After 55 years of safe drop offs Rocky View school bus driver finishes his last route
Murray Poffenroth started driving kids to Kathryn School in the winter of 1967 after things got slow on the farm. Now 73, he made his final drop off Tuesday on the last day of school.
"Quite honestly I don't think I really thought about it, I thought, 'they need a bus driver,'" says Poffenroth.
Eventually he switched routes, driving kids to and from Beiseker Community School, which interrupted his legacy with the Wright family.
Leonard Wright started riding Murray's Kathryn route in the early 1970's.
"My son started riding on that same bus and unless Murray's bus route had changed, it would have been the third generation," Leonard said.
"I think that takes a special person to just stay so focused, and accident and dent-free for 55 years is kind of something."
He said kids quickly figured out that despite being a friendly man with a quick smile, his bus was all business.
"He kept his bus well-disciplined," Leonard said, laughing. "We always tried stuff with Murray, but once you were on his bus for a month, you knew. Might as well just ride."
Leonard's son Curtis said nothing had changed years later when he boarded Poffenroth's bus for the first time.
"He didn't have to say a word, it was the look on Murray's face," Curtis said.
"You didn't want to make him mad because if you saw him at the next community function he could scold you or tell your parents."
FOCUS WAS ALWAYS ON THE ROAD
His focus was always on the road, watching what was happening, keeping the kids safe. People in the community say his attention was constant.
His focus was always on the road, watching what was happening, keeping the kids safe. People in the community say his attention was constant.
"Honestly, it's been the last few months since I've decided to retire that it really hits home, what a huge responsibility it really is," said Poffenroth.
"There's traffic that upsets you, there's all of a sudden your wipers start to freeze up on you -- there are things that upset you but you really do have to stay focused," he said.
"You have to kind of show the kids that this is not an issue. We're going to get through this. It's just another day."
It wasn't always easy. Blizzards, hailstorms and fog all created dangerous days that required all Poffenroth had to give. It was a lot.
He said there was one left turn onto Highway 9 south of Beiseker that could be frightening in heavy fog.
"There was mornings that you couldn't see 50 feet out in that - you'd keep your door open, your window - try and try and listen for something," he said. "He'd look into the mist for signs of headlights and just hope drivers had them on.
"At the end you just had to take a chance."
But his perfect record shows whatever he was doing worked.
"I thank the Lord for watching over me every day. I really do."
Times have changed some. The buses offer a smoother ride with fewer big bounces for kids in the back seat.
"Murray had a longer bus and if you sat at the back and you hit a train track or whatever, you'd bounce a foot and a half out of the seat with no seatbelts. You know back then it was actually just fun," said Curtis.
It's also become quieter as buses modernized and provincial regulations allowed fewer kids on board. Now he says kids are often so focused on their phones or music, sometimes a whole trip passes with hardly a word.
"I've got a very good bunch of children on the bus. They're just excellent and they've got an excellent set of parents backing them up."
He said he couldn't have made it all those years without his family, especially his wife, who often had to take over his work on the farm when it was time to leave for school.
As for retiring after all this time, he said there are some mixed feelings.
"I guess I'm going to say I'm going to quit while I'm ahead," he said with a big laugh.
After wearing out eight school buses and driving more than an estimated 1.6 million kilometres, he's earned it.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.