The Cook County Towing crew with some of the fleet of trucks to be used for roadside assistance and recovery. The trucks (L-R) are a 1994 Dodge 1-ton, 2011 Dodge 5500, 2004 International 4300 and 2009 GMC 5500. The people who will be driving the wreckers are (L-R) Paul James, Lisa Mesenbring, Pam James and Jay Mesenbring.
In July, Paul and Pam James of Tofte changed the name of Nelson’s Towing, the company they have owned and operated since 2005. The new name— Cook County Towing—was adopted in anticipation of several other changes, including the addition of two crewmembers and the purchase of another wrecker service, Grand Marais Standard Towing.
In July, Jay and Lisa Mesenbring of Hovland joined Cook County Towing. The Mesenbrings are familiar faces to Hovland residents and visitors. Jay Mesenbring has operated Jay’s Superior Automotive in Hovland for nine years and Lisa Mesenbring has operated Chicago Bay Marketplace for the last five years.
They were both ready for something new, they told the News-Herald as they met with Paul and Pam James on July 12 to check out the vehicles they would be using to offer wrecker service on the east end of the county—a 1994 Dodge 1-ton with twin Holmes 460 winches and a 2009 GMC 5500 Rollback.
The Cook County Towing folks you may meet by accident (L-R) Jay and Lisa Mesenbring and Pam and Paul James.
Of course they also took some time to check out the equipment that is used on the west end of the county—a 2004 International 4300 with sidepuller winch and a 12,000- pound rollback deck and the 2011 Dodge 5500 with a 20,000-pound boom and twin 12,000 pound Ramsey winches.
How did this partnership come about? How did, as Paul James joked, “east meet west”? Jay Mesenbring, who for many years operated his own towing business in the Twin Cities, laughed. “Every wrecker driver knows every garage,” he said.
Over the years that Nelson Towing delivered cars to Jay’s garage, there was discussion about working together. Finally, in July, an agreement was made and Jay and Lisa Mesenbring will now be providing wrecker service too.
Although Jay Mesenbring has extensive experience with towing, it will be new to Lisa. However, she is confident that she will acquire the necessary skills. “I grew up on a farm. I’ve driven a lot of tractors. It’s just a matter of getting to know your vehicle,” she said.
Paul James, who also works at Lamb’s Resort in Schroeder, said he was confident that Lisa would learn the ropes quickly. “Lisa is a go-getter. Pam is a go-getter. Lisa will help Jay with things—like I help Pam!”
Pam James, who had arrived a few minutes after everyone else, said there is always something to learn. The reason she was a bit late was because a service call took a little longer than expected. She said she had been charging a battery on a Toyota that “had a strange battery configuration.”
Although Jay, an ASE certified mechanic, will continue to service vehicles at Jay’s Superior Automotive, Lisa Mesenbring is giving up her role as proprietor of Chicago Bay Mercantile. “I figure if Jay is doing this, I might as well be involved. A lot of things are easier with two people,” she said.
Pam James agreed, “At really bad accidents you can have one person hook up the cable and talk back and forth. Sometimes you need traffic control. It works better with a husband and wife team.”
The Mesenbrings will gain more experience by participating in certified Wreck Master Classes through Wes Wilburn Consulting, a nationally recognized training firm. Something Paul and Pam James have done and will continue to do. “You have to be certified every three years,” explained Paul.
Those certification certificates hang in the towing company garage next to the Birch Grove Community Center in Tofte, which still bears the Nelson Towing sign. “It will take awhile to get everything changed over,” said Pam James—a bit of an understatement as the couple was working on expanding yet again.
Last week, on August 23, Cook County Towing purchased Grand Marais Standard Towing from Gene Erickson, gaining two other vehicles, a flat-bed truck and a 2000 Ford F-450 with twin 8000 Jerr Dan winches, as well as the Grand Marais 24-hour emergency service phone number. How those vehicles will be used is still being worked out.
However, as Erickson did, and as they did as Nelson’s Towing, the new company will continue to accept AAA and other roadside assistance services. They will continue to respond with 24-hour emergency towing service for accidents, dead batteries, flat tires and vehicle lockouts.
“Everything will be handled more efficiently now,” said Pam. “We will have better response time, which will be better for customers.”
To contact Cook County Towing, call any one of its business numbers: (218) 663-7475; (218) 387-1646 or (218) 475- 2458.
Leave a Reply