American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
American Towing and Recovery Institute onThe Go
RIP, Johnny Grant: A Journey Through Towing History and Personal Triumph
Johnny Grant recently passed away, we honor him with a replay of this episode
Join us as we sit down with Johnny Grant, an industry legend whose career spans several decades and whose stories are nothing short of inspiring. From a memorable trip with Ernest Holmes Sr. to his own adventures in the late 1950s, Johnny offers an authentic glimpse into the past, illustrating the ingenuity and resilience that have shaped the towing industry. You won't want to miss his fascinating tales of early towing challenges and the evolution of equipment, especially the Holmes' 850 wrecker. It's a history lesson and a testament to the spirit of those who paved the way.
But that's not all—Johnny's personal journey is just as riveting. From experiencing homelessness to rising through the ranks of notable companies like Century and Miller Industries, Johnny's story is one of incredible determination and success. We'll explore his early days on the job and the significant transitions he underwent throughout his career. His willingness to share these moments with us makes for a truly engaging episode, and we can't wait to welcome him back for more. Join us for a captivating conversation that's both educational and inspirational.
Welcome one and all to the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast. This is your podcast to promote safety, education, positive public relations and networking within the professional and business-minded towing and recovery industry. This is your co-host, dj Harrington, better known as the Tow Doctor, and I'm honored to have as the other co-host of today's episode a 40-year towing industry veteran, the founder of the American Towing and Recovery Institute, a trainer who has done now over 883 hands-on classes throughout the United States and Canada, and one of the nicest guys that you'll ever know from this industry the one and only Wes Wilburn. Wes, how are you today, buddy?
Speaker 2:DJ, I'm doing wonderful. As always, you're too kind with Canada and I do appreciate your respect. As always, you're too kind with the introduction. I do appreciate your respect. We're here smack dab in the middle of July. No classes since the last time we talked, Just been here working with the catalog and some other things, working on the national co-operative certification program, so it's just been a good busy week, yeah, and you gave your team a couple days off at the beach. I know that for a fact. Well, absolutely, they needed it.
Speaker 1:They deserved it. They deserved it, they deserved it, my friend.
Speaker 2:We have a great guest for today. We do we absolutely do Real quick on summer, that is a good point that you bring up DJ. Folks need to make sure they get away with their families and relax a little bit. And also in the summer heat I advise all my toners, everybody outside, make sure they get plenty of fluids. This heat is extreme here in the Caravanas. How is it down there in Atlanta?
Speaker 1:Terrible Last Friday. I myself now here, we do these podcasts every week and we're the fastest growing podcast now in the industry and Wes. One of the things that it was crazy is I was in the heat last Friday going in and out of my car, calling on people, and Chuck Camp, the producer, said why don't you carry Gatorade with you? And that's what I should have had. I went and got a water and I thought that would help me, but Gatorade would actually have been better for me because I got overheated and I know that, and all of our listeners you know, during the summer months we need to recharge our batteries, we need to settle down a little bit and take some time with our loved ones, our family, and because down the road you know, it's hard to make memories when you don't have memories. You gotta, you gotta remember those times with your loved ones that if you're not driving that day, take them to the beach, take them fishing, take them out and do something, take them to a movie in the rain, it doesn't matter, just something.
Speaker 1:But I agree with you, my friend this is a time to do a checkup from the neck up with all our loved ones. One thing I want to tell all our listeners. The reason why I think so highly of you is you are one of the people in this industry that thinks about how can we teach and train everyone to come home safe and sound to their loved ones every night. And that's the whole emphasis of the American Toning and Recovery Institute and you, as the head of it, project that each and every episode of keeping us safe so that we come home and enjoy the family God gave us. So that's why I think so highly of you, my friend.
Speaker 2:God bless you, dj. I appreciate you. Kind of hard to follow that, but I will share. I'm going to share one practical tip for the summertime as well. I get poison If I get it within 10 feet of poison ivy.
Speaker 2:I get it. As a matter of fact, one of the worst times I ever caught it my wife was standing in a fire where it was being burnt. They burned a tree down that had it on it. They were standing there in that fire and I caught it. So I'm very allergic to poison ivy poison, oak sumac, et cetera.
