The New Truck Broke Down on Opening Day — Then the Old Man's 1951 Mack B-61 Did What Nobody Expected

In May of 1974, Harlan County's biggest towing company spent $47,000 on a brand new Century 412 wrecker. They threw a party. The mayor came. The local paper ran a photo. That same morning, a tanker rolled on Route 119, blocking the highway. The new truck was the first call. It broke down three miles from the scene. The crowd was still there. The cameras were still there. And the only truck left in the county that could move a tanker was a 1951 Mack B-61 wrecker that the new company owner had been trying to retire for two years. It belonged to a 67-year-old man named Dillard Combs, who hadn't been asked for anything in a long time. He wasn't invited to the party. But he heard the radio call. This is the story of the day the new truck failed first — and what drove up the road behind it. 🔔 Subscribe. New story every day. #MackB61 #VintageWrecker #Kentucky #OldIron #TowTruck #TrueStory #WorkingClass