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Letter: Crown travel bus a piece of Williams history

To the editor:

I read with interest the article that said it is time to retire the old Crown school bus. What I would like to add is, as Paul Harvey would say, "The Rest of The Story."

The old Crown school bus was purchased in 1970 a few months after I was born. It was the very first bus that Williams schools purchased after purchasing the school buses from my family. My grandfather, Fred Augenstein, and my dad, John Augenstein, went to California to pick the bus up brand new off of the Crown bus lot, and drove it home. Let's be clear from the beginning, that was never really purchased as a school bus. While it first came as a traditional yellow school bus, it was rarely used on any local routes. What it was purchased for was as a travel bus.

In the 1980s, its days as a school bus were over, but it was still sound and treasured as a travel bus so it was worked out to have it painted white and all of the school bus insignias removed, and of course the Vikings murals were added. What a piece of school pride!

Many of you know that my dad passed away a little over three years ago, and over the years that bus was always his pride and joy. He even has a plaque from around 1977 that says, "Go Johnny Go," that was given to him by the school district because of that bus.

Here is why that bus is such an important part of Williams history. When Williams schools would arrive at a football game, basketball game, or any other event in that bus, every other school in the state knew it was Williams. That bus is, and was, distinctive and brought a lot of pride where ever it went, especially after it was painted white with the murals added. The community of Williams always supported its athletes, band members, or school class projects. It seemed wherever Williams schools went, there were a host of followers going along, but that bus was always last coming out of Antelope, Camp Verde, or Round Valley. Do you have any idea how many times a community member was picked up that had car trouble along the way? It was always last so it had to be reliable, and it always was.

One of the trips that was so exciting was the second grade used to do an annual trip to the Phoenix Zoo, and those kids would be so excited not only to go to the zoo, but they got to ride the bus. You can trust me on this one. I was one of those second graders once.

Most school buses last maybe 10 years, and they don't mean too much to anyone. This bus has lasted generations. How many kids did it bring home over the years? I have no idea, but what I do know is that it brought everyone home for over 30 years. The entire Williams community could always count on that bus coming home each and every time from nearby and far away.

Bringing kids home is job one to any school bus, but this one did it in the worst weather and over some of the longest distances. It did do one more thing over the years - it created a lot of school pride. The letter this last week said that it had been years since this bus has been requested, and I can't fault anyone for that because it isn't seen regularly anymore like it used to be. In its day, no one would take anything but the Crown on a school trip. When the school recently parked it outside the bus barn, the sight of it brought back many fond memories for many Williams alumni. There is a lot of emotion tied to that old Crown school bus for those of us who know even a small part of the history here.

I don't know how many kids that bus brought home, but I do know of two, Jeff and Brian Augenstein. Wherever we went through the years we were proud to have ridden and always came home. I would like to propose to the School Board that there should be a way to honor John Augenstein and the Williams community by preserving this old bus in some way. I am willing to put my time into this project. My dad, grandmother, and grandfather drove school buses for years and years for Williams public schools, and I think there should be some way to preserve the school pride and community asset that is the old white Crown school bus.

Jeff Augenstein

Williams


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