When previewing the recipient of this years Wheel Jam Legacy Award, Wheel Jam organizer Scot Marone called Dawn Lorang a renegade, and when that was mentioned to two of Dawns children, they both laughed and agreed wholeheartedly that word described Dawn very well.
Oh, she was a renegadeand a trailblazer, Oren Swede Soward, Dawns son and a trucker himself, agreed. When she got started trucking, there were very few women. She would work on her own truck, do the finances and other bookwork, and she just loved being on the road.
Daughter Janet Habeck agreed.
She wasnt afraid to speak her mind, and she would stand up for what she believed, Janet stated. She could out-truck most men any day!
Dawn Lorang grew up in the Mt. Vernon area, graduating from high school in 1975, and she was already doing trucking for Dakota Cheese in Mitchell when she graduated high school. She got her CDL in 1980 and spent most of 45 years in the trucking industry overall before passing away last August.
When told that their mother would be honored, Swede and Janet each said that they were surprised, but they felt it was well-deserved.
The siblings stated that trucking was a significant part of life, as she met and married Oren Butch Soward, who was also a trucker. The two trucked together frequently. This legacy has been passed on in the family as Swede is a trucker and Janet is involved heavily in trucking, recently marrying a trucker as well.
Dawn took great pride in her truck, and she and her 2005 Peterbilt were featured on the tenth series of CAT Super Trucks Limited Edition Scale Cards, trading cards featuring truckers throughout the nation and distributed at scale stations. She brought that same truck to Wheel Jam and won awards at Wheel Jam in 2008 with that truck.
Seeing her fellow truckers at Wheel Jam was a highlight each year for Dawn. Swede relayed that she was highly respected among those in the industry for her attitude toward trucking and her relationship with fellow truckers. She also enjoyed when her routes took her to the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest, her favorite areas of the country to truck.
When asked how it was to be the children of two truckers, Janet did relay that it led to having to grow up quick and take care of her younger siblings while both parents were on the road. Swede said that it did teach independence among all the kids, but it also encouraged him into a life of trucking as well.
This weekend will be more than a weekend to honor Dawn with an award. Her family is having a memorial service at Wheel Jam at 3 p.m. Saturday. Janet says that her mother loved to take pictures of other drivers and other trucks, and shell have those photos on Saturday to share with Dawns peers, her fellow truckers.
After the service Saturday, Dawns ashes are going to be spread at particular locations by trucking friends both heading to the East and to the West at places Dawn loved during her career.
When she wasnt on the road, Lorang enjoyed painting, drawing, quilting, and other artistic exploits. She also really enjoyed cooking and baking, and a homemade banana bread recipe in her hand was included as part of her funeral pamphlet.
So, with her artistic and cooking/baking interests, did she ever consider settling down, staying home, and pursuing one of those as a career?
Swede and Janet both laughed.
She didnt have a desire to have any other job, Swede chuckled.
Janet agreed.
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