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Another Rudolph On The Road

(with photo)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

To hundreds of Newtown kids, he was known as "Uncle Charlie," but to his

daughter, he was simply known as Dad.

So Beth Rudolph-Koschel couldn't help but feel a little strange last September

when she sat down in the driver's seat of school bus number 16 that first

morning.

Afterall, it was the same bus number 16 that her father, Charlie Rudolph, had

been driving for nearly 30 years. She would been filling some pretty big

shoes; the shoes of a man who had made friends with so many youngsters over

the years, but who had died unexpectedly a year ago this week at age 70.

"My father had always wanted me to take over his route someday," Mrs Rudolph

Koschel explained Tuesday. "It was a little sad that first day, but it was

nice just the same."

Ever since, bus number 16's new driver has been carrying on her father's

tradition of safe driving and love of people.

"My dad always tried to help out others when he could. He taught me to work

hard and be good to people," Mrs Rudolph-Koschel said.

The passing-down-of-the-bus has worked out great, according to Schools

Transportation Director Mary Kelley, who called it a testimony to Newtown's

owner-operator system, one of only two in Connecticut.

"Beth has become an asset, distinguishing herself with her kind and caring

ways," Mrs Kelley said.

The Evergreen Road resident has had her bus driving license for three years

now and had already been doing her share of driving prior to her father's

death. She filled in for Charlie on Fridays and occasionally substituted for

Tom Adams. Driving bus number 16, she has many of the same routes that her

father had and many of the same students who had been riding with him for

years.

Her first year of driving was filled with children telling fond stories about

"Uncle Charlie," well-known for his outgoing, boisterous style. The heartfelt

comments were especially gratifying to Mrs Rudolph-Koschel, 37, who was very

close to her father. Afterall, she was the only girl and the youngest of

three.

"He developed a special friendship with a lot of the kids. I remember one

eight-year-old boy said to me, `Your father was such a wonderful man.'"

A longtime Newtown resident, Mrs Rudolph-Koschel graduated from Newtown High

School in 1979 and married Kevin Koschel of Danbury a few years later. Since

being married, she was always known as Beth Koschel, but opted to hyphenate

her name last year to show both children and parents that she was indeed...the

daughter of the late Charlie Rudolph.

In addition to her bus-driving duties, Mrs Rudolph-Koschel runs a bakery

called "Special Occasions" out of her basement with Irene Cappellini, her

godmother. She is also the proud mother of two daughters, Kayla, 10, and

Marley, 7.