Some people can have boat loads of tough times in their life, but they stay positive and keep on keeping on. Our friend Tina Stine is definitely one of those people. We met on Facebook and had the connection of trucking. Then, about five years ago, Tina drove to the 83 Diner in York, PA where John and I happened to be one afternoon so we could meet in person. We enjoyed a great dinner and laughed most of the time.
While chatting with Tina, she told us, “It’s my dad’s fault that I love trucks and trucking.” When she was nine years old, she was the tallest kid and her dad had her moving straight trucks around the farm and running along the combine, loading grain during the harvest. She admits that after driving a 1966 Mack cabover she was hooked. Pulling a hopper bottom to the feed mill and back home only made her want to go farther, and she couldn’t wait to get older.
Helping on the farm and driving for a local landscaping company was what she had to do until she was old enough to hit the big road. Once she did, she ran Pennsylvania to Colorado for years and absolutely loved it. After dinner we headed out to the trucks to take selfies and say our goodbyes, parting ways as new great friends.
Her Facebook posts took a more serious tone after she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer on July 2, 2021. She had minimal treatment then, just radiation, and was told everything should be okay. A year later, she got the devastating news it was now Stage 4 breast cancer that had metastasized to her bones, sinus, pelvis and front lobe. That’s when the war began.
When they started radiation, she requested bionic parts, asking the nurses, “Isn’t that stuff on TV true?” Her sense of humor in this situation is what doctors say has kept her alive. Radiation to her forehead, hips and spine were the first round of treatment, and then they added strong chemo pills. Last year, the cancer was still spreading, and treatment was changed to chemo infusions that will last the rest of her life. The doctor told her that Stage 4 has no remission – only treatment. To that, she said, “At least I don’t have to shave.”
As if this isn’t enough, on July 2, 2024, that morning she was running late when she left for her chemo treatment, leaving her phone at home, and basically wearing her summer pajama shorts and a tank top. Grabbing her backpack and slipping into her bedroom slippers, off she went. She got a call while at the hospital during treatment that the house she was renting was on fire, and she ended up losing everything but the clothes she was wearing and her backpack.
In November of 2024 she started the next round of radiation. She loves to draw, and the pictures she has shared are beautiful! Having never taken any classes it is just a God-given talent. Tina uses this as part of her therapy.
Seeing some of Randy Conley’s beautiful wood trucks on some of their mutual friend’s Facebook pages, she always commented, and it wasn’t long before he sent her a friend request. And now he has offered one of his amazing wood trucks to be auctioned off, with the proceeds going to help Tina with her everyday living expenses. I think it’s awful the lack of help available to people in her situation. Tina called me to ask if we might be able to help with an auction, and she put me in touch with Randy.
Using recycled redwood that has been given to him for his “hobby” by many people over the years, the supply of wood he has been given will last his lifetime. Most of this is rough, but you would never know it when he’s finished. When I asked him if he’s a driver, he told me, “No, the only truck I ever drove was a logging truck they had at my high school.” Living in the middle of the redwoods, it was natural for him to get into logging and for woodworking to be his hobby. He has made little redwood trucks that they sell at the local tourist traps since the 1980s.
Back in the day, there were 40 mills around his area, but today there are only three left. He worked at a mill for 20 years until he hurt his back, ending that career. Taking a different path, he started working for a local optician who taught him how to make prescription glasses. Now, he’s the guy in the lab that makes your lenses fit your frames.
The first time Randy retired, it didn’t last. When covid came around in 2020, his old boss asked if he would come back to work, and he did. His hope is to retire again by the end of the year and be able to build his beautiful trucks full-time. Randy loves to travel, and some of his travels take him to truck shows. His plan is to be at the show in Brooks, OR, on August 22-23. Look for him there, and maybe you can take home one of his cool builds for yourself.
After his third wife passed away from cancer his truck building expanded. In December 2018, he built 33 small trucks, and gave them all away as gifts. One of the little boys he gave a truck to told him his father drove a log truck, and he asked Randy if he could build the truck he drives – a Kenworth W900. Randy said, “Sure,” and the big truck division of Randy’s Custom Rigs was born. Using golf tees for air horns, he buys the wheels, so they are perfect every time. He makes the trailers and some of the heavy equipment that sits on them, too, like dozers, loaders, backhoes, and the machines that load the logs onto the trailers, he has built them all.
Charity is important to Randy. He told us, “You have to give and not just take.” He takes that very seriously and has donated trucks to be auctioned to Make-A-Wish, the organization Slow Down and Move Over (so many tow truck operators are hurt or killed each year), and to cancer patients like Tina to help raise money for whatever it is they need at the time. The truck he has made for Tina is a log truck, but he said if the bid is high enough, he would build a truck of their choice. Randy Kaylor with Pro Fab from Manheim, PA has offered to help us set up a Facebook auction as soon as possible. We will get the word out as soon as we get all that set.
Throughout all her struggles and challenges, Tina doesn’t ever ask for help. A woman recently dropped off art supplies to her, and she was so grateful, because now she will have some much needed therapy time. She was honored when Randy offered a truck for her to help raise much needed funds. Tina will never be able to drive a truck again, as her body is too weak, but she holds on to the memories of the road and the friends she made from those days.
Tina always has something funny to say, leaving me in awe, considering her situation. Tina says, “I’m not ready to go, so I’m going to keep fighting.” Her sense of humor, strong will, and even stronger faith is why she is still here. Her doctors say she is a medical miracle. The one thing that Tina would ask is to include her in your prayers. She appreciates everyone who does this for her. We never know if one day it could be us fighting this battle. Hopefully, it never happens, but if it does, I would want to be a warrior like Tina. God bless you, Tina! Keep fighting!!