Does anybody else remember an older, slight of build gentleman who we knew simply as Mr. Smith who was a janitor at Ator elementary in the early 1970s? He was also the evening bus driver on Bus 3 for a number of years during that period? When I get older and think of the grandfatherly figures Ive known in my life, I always think I want to be remembered like Mr. Smith is to me. I never remember this man raising his voice, even though he had a long bus route with a number of personalities that would challenge patience. He always seemed to be able to cope with the situation without getting upset. For the younger kids like me, if we wanted to be helpful with things like opening the bus door on the route, much like my own grandfather, he always found a way to allow us to do that. (that wouldnt likely be allowed today even if we still had manually opening doors. It would likely be called Child Endangerment to allow us to stand there and operate the door. That wasnt the world we lived in at that time, though. At that time, it was considered normal.) I still remember his voice, adn the way he dealt with us and spoke with us, and he really was like a gentle, patient grandfather. He had a sense of humor that most of us would think is corny now, but it worked with the kids he was working with, although he wasnt really a cut-up. The main joke I remember from him was how he would look out at a field and see cattle there and say, Theres a lot of hamburger out there. For several months, I agreed, not knowing what he meant, but I remembered it one day when riding in the car with my dad and asked him what that meant. My dad then explained it to me. I heard a rumor before I graduated that Mr. Smith had a heart attack and died, but who knows what to believe off of the rumor mill - I dont really know what became of him. I have only pleasant memories of him, but because of his quiet, gentle demeanor, and his position, I dont think many people will know who he was, or have any memory of him. He is one of my favorite memories from my days growing up in Owasso schools, though. If anyone recognizes who Im talking about, especially if one of his relatives is on the board, he is very fondly remembered.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 01:24:23 +0000
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