Herman Rood stood behind his idling Cadillac with his hands in his pockets. He watched a big, yellow excavator work, the operator guiding the machine as it tore through the remaining building at Nashua Motor Express on Thursday.

He recalled his daily routine as he watched from behind a fence in the parking lot of a Pep Boys Auto Part and Repair shop next door.

“You’d come in on that side and go in right where he is,” said Rood, who still lives in Nashua. “Down the stairs, take a left. … There were windows there. The girls would take all your papers, money, whatever you had. Twelve, 14 hours a day,” Rood said.

The trucking company, which operated in Nashua for 92 years, closed in 2013. A 37,000 square foot shopping plaza is planned for the site.

The business was started by Philip Michael, who hauled beef between Nashua and Boston in 1922. In a Telegraph story in January 2013, co-owner Diana Juris, Michael’s granddaughter, said he ran the company from the back room of the Palm Street home he shared with his wife and three daughters. The company moved to Amherst Street in 1960.

In the story, Juris said they were planning on focusing on the logistics end of the business. They now operate as Nashua Logistics and Transportation Services.

“We hesitated to close the business because of our wonderful employees,” she said.

“I knew every run they had,” Rood said. He would haul what he referred to as “shoe goods” from area shoe manufacturers such as Jamey and McElwain. It was the mid-1970s.

Not only did Rood remember the long hours but the thorough safety checks, truck maintenance and support he received from the office.

He drove Mack trucks, “the best equipment in the state,” he said.

“I remember the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) used to set up stops anywhere in New Hampshire and Massachusetts,” he said. “When they’d see Nashua Motor Express they’d wave us on the equipment was in such good shape.”

“I drove seven years, and then I worked for them taking care of their houses and the terminal,” he said.

Rood described further the layout of the lot – where trucks were parked, where the shop and fuel tanks were. All that is left now are piles of demolition debris, sorted and stacked as the buildings are torn down.

“I’ve been keeping track of this,” Rood said. “I figured I’d see some of my old buddies here, but there’s not too many of them left. They’re all gone.”

Rood’s retired now.

“I used to love driving, but like anything else it was time to move on,” he said. “I was in and out of this building for almost 27 years.

“It’s too bad. What a business they had.”

Don Himsel can be reached at 594-6590 or dhimsel@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow Himsel on Twitter (@Telegraph_DonH).