Crouch Brothers Trucking

Harold and Virgil Crouch were brothers from rural Irwin, Iowa. Both attended the local schools and began driving trucks, eventually buying their own trucks, working as owner/operators, primarily hauling grain in the Irwin area. Harold and Virgil eventually teamed up to form Crouch Brothers Trucking in 1939 and, together, purchased the grain elevator in Kirkman, Iowa, and moved it to Irwin as a central part of their business. Crouch Brothers Trucking was expanding and increasingly getting into freight transport at Virgil’s direction, though Harold really wanted to stick to the grain business. In 1943, the brother’s partnership ended, and Virgil, along with their other brother, Cleo, continued to build Crouch Brothers into one of the Midwest’s largest carriers while Harold continued running the elevator for 30 years, retiring in 1973.