A Family Tradition Since 1925

In 1925 W.W. Prentice purchased a Model T Ford truck that he used to transport goods from the Gelert railway station to Minden and area. In 1928 he purchased a 1928 Chevrolet truck and expanded to W.W. Prentice and Son. In 1930 he was awarded a contract to plow Highway 35 from Halls Lake to Dorset and he added a plow to the 1925 Chevrolet.

W.W. retired and his youngest son Duncan continued work with the family business. Duncan expanded to two trucks and two bulldozers and changed the business name to D.B. Prentice Trucking and Bulldozing. Duncan later sold to his brother Morgan and went to work for the Ministry of Transportation until he retired.

W.W.’s oldest son Morgan left Shell Oil in Toronto, moved back to the area and purchased a truck. He later expanded to three trucks that he used to haul logs in the winter and lumber in the summer as M.L. Prentice Dorset. In the 1940’s Morgan went into the construction business including trucks, bulldozers and other vehicles. Morgan’s sons Bill and Jack also had trucks. Bill eventually sold his truck to his father Morgan. They became Prentice Road and Excavating. Morgan’s younger son Jack was killed in a truck accident in 1959.

In the mid 1960’s Prentice Roads and Excavating decided to make a change from the construction business and began selling snowmobiles and trailers. Duncan’s son Tom who had worked for his uncle at Prentice Roads in 1968 and 1969 purchased a truck, loader, and grader from the business. He then started Tom Prentice Trucking and Grading.

In the 1990’s Tom’s sons Jack, Tom, Terry, and Tony finished school and began working with their father leading to the business as we know it today, Tom Prentice and Sons Trucking, Grading, and Excavating.