Filthy Fun

A Texas portable sanitation contractor gets down and dirty while promoting the company name at a mud bog event.

Proud grandmom Charlotte Ison, owner of B & C Portable Toilets in Pampa, Texas, provided this photo of grandson Coby Smith, 16, running his van in a local mud bog event.

Ison’s company provided the restrooms for the event, which raises money for industrial tech school programming in the Texas Panhandle community. One of her Satellite Industries Inc. restrooms is seen on location in the background. While she provides 10-15 restrooms for the event and a rodeo held at the same location, organizers pay for deodorants and other supplies.

Mud bogging is a popular recreational pastime where drivers try to keep their vehicles running through a trench of mud without stalling. Successful boggers receive trophies, which are shown in the background of the photo. Smith, who works with the restroom company, has become a crack mechanic, fixing up the Ford van for the competition. A friend of the family provided graphics for the side of the van to promote the restroom company.

“We’re really close with the City of Pampa and we sponsor a lot of things in town,’’ Ison says. “Everywhere we can put our name, we do so.’’ In addition to vehicle signage, Ison says the company name is emblazoned on hundreds of small footballs handed out at local high school football games. Smith is a member of the football team.

Ison bought the existing portable sanitation business when its owner retired in 2001. She handles the administration and marketing, while son Brian Smith, a longtime portable restroom operator, handles operations. The company maintains about 400 restrooms and also does pressure washing, trenching and cleans grease traps.

In addition to the mud bogging, Smith and Ison’s other grandson, Tyler Smith, 12, participate in burnouts, automotive events sponsored by the local sheriff’s department for kids who enjoy tinkering with cars. As for the mud bogging, Ison says it’s an important small-town tradition.

“This is redneck in the Texas Panhandle,” Ison jokes. “On hot days, the trucks spray the water on the people and everybody cools off.’’



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