Johnson retires after more than 40 years of driving

After more than 4o years of serving as a bus driver at Good Shepherd Christian Preschool of Stanton, driver Tom Johnson is calling it a career.
Johnson, who made his retirement official on May 23, has strong, deep ties to Stanton and the Montgomery County area.
“I was born and raised here in Stanton. I went to school here and all my kids graduated from here. Several of my grandkids graduated from Stanton. Not all of them, but three of them did. We have six grandkids and six great-grandkids and another grandchild on the way. Most of them are right around here, all the way from Greenville to around Stanton, but we have a grandson that lives down in Georgia as well,” explained Johnson. “I married a girl from Stanton, too, so me, my wife, and portions of my family have been here all our lives.”
While Johnson has driven for Good Sheperd for more than 40 years, he said he was almost a driver for much longer.
“I was going to drive the school bus back in the mid-’70s. I started one year and the weather just scared me to death. Driving in the snow and everything just bothered me terribly, so I quit that year. After that, I started again around 1983, and was a driver from then to the end of this school year,” stated Johnson.
Initially, Johnson said bus driving was only going to be a temporary gig, but it became much more.
“I was going to do it just until farming got better, because I farm, too. It was just to help generate more income for the family and the farm and everything, but then I just stuck with it. I got to like driving for the little kids, and I just loved the little preschoolers. I transported preschoolers from preschool down to daycare. Then I’d pick up at daycare and take them to the preschool every day around 11 to 12 o’clock. They’re just a ball, those little ones,” commented Johnson. “I also drove for many years to ball games about every other night. I handled a lot of activity trips to Omaha, Des Moines, wherever they wanted to go. I took the fifth grade to Springbrook every year for several years. That was a lot of fun too. We had campfires and other activities, and there were a lot of memories.”
As a bus driver for Good Shepherd, Johnson also got the opportunity to watch family grow up from the driver’s seat, as well as many other generations.
“I’ve been able to drive all my own kids and some of my grandkids. They have a luncheon the last day of school and they recognized me. There was a para that spoke that was a neighbor to us out on the farm. She spoke during the luncheon and said there were four generations of her family I’d hauled on the bus. That was a unique experience, driving for kids, and then driving the children of those kids, and then, if they stayed around, being able to drive the grandkids of those kids.”
Over the years, Johnson said driving the school bus has become a different experience thanks to technology advances.
“It definitely changed some from when I first started. We’ve got buses now that are automatic transmissions, and they never were back then. We’ve also got a little electric button we push now that opens and closes the doors, and a button we push that puts the stop sign out. The small special education bus is air-conditioned now, as well,” advised Johnson. “Beyond the changes in technology, the rural area has really changed. We have fewer and fewer farmsteads out there than what we had when I started, and way less kids are living out in the country. I used to have a full bus load of kids from the country when I started, now my bus gets filles after I pick up the kids from daycare.”
For Johnson, he said there are several aspects of his job that he’s found very rewarding.
“I’ve been able to enjoy doing a lot for the community and for the school. In fact, when I told them I was going to retire, I even apologized and said I hated to do it because I know bud driver’s are hard to find, but they said, ‘you’ve done plenty for the school.’ To hear them say that, is a good feeling,” Johnson said.
As for the decision to retire, Johnson said it was based on several factors.
“I’ll be 75 in October, and throughout all my years of driving, I’ve never hurt a student, I’ve never had a wreck, and I don’t want to. I’m getting a little slower, and you don’t think as quick as you used to. I’ve got a good record. I don’t want to go to the large cities anymore and make those night trips. With that in mind, I decided it was a good time to retire and let somebody young pick it up that wants to do more driving. Big city driving especially made me nervous anymore when i was driving a big bus,” Johnson explained. “One year I went to Des Moines with the fourth graders, and we went Capitol, Living History Farms, and the Science Center in one day. When we came out of the Science Center, it was just about rush hour. I was younger then so dealing with that heavy traffic wasn’t a big issue, but I would never want that now.”
While he’s at peace with the decision to retire, Johnson said he’s going to miss seeing the kids on a regular basis.
“I’m known as Mr. Tom around the preschool. In the afternoons when I go and pick up the PM route, the little ones come walking down the sidewalk and say, ‘Hi, Mr. Tom.’ It sticks with you, and it’s going to be the kids,  I’ll miss the most. I’ll still come back and visit. They want me to come back. When I announced I was retiring, they made it a point to tell me not to forget about them,” stated Johnson.
Johnson also shared what he plans to do with his free time now that hre’s retired from driving.
“I’m just staying around home here. We keep a couple great-granddaughters three to four days a week, and that keeps us pretty busy. I’ll hopefully be able to spend more time with the rest of the grandkids, going to ballgames and the other programs they have in school. I will enjoy being able to spend more time with family and not have to be in a hurry and watch the clock every day to see when I’m supposed to be in town. My days will be bore relaxing, which by 75 they should be.”
Johnson shared a final message to the staff he’s worked with, the kids he’s driven to school who became parents of their own, and everyone else around the community he’s driven for.
“I’ve really enjoyed them. There’s a lot of good students and a lot of nice families, and it really showed when I retired because I got more gift cards and letters than I ever could have imagined. The kids made me posters and gifts they had made as well. It just floored me to know what everybody’s done for me. They had the whole yard full of middle school through high school kids when I made my last pickup that day, and the principal got on the bus and said I was a legend and a hero. It was quite a tear jerker, but I made it through it. They’ve been good people to work with, the administration and teachers and coaches. They’ve all been great over the years,” said Johnson.