Speaker 2:I found as a towing operator you got into it and you knew about it, right, you know, as you got into it and you could feel it. I found if I went and took a, went home and took a shower, went back to the shop whatever, took a shower with cell nappa soap, which is an old fashion bar soap been around for 100 years. My mother, mother and family used it Everything, including shampoo for her growing up as a child. Cells and then NAPA Soap. You can find it in most. It's still out there. It's owned by one of the big soap companies. A lot of it kept it going but, believe it or not, it's a miracle worker, and I normally don't recommend things so strongly, but it's a miracle worker, and I normally don't recommend things so strongly, but it's a miracle worker. If you can get in the shower within an hour or so, within a short while, again, that's poison ivy, it's a miracle worker. So, anyway, that's my practical tip for the summertime, besides drinking a lot of Gatorade in the water and staying hydrated.
Speaker 1:Now, how do you spell that soap again?
Speaker 2:F-E-L-S, gotcha, n-a-p-a. I believe it's all one word. It's like a name, a family name or something. I think it's still out there, great tip.
Speaker 2:It's on the laundry sofa out. Anyway, I digress and we're wasting time burning daylight DJ. We have a great guest today. This gentleman is one of the few people in the world that has factory towing experience involved in factory and real world towing experience. Entered the towing industry in the middle 1960s working for the Holmes Corporation and stayed alive with the industry until just a few years ago and then interweaving that part-time working as a towing operator Someone that also serves as a volunteer at the towing museum as well as I do, although I don't seem to get there to be able to do much anymore One and the only Johnny Grant. Johnny from Chattanooga, tennessee, spent a lifetime in the industry and I'm very excited to have you here as a guest today. Johnny, could you introduce yourself to our listeners please?
Speaker 3:Yeah, johnny Grant, I'm from Chattanooga, tennessee and I have worked for the Ernest Holmes company and also for Miller Industries and about five or six co-companies, in between working part time and enjoyed every minute of it.
Speaker 2:God bless you, johnny. Thank you for being here. As I said, you entered the towing business in the middle 60s and I remember you making the statement that Ernest Holmes Jr hired you on. Can you tell our listeners about that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I actually started driving a record when I was 15 years old for a company that was out in East Ridge, tennessee that's where I grew up and I worked for them for I guess at least five years. But I didn't start to work for Ernest Holmes until 1965. And I had just gotten out of the years. But I didn't start to work for Ernest Holmes until 1965 and I had just gotten out of the Army and a buddy of mine was working at Ernest Holmes and he was telling me about the benefits and I didn't particularly want to work in a factory. I enjoyed actually making calls for the record, but the benefits were so good that I told him go ahead and try to get me a job. So he did, but I had the insurance, which I didn't have on my other job, and was off on Saturday and that made it good because that was one of the major days that I worked and one of the busiest days for the record industry at that time was Saturday and Saturday night. So it worked out just fine for me. We got bonuses and we got vacation paid and that was just an added blessing there, because I'd have worked whether I had any bonuses or vacation at all, you know, just just to get the extra money and the insurance.
Speaker 3:But it was a good bunch of guys and Ernie Stoneman Jr was running the place at that time and he didn't actually hire me. But Martin Holmes was his. I think it was his nephew and Martin was the guy that did the hiring. Martin Holmes was his, I think it's his nephew. Martin was the guy that did the hiring and so Martin actually hired me. But I saw Ernest almost every day, you know. He went back and forth to the plant. I was quite familiar with it.
Speaker 2:Wow, that's incredible. We gotta take a break, but we got a lot more to go. Matter of fact, we can talk about a story that only Johnny Grant has passed on to the ages. Hang around for this, we'll be right back.
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Speaker 1:You have been listening to the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast with Wes Wilburn, dj Harrington and today's great guest, johnny Grant. Remember, make sure you download and listen. Each and every week we bring you informative episodes. We're available on Spotify, itunes, pandora, google Play, stitcher, iheartmedia, amazon or wherever you get your podcasts. We're there. Remember to like and review and share everywhere. I want to ask our guest today, johnny Grant. Johnny, how many years young are you, dj? I'm 82. 82 years old. Dj, I'm 82. 82 years old and our listeners heard a little chow in the background a little puppy dog. What kind of dog do you have?
Speaker 3:It's a Morkie. Oh, it's a Yorkie. No, it's a Morkie. It's a cross between a Yorkie and a Maltese.
Speaker 1:Well, he wants to be on the podcast with you.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, yeah, he wants to be wherever I'm at.
