/Prentice family celebrates 100 years of trucking
Tom Prentice Sr. stands in the middle with sons, from left, Tom Jr., Tony, Jack, and Terry. /Submitted

Prentice family celebrates 100 years of trucking

By Thomas Smith

Whether it is through Prentice Street in Minden, a personal connection, or seeing a green truck on the roads, everyone in Minden knows the Prentice name in one way or another.

Some of Tom Prentice Sr.’s earliest memories are of shovelling gravel and carrying tools around for his family members. Throughout his entire life, Prentice knew that he wanted to continue in his family’s footsteps.

Through Tom Prentice and Son’s Trucking, Grading, and Excavating, Tom Prentice continues the family’s century-long tradition of trucking.

In 1925, W.W. Prentice purchased his first truck that he would use to transport goods from the Gelert Railway Station to Haliburton County.

“That truck was also the first to plow from Halls Lake to Dorset,” said Prentice.

 After W.W.’s retirement, his youngest son Duncan took over the business and expanded it by adding two trucks and two bulldozers, renaming the business to D.B. Prentice Trucking and Bulldozing.

Tom Prentice Sr.’s uncle Morgan began his own trucking company named M.L. Prentice Dorset, later becoming Prentice Roads and Excavating. In the 1960s, Prentice Roads and Excavating switched from construction to snowmobile and trailer sales.

After learning the tricks of the trade from his family, Tom Prentice Sr. started Tom Prentice Trucking and Grading.

“I could hardly wait to get out of school,” said Prentice. “It was in my blood.”

Tom Prentice and Son’s Trucking, Grading, and Excavating is now an intergenerational family business, with his sons Jack, Tom, Terry, and Tony joining the business in the 1990s. Like the name suggests, Tom Prentice and Son’s Trucking, Grading, and Excavating offers a plethora of services including grading, excavating, landscaping, snowplowing, trucking, septic services, and material sales.

“I’m really proud of my boys,” said Prentice. “As a family, we’ve stuck together. For a family of five to stick together all these years, I’m really proud about that.”

Tom Prentice Sr. says that he heeds the advice his uncle Morgan gave to him when he started Tom Prentice Trucking and Grading.

“He said, don’t get too big. It’s too much,” said Prentice with a laugh.

Tom Prentice and Sons have seen great success over the years. While his business started with one truck and one grader, they have now expanded to six trucks, three graders, and various other equipment.

Tom Prentice Sr. will continue working with his sons at the family business for the foreseeable future. They have no desire to expand too quickly. Once the time comes, Jack, Tom, Terry, and Tony will share the business equally as successors.