Anthony ? Jackie Powell hoisted herself into the navigator seat of the gleaming gold-and-turquoise 2003 Peterbilt parked at the Big M Truck Stop and took command.

“Let’s move it, William,” she ordered — then smiled affectionately toward her husband, who had settled in the driver’s seat.

Bill Powell revved the powerful semi engine and carefully phrased his response.

“She’s in charge,” he said. “Always in charge of something.”

At 1 p.m. on a Tuesday, Jackie and Bill Powell, both 75, pulled onto U.S. Highway 50 and headed for California.

They’ll make the trip in 24 hours, to deliver a load of Exide batteries to a spot near Los Angeles and pick up their next load and destination.

Bill has trucked for 18 years, Jackie 15. Together they also farmed and ran a restaurant.

In February they traded in the semi they bought in December 1999 — with 1.028 million miles on the odometer.

Truckin’ history

Bill’s first long haul came when he worked for a neighboring farmer.

“He put me in a truck with an 18-year-old kid to go to Jackson, Mississippi, for a load of cattle,” Bill said. “I drove it right through the heart of Dallas.”

Jackie started driving at Bill’s request. He was hauling cutting-horse cattle to sale barns in the Jackson, Miss., area.

“I was getting so tired,” he said. “I told her we could get more hours on the road with two of us driving.”

Teaching her turned out to be a bumpy drive.

Jackie’s red hair showed her true colors, Bill said.

“After a while she’d get mad at something I’d tell her, pull over and park it,” he said. “Finally one day I told her, ‘If I were as damn bull-headed as you are, I’d just get in and drive it.'”

Jackie did.

She added her side of the story.

“In the 12 years we worked side-by-side in the restaurant, we had to be nice to each other because the public can see,” she said. “In here when I get mad or he gets mad at me, I just go back in the sleeper — or we scream at each other.”

On the road

The Powells have trucked across 48 states and into Canada. They’ve hauled cargoes of tomatoes from Homeland, Fla., to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; taken bulk potatoes for french fries from North Dakota to Atlanta; and transported Chilean onions, loaded on at the Port of Baltimore.

Along the road, they’ve celebrated 57 years of marriage and stopped off to deal with a couple of health concerns. Jackie had a mastectomy on Sept. 11, 2001. Then, in August 2002, when they were 125 miles from Des Moines, Iowa, Bill told Jackie he felt like someone was standing on his chest. She called 911 and an ambulance met them.

Surgeons put three stints in Bill’s heart. Four days later they were home, and in two weeks they were back on the road.

They’ve had minor accidents: he hit an elk and she struck a deer. Their closest call came on a mountain road when their truck jumped out of gear.

“‘I think we better say goodbye to each other,'” Bill told Jackie. They sped downhill hitting 100 mph and coasted to a stop when the road turned uphill.

Good work ethic

As owner-operators, the Powells have contracted with Lyons-based Shuler Trucking Inc.

STI operations manager Tom Shanley called them “a good couple.”

They’re from a generation that’s dependable, reliable and conscientious, with a good work ethic, he said.

“We have openings for more like them,” Shanley said. “And I wish we could find them.”

The Powells are allowed 10 hours each day behind the wheel; they’ve logged up to 27,000 miles a month.

“They keep us busy,” Jackie Powell said.

“You don’t make any money if you don’t keep the thing running,” Bill added.

Before they headed out for California, the Powells both had medical checkups and Jackie had her hair done.

She also stocked their truck refrigerator with roast beef and chicken for sandwiches, plus salads and fresh fruits and vegetables.

In Hutchinson, they met her niece, Sondra Gibson, for lunch.

“They really love it,” Gibson said about her trucking aunt and uncle.

“It’s been fun,” Bill Powell said, summing up their years on the road. “We’re going to stay at it as long as we can pass the physical.”