Speaker 1:You got that right, Wes. What are some of the things you want to share? I know Johnny Grant has some great stories.
Speaker 2:Johnny, could you tell us about the story your father told about Ernest Holmes Sr and the trip over to I guess it was Vanderbilt College?
Speaker 3:Well, actually it was to Sewanee College up on top of Mont Eagle. It was a private school. And Dad went to a private school here in Chattanooga with Baylor and they played football, baylor and Swanee.
Speaker 3:And it was about a 50-mile drive over to Suwannee up Montego Mountain, and it was back then. Roads weren't all paved and Mr Holmes was invited to come along to follow the caravan of cars that went up there in case somebody broke down. And he he didn't have the record at that time, but he had uh, he was a mechanic and had no tools and all that. You know you'd need to take on a trip like that, but that was why my dad was going to school over there and Mr Holmes would make a 50 mile or 100 mile round trip. And that was probably back in late teens and it's quite a story.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I bet you know to think about the automobiles they were driving at that point. Like you said, 100 mile round trip, 50 miles in one direction, that was huge, huge, and the road conditions back then yeah, the roads weren't all paved.
Speaker 3:Probably some of them were, but all of them weren't, and that was that's a very steep mountain, that Monaco Mountain. So weren't all paved. Probably some of them were, but all of them weren't, and that's a very steep mountain, that Montego Mountain. So anything that's going to break down, it's going to break down on the mountain.
Speaker 2:That just goes to show you how dedicated Tony's home was to the automobile. That's what it was about back then when Tony's home senior was involved.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I imagine he had relatives that went to school over there and I'm sure he had a lot of friends. That was the upper class of Chattanooga that went to Baylor.
Speaker 2:What a great, interesting story. If I remember correctly, you told me about working for a towing operator and I believe this was before you worked with homes and had an 850 and had mounting problems for using it. It wanted to come off the back of the truck.
Speaker 3:We had probably one of the first 850s, and this was before I went to work for homes.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, johnny, let me interrupt you. Who are you working for, and about what year do you think this might be?
Speaker 3:This is in 1957 and 1958. And I was working for a record service called Morningside Motors record service called Morningside Motors and we had about at one time had about 10 records and they gradually dropped down to about 6. But we had two prototypes from Holmes and one of them was a 750 with an X on the back of it, 750x, and it was just a pure fabricated 750. And then we had a 600X and that was a little bit heavier than a standard 600. It was more like a 600 military which had a little bit heavier bones and a little bit heavier cable on it. Well, we had both of those in the fleet and I drove whatever the call called for. You know, I drove them all. Whatever the call called for. You know, I drove them all. But the 850, the first ones were attached to the truck with U-bolts, just like you put a state body on and we were working. I wasn't operating. But one of the owners goes into us and had a truck with coils of steel on it. The steel had rolled off at one of the busy intersections out in Brainerd part of town. One of our well, our biggest competitor had gone out there and couldn't pick it up. He had a 650 and so he just he saw it was too much and he just turned it down. So we were the next one on the rotation and in order to pick that steel up, the operator felt himself moving up on. He was operating the control from up on top and he felt the sensation of him moving and the steel not moving. And so actually that's what it was, and it pulled a full of u-bolts out and the record actually popped up, you know, in just a few inches. But it broke the u-bolts and at that time it's is when everything that happened to those records of experimental they'd load up a carload of engineers and bring it over all the cameras and all that, check it out and see what happened to it and then go back and immediately start designing something different. And what came out of that was the mounting brackets that they used. I don't think they ever used any more. I know they didn't use them on the 8-pick, I don't think they used them on the 6-pick, and it made the side bracket and they never did pull that one out. They never did pull that one out. But that U-boat thing, we tested it and it didn't hold up, you know, right, I think eventually they pulled the 650 off too. They worked in a tractor-trailer wreck up at Oak Coral Lake where they did the wild water wreck and it went off in the river and they pulled the 650 off.
Speaker 3:I think the 850 was out of town or something. The 650 was the biggest thing they had to send, of course, all over. They had to wait until the 850 got back in town and to actually accomplish the pull, but I don't imagine there's very many U-Boats in the Unicef today. I think they had a recall on the 850s when that happened. In fact they probably knowing the way they did business, they probably sent everybody a set of brackets, you know, that had an IP. There wasn't that many of them. I think it was only like 300 that were made and a bunch of them were made for the military.
