SANDPOINT — After spending several years as a carpenter and builder, Wes Olson decided to make an abrupt career change. He entered the trucking industry in 1958, and just three years later, bought his own vehicle — a 1955 Mack — and set out to make a living for himself hauling timber through the forests of North Idaho. 

“If you like it, it's a pretty good job,” he said. “You’re on your own and you don’t have a boss over your shoulder.” 

Wes went on to grow his independent operation into a family business that at one point comprised 30 vehicles and drivers. In the late 1990s, he handed Wes Olson Trucking over to his son Jim, who guided the business through several more successful decades. 

Earlier this year, Jim decided it was time to conclude the business after 64 years of continuous operation. The company ran its last route in March and is now working to sell off its fleet of trucks. 

“We’ve had a lot of people come through here,” said Jim, “There are so many people to thank.” 

Jim has been as involved in the company as anyone throughout his life. He started helping out at the business by working on wheels and rebuilding transmissions at the age of 11 before getting behind the wheel of a timber truck at 17. 

“Back then you could do that,” Jim said.  

Unlike today, there was no formal educational program required before someone could get in the driver’s seat; “You basically just took a test,” he explained. 

Over the years, the Olsons coordinated the transport of timber to mills across the Panhandle, eastern Washington, western Montana and the Canadian provinces to the north. 

For a stint in the 1970s, Wes and Jim took a cohort of six vehicles to haul freight over an ice bridge across the Yukon River in northern Alaska. 

“We were ice road truckers before they even had a name for it,” Jim said with a laugh.

Hiring the right drivers for the job was a chief challenge of the business over the years; it was critical for Wes and Jim to pick employees they could trust to guide their 50,000-pound vehicles along winding remote mountain roads. 

Jim said that he can usually tell if a candidate is cut out for the job after watching them pull into the yard and conducting a brief interview. 

“The biggest thing is common sense,” Wes explained. “Some guys have it and some guys don’t.” 

According to the Olsons, finding reliable drivers became more difficult over the years. 

“They’re a dying breed. They’re just not out there,” Jim said. 

He noted that there were occasions in the past year that the business had a route available and a truck ready to move, but no driver to carry out the job. 

“We’ve had a really good crew the last few years — but just not enough of them,” he said. 

Additionally, rising insurance rates in the trucking industry began reaching unendurable heights. A February 2023 fire destroyed a shop on the Olsons’ property and the truck that was inside it, which caused their rates to go up further. 

“We were paying $300,000 a year last year, just for insurance,” Jim said. “You can hardly pay for that.” 

The Olsons also said their insurer wouldn't cover a vehicle driven by an operator under the age of 25 — a practice they said is discouraging young people from pursuing work in the field and contributing to the industry-wide driver shortage. 

As Jim moves to join Wes in retirement, both men expressed appreciation for the many coworkers, clients and customers they worked with over the years. 

With summer approaching, Jim’s plan for post-work life is simple. 

“I’m going to go fishing,” he said. 

“Wherever, whenever,” he added with a smile.