My grandmother, Orpah Mae Osborne, began driving a "carrying truck" at the age of 18 in 1949 in the Lewis County school district in Tollesboro Kentucky.
When she first began driving, registered under her husbands name, she hauled kids to school in the "carrying truck" which had two wooden benches on each side of the truck.
Over the years and as time went on, and years started racking up, she went through many buses, along with many sorts, as one of her busses that she drove at one point in her life is now touring around the country as they show it off, at car and automobile shows. I believe it is now valued at many thousands of dollars.
Now at the age of 69 and still going strong she has driven over four generations of families to school, without an accident.(Emphasis added by me..Frank)
As for retirement, who knows.... she just started I believe it would be her 51st year of hauling k-12 to school. She could be known as one of the "pioneers" or "grandfather", and in her case "grandmothers", of school bus driving.
She has completed 50 years of hauling kids safely to school and now hopefully she still got a few left in her....

Sent in by her grandson - Marc Harrison

...(11/30/02)

It's great to see a site dedicated to the pupil transportation engineers of America.

I followed my grandmother's tracks. She drove 6 high school students in a Chevrolet Touring car in 1907-08. I have the the black and yellow sign from that car.

I'm approaching thirty years of school bus driving. I've been licensed and driven in suburban NJ,the Blue Ridge Mountains of VA., and now in the inner city of Springfield, MA.

My sister, my niece and now my daughter-in-law all drive or have driven. That makes four genrations. Maybe a record for one family.

Some day I just might write a book of experiences we've all had. I've always said it would be called "The Life and Times of a Demented School Bus Driver."

People expect the horror stories and they know nothing of the rewards we get from "our kids"

I wouldn't change one day of those may years.

Christine Simonoff
Bus #MB38
Springfield, Mass.

I have been a bus driver for Newark City Schools in Newark, Ohio for 20 years.
In the month of April 1980, I was in a restaurant eating breakfast with a friend when I told her that I needed a job.
At a table beside us were 6 bus drivers, and one of them told me,
Hey, became a bus driver!
Her name was Elmia "Moe" Patrick.
I said, I would check it out. A couple of days later, I went to the bus garage filled out a app., 2 days later "Moe" was training me how to drive one of these big motherships!
Define mothership! yes, sometimes it is a mother to drive and big as a ship!
"Moe" was the best trainer, she told me what to do, how to do it, and when to do it!
Now, some of you veterans should know that training that long ago, was easy, but today it is hard for all the regs, and laws, that have been passed for us to do today.
"Moe" was a hard worker, she even had 2 other jobs, besides driving. I started to get to know her and her friends.
10 years ago we started to go on vacation together, there was 6 drivers. Every year for 7 years we would rent a cabin at a state park, and just relax one week after school let out.
Everyone loved "Moe" and you could talk to her about anything and she would sit there and listen.
On the 7th year of our vacation "Moe" started to feel ill.
Myself and the other drivers told her when we get back please go to your doctor!
Two years later "Moe" passed away!
As I said everyone loved "Moe", so I organized all the drivers together to say a final good-bye to our friend and fellow driver.
So, the day before her funeral, all 35 drivers met in a parking lot up the street from the funeral home.
Every bus driver, by seniorty, on a two lane highway, side by side, drove down a busy street and parked
the buses in front of the funeral home.
At that time I got on the radio and said follow my directions, ambers on please, doors please, which caused all red warning lights to come on, then sound horn, which, I said before, there were 35 buses side by side doing everything I said.
In the other 2 lanes of traffic heading towards us STOPPED! There was even 2 other school buses from other districts even put there 4 ways flasher on. Now that is respect for other drivers.
That is how we said our final good-bye to "Moe"!
She loved driving and also the students and they loved her!
She drove for 29 years for Newark City Schools. And even today she is still sadly missed.
Bless you "MOE" for teaching me to drive the bus, that I love to do every day of the school year for the past 20 years.
Miss you "Moe".

Sent to us by her friend Tommy Sue Adam
Bus # D-52, Newark City Schools in Newark, Ohio

GOTTA LOVE THE 3rd & 4th PARAGRAPHS!...
THIS ALL TOOK PLACE WHILE RAISING MY BROTHER, MY SISTER AND ME.
WHEN I ASKED MY MOM TO GIVE ME HER HISTORY OF BUSING THIS IS WHAT SHE WROTE...

"I WANTED A 1966 CORVETTE, SO I WENT TO WORK AS A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER IN 1972 FOR FRED OF BROOKSIDE BUS.
MY FIRST ASSIGNMENT WAS TO DRIVE THE "LAKE BOON BUMS". IN A 1958 54 PASSENGER 4 SPEED BUS, INTO WHICH I CRAMMED AT LEAST 54 KIDS COMPLETE WITH SKATES, HOCKEY STICKS, BOOK BAGS, LUNCH BUCKETS, AND ASSORTED OTHER USELESS GARBAGE AND BAGGAGE. IT WORKED: NO ONE COULD LIFT AN ARM OR FIST TO HIT, THROW THINGS OR OTHERWISE ANTAGONIZE OTHER KIDS!

EVENTUALLY I WORKED MY WAY UP THE LADDER AND OUT OF THE SWAMP KNOWN AS LAKE BOON.

