wide open mouth came three words “Oh…..my….gosh!”

For most of the journey up to New Hampshire, I either rode in front with Dean – or I rode with Harry and Ethan in the back of the cab.  In the back I was able to relax on one of two bunk beds and took a quick cat nap.  When riding shotgun, Dean taught me a lot about the Grumpy Pete and trucks in general.  He taught me about the engine, the brakes, and lot of other truck info.  He told me what every single switch, button and gauge on the dash is, what its importance is, and how it works.  Dean also let me change gears, steer for a second, and he let me talk on his C.B. radio.  Once I actually got a response (which had never happened in the Grumpy Pete before then!)  I think what I’ll remember most about the Grumpy Pete is the difference in size between the Grumpy Pete and the rest of the traffic.  It was hard getting used to looking down at the passing cars through a window on the bottom of the door.  I will also never forget how Dean always went out of his way to take up as many spots as possible in the parking lot.  I always laughed when I came out of the cab and saw Pete taking up 5 parking spots right in front of a pizzeria.  Riding in the Grumpy Pet is an experience I will remember forever.

If riding in the Grumpy Pete wasn’t enough – the next day I got to wash him.  I saw the massive engine, polished the chrome, and I had the opportunity to clean the dash.  Finally, I got to wipe down all the leather in the truck…and trust me, there is a lot of leather in that truck!

The 4th Annual Taste For a cure for CF was held at SERESC Conference Centre, Bedford NH on Thursday February 18th. Together we raised over $102,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation!!!!!! Its success was thanks to a combination of the generosity of everyone who attended the event, the wonderful restaurants and sponsors, everyone who donated auction items and the tireless efforts of the organizing committee.