10-4 Good Buddy

HUETTER — With so much going on in the world today, John Loomer Sr. said he wanted to do something nice for someone.

So Saturday afternoon, he was cooking up free burgers for truckers pulling in at the Huetter weigh station and rest stop along Interstate 90.

“Truckers are having a hard time getting their meals,” Loomer said as he flipped patties on the sizzling grill. “This is just one of the things our group does — we enjoy doing it for them, too, believe me,” he added.

The Eagle Riders from Sandpoint Aeries 589 spent about four hours serving up giant burgers with the works, cole slaw, potato salad, apples, pastries and drinks to truckers on their way to their next stop.

They spent six weekends last year doing the same thing and with the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdown that put the brakes on much of the trucking industry, they decided it was time to again honor “all of the truckers who continued to deliver supplies to the peoples of the nation during the pandemic.”

Ryan Whitney was pleased.

The Bemidji, Minn., man was delivering a load of lumber to Milwaukee and usually stops at the Huetter station to give his Corgi traveling partner, Ellie, a break.

The meal was an added bonus and he spent some time chatting with the Eagle Riders before heading back out on the road. Even Ellie, who quickly made friends with kids at the rest stop, left with a hot burger.

“It’s great,” Whitney said.

A challenge for truckers is finding food delivery services or places off the beaten path that accept cash, as many want only credit cards.

“I’ve been running coast to coast during this pandemic and to get food has been a pain in the butt,” said Whitney, who has family in Coeur d’Alene.

The food was fuel for the next few hundred miles as he stepped back to his truck to stay on schedule.

“I try and I do my best,” Whitney said with a smile.

S. Joe Wilson, road name “Tater,” is president of the Eagle Riders, which includes Kootenai County members. The nonprofit club received its charter last year.

Its circular emblem has the words, “For Home. For Country and for God. Liberty. Truth. Justice. Equality.”

Its motto is “People Helping People.”

That could be via contributions of finances or labor or other means.

Saturday, about 15 Eagle Riders were ready to meet, greet and serve nearly 100 truckers.

Wilson said that last year, truckers “couldn’t even stop and use the rest areas, and they couldn’t even get a hot cup of coffee,” because so much was closed.

So the Eagle Riders rode to the rescue and for six weekends March to May, set up shop to serve food and drink, with a peak of greeting 62 truckers one day.

“They’re frontline workers,” Wilson said. “These guys, if they didn’t run last year, we’d all be in a problem.”

Wilson said he had the typical image of your “American red-neck truck driver,” but as he met more of them, he discovered they were of many races and nationalities.

“It was an eye opener,” he said. “It was fun to interact with everybody.”

Trucker Landy Espinoza was on his way to Minnesota, another 1,200 miles or so.

He said it was good to meet nice people whose only goal was to make his day better.

“It’s appreciated,” he said.