Dale Eng still remembers, as a boy, how much he looked forward to seeing his dad, Lawrence, pull up each night after work in his truck. Lawrence would be dirty after a long day of hauling garbage, dirt, coal, cement, or lumber—honestly, whatever needed to be moved in the area at the time.
Dale didn’t care. He just wanted to be out with his dad.
It was Lawrence himself who started the business, Eng Services, back in 1934 with a $10 vehicle and five customers. He had bought what started out as a hauling company from his brother, Merle, that year. His first “truck” was actually a Dodge car that he modified, cutting the rear passenger section out so he could haul whatever was needed, including coal to local schools and the removal of ashes when it was done.
Ninety years later, Dale’s own children are now part of the business, and his grandchildren are the ones excited to see him pull up at the end of the day, as the family business continues to grow in both size and scope.
The family hosted an open house this past Sunday to celebrate the milestone, thank loyal customers and business partners from the past nine decades, and build excitement for the future of the company. A steady stream of grateful clients, business partners, and friends attended the event until the very end.
Eng Services has been part of the community for as long as anyone can remember.
Dale chuckled as he recalled working alongside his father at an early age. At just 10 years old, he helped shovel coal onto and off the trucks, delivering it to local schools and businesses.
“We used to get so dirty, but it was fun,” Dale said, reminiscing about those early days. Summers were spent hauling lumber from the railroad to the lumber yard.
One story Dale loves to tell is about his father getting a new truck in 1957 and having him drive it before school one morning down an alley near their house as they worked to clear snow.

“I got stuck,” Dale recalled with a smile. “He said I wasn’t going fast enough, that’s why I got stuck. I was 10, and I was driving a truck!”
Despite his early involvement, Dale didn’t immediately follow in his father’s footsteps. He joined the Army for three years, then spent five years driving semi-trucks for two local companies.
“I just wished I would have started earlier,” Dale reflected.
Eventually, he approached his dad and asked if the business could support both their families. In a leap of faith, he officially joined the company in 1974. They expanded into recycling, took on additional communities for garbage hauling, survived a fire that nearly destroyed the business in 1997, and began to build Eng Services into what it is today.
With only one payloader, one semi, and one garbage truck left after the fire, “He cleaned the soot off the windows and got right back to work the next morning,” John said proudly, speaking of his dad.
“We all appreciate that.”
Eng Services now employs 18 staff, including many of Dale’s children.
Dale’s youngest son, John, nearly went a different direction but decided to stay and join the family business.
“We used to drive around in old Ford dump trucks,” John said.
“Now, in the last five years, we’ve been able to buy three brand-new trucks. You can see the progress and determination of everyone in the business, and it’s hard not to be proud of that.”
“I would never do anything else,” Dale said, expressing deep gratitude for his family, partners, customers, and employees who have helped sustain the business over the decades.
“We would just like to thank them because it’s been a great honor to serve people. We’ve had some disappointments. We’d lose a job, and then the next day the phone rings and we have more work. It’s just been amazing.”
His sons, Joe, Jeremy, Josh and John, echoed his sentiments.
“We love it, we don’t know what we would have done otherwise,” Josh said.
“Being so busy, we don’t have to look for anything to do. Everyone’s asking us to do things. Time flies. We always joke that we aren’t working, we’re just having fun.”
After 90 years, it seems the fun is just getting started.