On October 10th, Dave Swiler celebrated his 55th birthday. And for 55 years, Marion has been his home.
The son of Denny and Cindy Swiler, Dave grew up helping his dad at the Martin Blackledge farm, and his family at the Swiler Fruit Market or Sport Center. He helped his parents and grandparents, Dick and Arlene, when they’d volunteer for sports boosters, and snowmobile clubs, and other local events.
He fell in love with motorsports at an early age, along with hunting, and fishing, and Michigan winters.
These days, along with working at Pollington Machine, Dave runs his own business – Northern Eagle Services & Transport. He hauls boats, and cars, and campers; equipment, and building supplies. Essentially, if his truck and trailer can legally haul it, he’ll haul it for you. He plows snow in the winter.
Along with his wife, Karen, and their 6 year old chocolate lab, Harley, Dave still enjoys doing many of the same things he always has: hunting, fishing, riding motorcycles and snowmobiles. He and Karen love to ride their Harley [Davidson] and take their Jeep out on the trails. He makes the most of every season, and every day.
We caught up with Dave recently and learned a little bit more about his story. We learned that Dave Swiler is certainly more than just another face in the crowd.
Marion Press: Where were you born and raised?
Dave: I’ve been in Marion all my life, 55 years yesterday.
MP: What were things like growing up in Marion? Big family?
Dave: We’ve got a very close family; the Swiler family is quite large, and it’s gotten bigger over the years. My parents are Denny and Cindy Swiler. I remember having family Thanksgivings, we’d use the fellowship hall at the Methodist Church when my grandpa and grandma [Dick and Arlene] were still alive and we’d have the big family gatherings. We’d have Christmas and Thanksgivings together at the church there.
MP: What were you into as a kid? What kept you busy?
Dave: I loved football. I grew up on the farm – my dad worked for Martin Blackledge for a few years. It was a dairy farm. We grew up out there, I liked being out there doing different things: working with the cattle, feeding calves and helping do chores. I loved the wintertime – winter’s my favorite time of the year. I used to ride snowmobiles, and motorcycles, and go-karts.
MP: The snowmobiles and the bikes, when did you get into that?
Dave: I was quite young when I got bit by the motorsports bug. My grandparents – Dick and Arlene Swiler – had Swiler’s Fruit Market and Swiler’s Sports Center, located where the Dollar General is now. My dad was a mechanic there for my grandpa; my uncle raced, and Daryl Laughlin was the other mechanic. My grandpa sold Suzuki motorcycles, and Ski-Doo snowmobiles. As a little young kid, I just loved going into that shop and looking at all them, and touching them all. I was hooked right from a very young age.
MP: Did you get into racing competitively?
Dave: I did. After I graduated high school, I bought my first brand new dirt bike. Me and some buddies – Rich Laughlin and I and his boys – we started racing competitively. I raced from 1994 until 2007. I raced dirt bikes and snowmobiles. We raced all over the state of Michigan with the dirt bikes. I followed it pretty heavy, raced all over.
MP: Did you have any success?
Dave: Probably one of my best years was 2001. I won the championship up to Cadillac – I competed in every race at Cadillac Motorcycle Club that year and I won the series championship for the non-current/vintage class up there. It came down to the last race. Me and the guy who was in first had been battling it out all season, and I beat him on the last race of the season. That same year, I was racing District 14 [lower Michigan] I ended up placing 11th in the state of Michigan that year in the non-current class.
MP: What did you enjoy the most about racing?
Dave: I just loved being out on the dirt bike. Motocross is a very tough sport, but for me that was like my happy place. It was such a rush. I loved being on the bike, trail riding. Sometimes, I’d go out with buddies and say I’m not going to compete, and next thing you know, we’re racing. For me, the thrill and the rush of getting on that bike, and hearing the motor, and going out there racing, and trying to do my best was such a thrill.
MP: Tell us about Northern Eagle Services & Transport. What all do you do?
Dave: I do snowplowing. I haul campers, boats, cars, anything. If I can haul it with my pickup, I’m your guy. I’ve done snowplowing for a few years and it’s kind of gotten a little bit bigger. A lot of my clients, I help deliver and pickup rental campers. And I’ll haul for anybody. I’ll haul tractors, I’ve hauled building supplies for people. If I can fit it on my trailer and I can haul it legally, I’ll do whatever I can. I’ll make trips out of state. I actually delivered a camper to Meridian, Mississippi for a customer. I got out of work on a Friday night, and headed to Mississippi. I dropped the trailer in their yard at 7 pm on Saturday night, headed back, and got home 9 o’clock Sunday night.
MP: What have you enjoyed the most about owning your own business?
Dave: It’s kind of cool to meet different people, and talk with different people and bid jobs. When I’m delivering campers or picking up a piece of equipment, it’s nice seeing the country, and the different sites, and meeting different people. I’m a talker, and I like meeting people. And I enjoy helping people. It makes me happy to know that I’ve helped someone; to know they’re smiling because I picked up their tractor, or delivered their camper.
MP: Are you married? How do you spend your free time?
Dave: I met my wife, Karen, in 2013, and in 2016 we got married. We’ve just enjoyed riding motorcycles together. We’ve had a couple of old dirt bikes we used to play around on. We’ll get out and go for a motorcycle ride on the Harley now. A few years ago we bought an old Jeep, and we’ll take that Silver Lake Sand Dunes, and take it out trail riding, and two-tracking and whatnot.
MP: You’ve been in Marion your whole life. What’s kept you here?
Dave: I like the fact that everybody knows everybody. I can remember as a kid in high school, my mom and dad helping out with the sports boosters; my grandparents helping out with different things. I guess maybe that’s where I got it from, because they’d volunteer for different things, and they’d have us family members helping out. I remember in the early ‘80s they had a snowmobile club here, and my parents and grandparents were a part of that. It’s just nice being a part of a community where everyone wants to help everybody, and everyone knows who you are. I enjoy how close everyone is; it’s just a good time.
MP: Who have been your role models over the years?
Dave: My dad. He’s a pretty smart guy. He’s done a lot, and he can fix anything. I learned a lot of the motor skills from my dad. I can remember my dad bringing motorcycles and snowmobiles home, in boxes, and you’re thinking, ‘What are you gonna do with that?’ and my dad would put it together and it’d run top-notch. I’m not near as good as my dad, but I can fix a lot of things. And I still do. I fix a few things for people; I work on them in the garage for a little extra money and fun – I enjoy it. I keep pretty busy.
MP: What’s the best advice you’ve been given? What’s worked for you?
Dave: Work hard. Focus on what you want. If you set your mind to it, you can do about anything – but you have to work for it. Nothing comes easy. There’s a little piece of advice that I give to myself. It started out when I was racing, and if I’d have a crash, I’d make sure I’d get back on the bike – or the snowmobile – and finish the race. You’re probably not going to win, but you get back up and finish the race. And so the phrase that I always use is “Never quit on a crash.” You might be hurting, but you have to pick yourself up and push through.