Ron’s dad used to be a school bus driver. His dad owned three school buses. Since he hoped that his son would be part of the business, he allowed Ron to drive his first vehicle in 1943 at the age of 12. Ron would practise driving with an old 1926 Dodge four-door convertible.
At one point, it had been a very fancy car, as it was one of the first cars with hydraulic brakes. There were not many 12 year olds who got to drive like Ron did, so he felt pretty special. Ron practised his driving on the back roads of Hockley Valley. He also had a chance to practise on their long family driveway, which made learning a little easier, because it was so straight.
Ron had a sister named Grace. She was older than Ron by three years. Grace had learned to drive before Ron, so he would always have a chance to ride with her on the bus she drove and learn from her. Eventually Ron got his driver's license the day after he turned 16, and from that day on he only grew to love driving more.
Ron always loved to drive because he had the chance to see lots of places in North America. One of his favourite places to go was always Quebec City. He loved Quebec because it was a very historical and beautiful place. Ron also really loved going to Ottawa.
It’s good he liked it there, because he travelled there 10 to 15 times a year during his working life. Toronto also was a frequent destination for Ron. Ron’s life changed significantly in 1965, when he was just 34 years old. His father had just celebrated his 63rd birthday when he was suddenly admitted to the hospital eight days after that.
He died only a day or two later. With his father gone, his mother didn’t know what to do with the family’s busing business. Ron had always loved driving and loved people, so he decided to take over the family business after his father passed away. His sister Grace already had responsibilities on a farm, so Ron took over the company.
So Ron started out as a school bus driver for the company that he now owned. The buses would drive mainly around Orangeville, and only focused on students and schools. It was a family-run school bus company. Over time, Ron’s bus business grew.
After acquiring only a few buses from his father, Ron went on to buy about 150 buses from a company called Bluebird over the course of his career. As buses only really lasted about 10 years, Ron also sold 87 buses over the course of his career. He bought so many buses because he had so many drivers and routes that needed service. He also sold so many buses because the buses only lasted for about 10 years in Canada.
With all the snow, ice and salt used on the roads, the buses would rust quickly. Ron ended up selling the used buses to a man who brought them to Cuba, where they would probably be driven for an additional 25 years. In the end, Ron drove buses for a total of 34 years. Then he sold the business.
He considers himself lucky to have had a job that helped him provide for his family, and allowed him to meet people, travel and do something that he loved.