Fleetowner Com Sites Fleetowner com Files Uploads 2014 11 Midwest1
Fleetowner Com Sites Fleetowner com Files Uploads 2014 11 Midwest1
Fleetowner Com Sites Fleetowner com Files Uploads 2014 11 Midwest1
Fleetowner Com Sites Fleetowner com Files Uploads 2014 11 Midwest1
Fleetowner Com Sites Fleetowner com Files Uploads 2014 11 Midwest1

Time to look at trucks

Nov. 26, 2014
As winter begins to flex its icy strength across much of the country – the Northeast in particular is going to feel the early onset of its wrath for the second time over the Thanksgiving holiday – truck calendars also begin to pop across the land as well.
As winter begins to flex its icy strength across much of the country – the Northeast in particular is going to feel the early onset of its wrath for the second time over the Thanksgiving holiday – truck calendars also begin to pop across the land as well.

[For example, you can get a glimpse of Kenworth Truck Co.’s annual calendar creation by clicking here.]

I’ve got several favorites I look for every season – Chrome & Elegance by Roger Snider ranks high on the list – but one of the best “home grown” truck calendars out there is crafted annually by Tom Schoening for the family-owned Midwest Peterbilt Group (MPG) of dealerships (also known as Sioux City Truck Sales Inc. or SCTS) spanning Iowa and Nebraska.

Schoening – a former journalist and now MPG’s marketing manager – takes many of the photos that grace the dealership’s yearly creation.

The 2015 edition of the group’s Peterbilt Working Trucks calendar includes trucks with some pretty interesting stories, including a 2005 Model 379 restoration and daycab conversion completed by the firm’s Sioux City Body Shop:

Schoening also put his shutterbug talents to work for a Midwest amateur photographic competition, crafting a neat slide show saluting trucks, truck drivers and truck shows you can view below:

While such calendars may look easy to make, they are anything but, especially when it comes to dealing with the weather, Schoening told me by phone – though he likes to say photographers often can find a silver lining despite what Mother Nature delivers.

“I remember for our first calendar several years ago I was heading for a photo shoot and it just poured rain the whole way,” he said. “It stopped just as I got to the location. I ended up getting the truck placed in a big puddle of water to create a ‘lake effect’ image. That’s still one of my favorite shots today.”

Schoening  also noted that MPG – in business since 1954 – plans to expand again in 2015 with the construction of a “full store” in his words in Lincoln, NE; a facility that should be open by fall of next year.

That’ll also give him another choice venue for his calendar photo shoots, too. Thus I can’t wait to see what “iron opportunities” that allows him to chronicle for the 2016 iteration of MPG’s calendar.

About the Author

Sean Kilcarr 1 | Senior Editor

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