Speaker 2:Johnny, I should hold that thought. I think I'm hearing the music. I'm going to ask you to hold that thought. I think I'm hearing the music. We're going to go ahead and take a break, but I've got a whole lot more to ask you about, okay.
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Speaker 1:You have been listening to the American Towing Recovery Institute podcast with Wes Wilburn, dj Harrington and our special guest today, johnny Grant, who has been a great guest and we really appreciate it. If any of you have any questions you'd like to ask Johnny Grant, here's our hotline number here at the podcast center Dial 706-409-5603. 706-409-5603. 706-409-5603. Now, before we took a break and Wes has been bringing us into the breaks excellent I want to ask Mr Grant I guess a year or so ago you did like a 900-mile or so many-mile hike through the hills. Can you tell our listeners about that? That was a mile or so many mile hike through the hills. Can you tell our listeners about that?
Speaker 3:That was a year or so ago. Yeah, it took me 16 years to do it. I just do maybe one trail on a weekend and then maybe two weekends later I'd do another couple of trails, and those trails were anywhere from a mile to 26 miles, and a 26-miler was a. It was a toughie but I made it in 13 hours and that was the one I worried the most about, but it was fun. I was on the Appalachian Trail all but 5 miles and it was. It almost killed my feet, but anyway I made it. And it almost killed my feet, but anyway I made it. I was glad that I made it because it was a beautiful, beautiful hike and some of those were 18, 21 miles. But there's actually 800 and something miles of trails actual trails but in order to do them all you've got to do 900 miles because you have to crisscross and do the same trails more than once to get to all of them.
Speaker 1:Well, Mr Grant, I tip my hat to you because I am much younger than you and I could not have possibly done those type of things. So I tip my hat to you and I'm glad our listeners are hearing a little dog in the background. But let me turn it over to our dear host, Wes Wilburn. Wes, what are some of the things you want to ask, Johnny Grant?
Speaker 2:I guess one of the questions I would have is your impressions of Ernest Holmes Jr and the different members of the Holmes family that you work with. That would be one question that I have.
Speaker 3:They were great people. They had great respect for him. Mr Holmes was a fine gentleman.
Speaker 2:As I understand it, they would eat in the company cafeteria and sit down with employees and talk and whatnot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, some of them were more open than others, but they were all fine people. Yeah, mr Holmes, he was pretty quiet but he would come by the plant and talk to you. And Jerry was very serious, you know, and he was always, hey, know him in the books. Pretty much he would talk to you. He's a great guy. Willie was not that involved in the towing business but they put him in charge of the tow trailers. That would happen and Willie that was his job was taking care of the sales and inventory of the trailers. They were built down in Dublin, georgia. We didn't actually build them at the factory, but anyway they were a great bunch of people. We had lunch with Jerry I think it was last year or the year before a bunch of the older people and they had a good time. Jerry doesn't look like he's aged at all. Really he doesn't show his age. And I don't know what happened to John Davis, but he was not with the company when they sold out, but he had worked over there after he got out of the airport.
Speaker 2:And, but he had worked over there After he got out of the airport and, alright, let's take a quick break and we'll be right back with John and Grant.
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Speaker 1:I want to thank all of our listeners. You've been listening to the American Towing and Recovery Institute podcast with Wes Wilburn, dj Harrington and the great Johnny Grant. And Johnny, I can't thank you enough for being our guest on this episode. And, wes, why don't you say goodbye to Johnny and tell our listeners we, hopefully, will have him back again.
Speaker 2:So, johnny, I can't thank you enough for being here and talking with us today and sharing some of your insights. I got a whole list of questions for talking with us today and sharing some of your insights. I've got a whole list of questions so we'll have you back for either the next podcast or the following one for our listeners, but I've got a whole—I want to talk to you about. You know how you transitioned from the homeless family to. You know, to the different transitions there to century and the Miller Industries, et cetera. I'm also interested in your first day on the job, so I've got a lot of questions I want to ask you.
Speaker 3:So if you come back in a week or so, I'd really appreciate it. I'd be honored to.
Speaker 2:I'm just honored to be selected to be on this program. Well, you're too kind, johnny. Thank you so much for giving us your time and be safe, and we'll talk to you in about a week, okay.
Speaker 3:Okay, thank you and God bless you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, and God bless you too, johnny you.