OVER A PERIOD OF TIME, I DROVE THE MAYNARD VOC TECH KIDS TO ASSABET VALLEY VOC. TECH. IN HUDSON, DROVE KINDERGARTEN AND THE LATE BUS RUNS, DROVE FIELD TRIPS IN AND OUT OF BOSTON, TO STURBRIDGE, TO PLYMOUTH, TO NH. AND TO WHEREVER ELSE I WAS NEEDED! I DROVE DOUBLE RUNS IN THE MORNING, AND AGAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. I DROVE THE SR. CITIZENS TO THEIR WEEKLY LUNCHEONS AND ON THEIR FIELD TRIPS TO THE SHOPPING MALLS ALL OVER THE GREATER BOSTON AREA.
FINALLY THE STOW / BOLTON BUS CONTRACT WAS AWARDED TO A MUCH LARGER COMPANY KNOWN AS WELLESLEY MOTOR COACH. THE YEAR WAS 1985 AND IT WAS THE END OF BROOKSIDE BUS. WHICH WAS LOCATED IN A CORN FIELD NEAR THE CENTER OF STOW MA. SO LONG TO MY PIPE-CHEWING BOSS / FARMER FOR 13 YEARS. NOW INTO BIGGER THINGS!

MY BIGGEST SURPRISE CAME WHEN I WAS ASKED BY THE PERSONNEL MANAGER OF WELLESLEY MOTOR COACH TO BE THE CONTRACT SUPERVISOR FOR THE NEW 5 YEAR CONTRACT.
THIS WOULD MEAN DEALING WITH 1 HIGH SCHOOL, 1 JR. HIGH, 3 ELEMENTRY SCHOOLS, 1 VOCATIONAL REGIONAL TECH. SCHOOL., 3 SUPERINTENDENTS, SCHOOL PERSONNEL AND THE GREATEST OF ALL, THE PARENTS OF ALL THESE LOVELY KIDS! I WOULD ALSO BE IN CHARGE OF 19 DRIVERS, MONTHLY SAFETY MEETINGS, PAYROLL, AND WEEKLY NEWS BULLETIN FOR THE DRIVERS, AS WELL AS THE MAINTENANCE ON THE 23 BUSES, AND THE BIGGEST JOB OF ALL: SETTING UP THE ROUTES FOR ALL 6 SCHOOLS!
MY SUMMER OF 1985 WAS COMPLETELY TAKEN UP WITH SUCH MUNDANE CHORES AS PINNING TOWN MAPS TO FIND OUT WHERE THE STUDENT POPULATION LIVED, TRAINING DRIVERS TO BECOME LICENSED, MAKING SURE ALL THE DRIVERS KNEW WHERE THEIR ROUTES WENT, AND STOPS WERE, AND THE BEST OF ALL WELCOMING A FLEET OF SHINY YELLOW BUSES!
LATE IN AUGUST, THE "SHINY YELLOW BUSES" BEGAN TO ARRIVE -- COMPLETE WITH HOLES IN THE FLOORBOARDS, FENDERS FLAPPING IN THE BREEZE, DOORS FALLING OFF THE HINGES, EXHAUST SYSTEMS MISSING ATTACHMENTS, LEAKING BRAKE LINES, LEAKING HOSES, NOISY THROW OUT BEARINGS, WORN WHEEL BEARINGS, AND EVEN A TIE ROD END WHICH "LET GO", TO SAY NOTHING OF THE WINDOWS WHICH WOULD NOT OPEN OR WOULD NOT SHUT, AND THE PAY OFF BEING THE BUS ( LOADED WITH STUDENTS ) WHICH CAME BACK INTO THE LOT WITH THE ENTRY DOOR LYING IN THE AISLE...
IF I SEEM HALF CRAZED, IT MAY BE DUE TO THE FACT I KEPT SAID JOB UNTIL 1993 WHEN I MOVED TO MAINE AND "RETIRED".

DURING MY YEARS AS A CONTRACT SUPERVISOR, WELLESLY MOTOR COACH WAS BOUGHT OUT BY RYDER STUDENT TRANSPORTATION AND THE THINGS IMPROVED OVERNIGHT. BRAND NEW BUSES CAME ONTO THE SCENE, FOR ONE THING. ALONG WITH MY ASSORTED DUTIES MENTIONED ABOVE, I ALSO HAD TO DRIVE RUNS WHEN DRIVERS DID NOT SHOW UP. THIS ENSURED THE FACT THAT I DID NOT GET BORED ON THE JOB!

NOW I LIVE IN MAINE AND FOR 3 YEARS I STAYED AWAY FROM ANYTHING WHICH RESEMBLED A SCHOOL BUS, NEW OR OLD. THEN THE OLD FEELING OVERCAME ME, PARTLY DUE TO THE FACT THAT DAUGHTER SARAH AND HER DAD BOTH BEGAN DRIVING SCHOOL BUSES IN MAINE, AND DAUGHTER KATIE WHO LIVES IN MA. ALSO IS A SCHOOL BUS DRIVER.
SO HERE I AM, A SPARE DRIVER FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS HERE IN MAINE. WHAT NEXT?

YOU DID A GREAT JOB MOM!....LOVE SARAH

I have been driving 30 years in Monroe Township.
25 with board of education. and 5 with contractor.
I am retiring in December with 25 years with Monroe Twp Board of Ed.

I know I will miss my job but its time for traveling.
I am 56 and its time to move on.

Pat Dudik
Monroe Twp., Middlesex, New Jersey
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