Lynden: 50 years a legend in Alaska.

• Position: 2004 Corporate 100 Profile

The Lynden family of companies' role in pioneering the development of Alaska goes back to territorial days, and is one of quite remarkable history and adventure. It dates from February 1954, when the first of two Lynden Transfer Inc. specially built Kenworth tractor/trailers made the trip up the Alcan Highway to Alaska from the Lower 48. Loaded with 36,000 pounds of beef hanging from hooks, Lynden rolled into Fairbanks after four days on the Alcan and headed for the Carrs store. The manager was so proud of being able to furnish his grocery customers with fresh meat, he loaded the sides of beef into his pickup track and drove all over town letting people know that Lynden Transfer had arrived and it would be fresh meat on the table that night. It was just the first of thousands of such trips to follow over the years. Lynden Transfer became the first trucking company to provide regular and dependable trucking service to Alaska. For nearly three decades thereafter, the LTI logo would be among the most familiar to be seen on Alaska's highways.

The pioneering spirit that is so much a part of the Lynden legacy today and that has been translated into a unique Alaskan Spirit by latter day Lynden people, took root in 1906 when Lynden Transfer began hauling freight by horse and buggy in northwest Washington state. Then in 1940, Henry (Hank)Jansen signed on as a Lynden Transfer driver. Seven years later, in 1947, Jansen and a partner purchased the outfit from founder Ed Austin. From that time to this, the Lynden family of companies retains the small-town values of honesty and integrity that are the hallmark of their founder.

Even though the Lynden companies have changed and diversified since the days when Alaska-bound drivers heated their soup on truck manifolds and replaced as many as 28 flat tires on a single trip, their commitment to Alaska has remained a company core.

Today, the combined capabilities of the Lynden companies include truckload and less-than-truckload transportation, scheduled and charter barges, intermodal bulk chemical hauls, scheduled and chartered air freighters, domestic and international air forwarding, international ocean forwarding, remote site construction, sanitary bulk commodities hauling and multi-modal logistics.

Whether it's over land, on the water, in the air, or any combination of modes, Lynden has been providing customers with transportation solutions since before Alaska became a state.

For three straight months, when Alaska desperately needed food and supplies after the devastating earthquake of 1964, with airports, railroads and waterfronts out of commission, the Alaska Highway was the only route into the state. Lynden responded with every truck it could muster and headed north with the food and supplies needed to sustain Alaskans, and delivered equipment and materials to help rebuild towns, schools and hospitals.

After the Chena River flooded Fairbanks in 1967 and major roads were under water or washed out, Lynden found ways around to provision the Golden Heart City with truckloads of food and...