Owner-Operators’ Last Day—

A Fond Farewell To Newtown’s Bus Drivers

By Kendra Bobowick

They were laughing, sharing stories, but also saying goodbye. Newtown’s owner-operator bus drivers’ last day on the job was official on Saturday, June 30 — ending approximately 80 years of shuttling generations of students to and from school. A day earlier, supporters organized a picnic and farewell event held on the lawn at Fairfield Hills. Hand drawn signs spelled out “thank you” and covering the lawn were posters where children drew pictures and wrote their names for the drivers that met them at the bus stop every school day. Thirty-three drivers and several past drivers attended the picnic on June 29.

The day’s picnic sent a message to the owner-operators: “We value you,” First Selectman Pat Llodra said several days later. The end of the owner-operators’ contract will also end a “tradition” in Newtown Mrs Llodra noted. “We didn’t want it to disappear without recognition.”

She said, “We rejoice in their service and the loyalty that we received in the past and, are confident we’ll be fine in the future. It’s a shift in our community.”

Coordinating the day’s celebration was resident Roseanne Loring, who also later shared her sentiments via e-mail: “They have meant so much to so many people over all these years and so many people wanted to make sure our drivers had a happy send off. It was a good run!”

Mrs Llodra was glad to see so many supporters arrive despite the 90-degree afternoon. “We are going forward, but are looking back fondly.”

Mingling with friends and supporters on June 29 were drivers wearing school-bus yellow T-shirts, including Melinda Cash, married to driver John Cash, Jr, who followed in his father John Cash, Sr’s footsteps by getting behind the wheel of a school bus. “[John, Sr] drove for 40 years,” Ms Cash said of her father-in-law. And her husband has been driving “for as long as I can remember.” Her husband’s aunt Teresa Cash and brother Jason Cash also drove. “It was a family affair,” she said.

As she spoke with guests during the picnic, she said, “So many people kept telling my husband, ‘You drove my kids, and your father took me…’”

The final days of her bus run were “really hard,” she said. “I saw [handmade signs] every time I turned a corner.” On many lawns throughout town were hand drawn signs thanking the owner-operators.

As guests arrived to Friday’s picnic, Ed Bryan kept burgers turning on the grill. William and Sarah and Baby Ella Henckel stood with their mother Tina and long-time driver Marsha Moskowitz who formerly drove Bus 30. Lee Glover and Mae Schmidle shared a hug as she passed out one of the 500 stickers she made that said, “We Love Newtown Bus Drivers.”

Both the Republican and Democratic Town Committees contributed to the day’s events and refreshments. John Voket provided acoustic music and entertainment.

At a table set up on the lawn were books dedicated to each driver. Students, including Christopher Mattera, took time to sign their names and leave a note for their bus drivers.

Nearby were sisters Cierra, Ava, and June Cash, each writing on a poster for their father, John.

As guests enjoyed a late lunch and refreshments, drivers soon gathered in an open field near signs that said, “Thank you, and thank you owner-operators.” Standing with the operators who drove for her Parks and Recreation Department programs was Assistant Director RoseAnn Reggiano. With her were Phyllis Page, Beth Koschel, Jim Tomassetti, Marsh Moskowitz, and Denise Buckley.

Stories From The Bus Stop

Mrs Llodra said, “We all have our bus stories. There is a special relationship that developed in many cases. I really loved to see Gary Wheeler come by and know my kids were on his bus.” She said, “I know the letting go is difficult.”

Ms Loring said, “The owner-operators were a staple … the sentiment for those drivers ran very high. Personally, I was always grateful to the late Joe Corbo who was a longtime driver. He, like so many drivers, delivered our children safely home in many a terrible storm.”

Recalling one blizzard in particular, she said, “He was running way behind schedule — not surprisingly, of course. A group of us parents gathered at the bus stop, waiting and worrying.” In the days before cellphones, Ms Loring and other parents wondered whether they should go out to try to find his bus. “Sure enough, late but safe, Joe turned the corner,” she said. “It had been a harrowing trip but he made it, as he always did. Never worried a day since that one.”

Ms Loring had another memory of Mr Corbo. “Our younger son had a habit of getting motion sickness on the bus. After one too many incidents, Joe decided it was in his best interest to provide a brown paper bag to our son upon entering the bus. If not needed that time, it was returned until a later date. Our son is now grown but still remembers Joe and chuckles over that!”

The bus drivers knew each child’s name, gave out their cell numbers to parents, and didn’t think twice about going around the block if a parent wasn’t waiting there for the first pass, Ms Loring said. “How many children had a bus driver who honked the horn as a warning as he passed by? It was your cue to get moving, you’d be picked up on the way back,” she said. Parents and children saw their driver at the grocery store, on the baseball field, at concerts, in church. Ms Loring said, “They were Newtowners, just like the rest of us. They drove field trips and volunteered their services — on their own time and own dime — for many community events.”

Resident Bridget Seaman rode the buses, and so did her children. At the picnic on June 29, she carried old photographs of her brothers getting on a bus — a station wagon from 1952. She pointed to one with three people facing away from the camera: a woman in a long dress opening the back door for two boys. Ms Seaman said, “That’s Mrs Beardsley, one of the early owner-operators picking up my two oldest brothers for school, Mark and Paul Seaman.” She laughed at the “really old-time bus,” and asked, “I wonder when we started with the big yellow buses?”

 She held another picture taken approximately 23 years ago. Driving the bus was Charlie Rudolph (late father of current o-o Beth Rudolph Koschel) dropping off her son Matt from his first day of first grade as his dog Harley greeted him. For years Ms Seaman had not known who the driver was in that photograph, but solved the mystery at the picnic. “Beth Koschel recognized the little bit of antler from the deer Mr Rudolph had painted on the side of his bus.”

Ms Seaman also had another “Mr Deer” story to tell. Her son had missed his regular bus one day and returned home explaining that “Mr Deer” had brought him home. Mr Rudolph, Matt’s former driver, had recognized him and brought him home.

The new bus driver contract for Newtown is with All-Star Transportation, and began July 1.