2019 Pioneers Honored
Bill, Joyce, and John Welch
Welch Brothers Trucking

by Karen Marshall

Bill was born, at home, 1934 in Hope, New Mexico. Right after that the family moved to Roosevelt Co. because of better farming and water. John was born, at home, 1938 in Bethel, New Mexico. The family farmed; peanuts, potatoes, cotton, onions, green beans and the best watermelons in the county. They were the last two born of a family of 6 boys and 4 girls.

John, Bill, and Faye were the last ones home when their mother died. They were 9, 12, and 15 years of age. Times were hard and I remember a story about the boys wrestling in their bedroom and breaking out a window. Money was scarce so the window had to stay broken until spring. The only saving grace, according to the guys, was the old farm cat. She would sneak in through the broken window at night, get under the covers, and sleep on their feet. The brothers have always been partners but according to Faye they were more” partners in crime” when they were young. One time they were after Faye for something and she started running. The boys took turns running her around the house until she gave out. John took off running her around the house and when he got to the front Bill would take off and run her. The family has always had special prayers for Faye.

I remember stories about them both driving school buses when they were in high school. They would run their routes, park at the school, go to class, and then run the routes after school. They both started driving truck like vehicles at an early age.

Bill and John started driving trucks for their older brothers Shorty and Joe. Eventually they would buy their own trucks.
Both got married and started families. Bill married Joyce Ridley and had two children; Karen & Bubby.

John married Fran Vaughn and had three children; Jeff, Angie, and Kevin.
In 1968 the two brothers combined their trucks along with Joe’s three trucks he had when he passed away and Welch Brothers Trucking was formed. They bought land 1 ½ miles outside of Portales on the Roswell Hwy. While the shop was being built they rented, for about a year, the bunk house at the old Highway 70 Truck Stop for the office. Joyce kept the diesel and gas tickets and Fran kept the books and payroll. Eventually when the office was built they hired Martha Scoggins. I remember mom saying that the four of them “Bill, Joyce, John & Fran” got together and decided they would draw $250 a month from the company to live on.

January 30, 1976 Shorty joined the trucking company with his three trucks and Welch Trucking Incorporated was formed. He retired in 1983. About this same time their brother Jim moved from California to Portales and started running one truck with the guys until around 1979.

At one time Welch Brothers Trucking and Welch Trucking Inc. had 32 trucks running.
Bill and John supported and donated to several organizations in Roosevelt co. but Roosevelt County FFA was one of the organizations that they supported for many years. They loved watching the students show their animals at the fair.  Also, Joyce had a passion for sewing and Fran had a passion for horses.

Joyce joined the Bethel homemakers and for 55 years she has been helping put their booth in the fair. She has also made hundreds of blankets to donate to the Police Dept. for children who have been taken from their homes and she is the overseer of an ENMU scholarship.

Fran was very involved with FFA and 4H for years. She loved helping the kids with their projects. She especially loved helping with all of the horse events.  Fran passed away in 2014.

Bubby and Jeff started working in the shop from the time they could grease a truck or sweep the floor. They worked for Welch Trucking, Inc. for years and eventually started to purchase and run trucks on their own. In 2004 WTI was established and in 2007 they bought the business from John and Bill. They are still running it today.

John and Bill are still partners “in crime” though. Almost every day John picks Bill up and they head to Clovis to Cooks Truck Stop for coffee and onion rings. They then make the drive back to Portales to Mark’s café for coffee and sometimes pie. After that they head out to the shop to make sure the boys are running it right!

The Welch Family would like to conclude with a huge thank you to all of the drivers, office help, shop help, and community that have supported Welch Trucking for over 50 years. It could not have endured all these years without the support and help of Roosevelt County people. Thank you.