Chenango Stories: Off the road again

Opening a local business together provided a well-deserved and much-needed break from life on the road for Jake and Shirley Emhof.

Jake and Shirley, Chenango County natives, said they have seen lot, done a lot and have experienced a lot in the past several years.

Jake said he and Shirley met at Columbus Community Church in 1997. “I have done various things ... I have worked in insurance, been a trustee on the Village Board in New Berlin, and I was even mayor at one point,” said Jake.

In time, Shirley, who had been working for Apple Converting in Norwich, started looking into a company that contracted people to make emergency and high-end deliveries for various organizations and companies throughout the United States. After researching the occupation for some time, the couple decided the business endeavor was something they would be interested in.

For 10 years the couple traveled up to three weeks a month delivering various packages across the country. Besides traveling the United States, the Emhofs also said they have been to all but two provinces in Canada. “We got to see stuff most people on vacation don’t even get to see,” said Jake.

As contractors, the couple says they had all the necessary equipment, the vehicles and the transportation devices to carry the rarest of goods for numerous companies. “We were granted government clearance and had escorts and everything when we carried classified material,” Jake said. Even though the money was good, the Emhofs said the real downfall was the time put into the business. “If we weren’t on the road, we weren’t making money,” he said.

While traveling, the couple maintained their property and home in Plymouth. Traveling really was the best part of the overall journey, the Emhofs agreed. “Shirley got to see things she would never have gotten to if it weren’t for our job,” Jake stated.