'I like the freedom': 90-year-old Kansas man is the world's oldest truck driver
PHILLIPSBURG, Kan. (KSNW) – Doyle Archer, a 90-year-old man from Kansas, was recently recognized as the world's oldest active truck driver by the Guinness Book of World Records.
Archer started driving part-time in 1964, then went full-time in the 1970s. Eventually, he went back to his roots, working for a trucking company owned by Rick Coomes, the son of an old friend.
"Rick's dad, Limon Coomes, had started out; he and I were good friends back in the old days," Archer said. "Being an old friend of the Coomes family, I came back to Rick. They're a very family-oriented company where you know everybody, and it's a great place to work here, so I enjoy it. That's the reason I stayed here so long. If it had been somewhere else, I'd probably give up long before this. I kind of like the family environment here."
He's been with Coomes Inc. for over 20 years and has loved his time there.
"I like the freedom being out in the open country versus working in an office or factory," Archer said. "There's some jobs I could've had that would've been pretty good office jobs and so on, but I like the environment out here. You get to see the country.
"I do every week what a lot of people spend money on to take a vacation every year," he continued. "Last week, for example, I left here and went to Minneapolis, Minnesota, ended up in Arizona, to Salt Lake, to Denver and back, so I got to see a good chunk of the country, and that's the whole reason right there. That and great people to work for here. Had it not been for that, I probably would've been looking to get out of it a long time ago."
Owner Rick Coomes said he wishes Archer had come to work at their company 20 years earlier.
"He's a good, solid partner," Coomes said. "You never have to worry about him doing his job. He just gets out there and does it."
Archer said he hasn't considered retirement.
"As long as my health is good, still able to pass the DOT physical in excellent shape, as long as my health stays good, I think I'll stay a while yet," he said.
When Archer found out he had been recognized as the world's oldest truck driver, he said he couldn't help thinking about how he got to this point.
"It brings out a lot of thoughts that I hadn't realized accumulated over the years. Now I begin to look back and reminisce — why did I do this and that? — but I still like what I've done.
"It's a recognition I never planned on getting, figured on, you know? It's a great feeling to be there. I hadn't planned it or anything. I've seen a lot of change in this country, and it's an honor to get to see that from the trucks when we got started to what they are today."
After traveling millions of miles around the country, Archer says Kansas is one of the best places in the U.S.
"So much difference in the attitude of the people and the expectations of them. It's a totally different ball game," Archer said. "It's great to be in this area, to be part of it and call it home. Even though I go to big cities, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, anywhere like that, and you see that versus coming back here, I'm gonna be here permanently."
Age isn't the only impressive number in Doyle's résumé. Doyle has been married to his high school sweetheart for 70 years, and they have nine children, 25 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.