BusTalk

[Mr. Linsky]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Another view of the restored "Rosa Parks Bus".......

http://www.michigantoday.net/images/P10101292.JPG

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Mr. "L":

THANK YOU for sharing such a memorable and interesting story!

I readilly identified with "Jonesy", as my fear of death and anything connecting with death is quite well known with anyone who knows me well!

Some twenty-odd years ago, I became good friends with an African-American NJT driver (a PSNJ vet) named Mike.

Mike was a congenial, friendly fellow, who bore a close resemblence to acting legend Sidney Poitier. As I was the first passenger to board the Hoboken-bound #181 in the early AM, we always had several minutes to kibbitz before it was time to pull out.

When I told him about my interest in buses, he told me that he had a surprise for me.

Imagine my surprise when, one morning, he presented me with his old PSNJ jacket and uniform cap!

The jacket (from a tailor in Newark) fitted me as though it had been tailored to fit yours truly!

He regretted that he had lost the cap badge, but I certainly was not about to complain!

What a kind and generous gift!

He also gave me his plastic PSNJ "YOUR OPERATOR IS......"plate.....I have that proudly displayed with some of my bus collection!

I know he is long since retired....wherever he is, I wish him well!

Over the years, I knew several African-American drivers, and I always enjoyed the brief chances we had to talk.......these fellows knew their stuff!

As with all aspects of our transportation hobby, race never mattered to me.......I was quite fortunate to be born color blind!

I often think of what courage it took for the early African-American bus drivers/operators/motormen for them to work in an enviroment that could be often less than congenial.

Those fellows still with us, surely, could certainly share some interesting tales with us, today in 2014........

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, most buses ran either nearly empty or totally empty, save for the driver.

In this photo, we see the empty interior of an Old Look, the driver being the only one aboard......

http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2008/mlk/mlk_08.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

All:

I feel it is also important that mention be made of the famous "Freedom Rides" of the earlly 60's; many photos of that turbulent yet courageous era document now-historic motor coaches.

In this early 1960's scene, an arrow points to a TRAILWAYS Flxible VISTA-LINER departing with a load of Freedom Riders...........

http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/fr-mont6.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Several photos of interest here......

http://philip.greenspun.com/travel/summer94/civil-rights-museum

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

This vintage photo shows a bus driver (obviously between runs) from South Africa.

From this man's face, once can see that he is a veteran of his trade for quite some time, and that he has experienced a great deal of life behind the wheel......

http://www.mikeomeally.com/files/images/4_South_African_Bus_Driver.preview.jpg

[JimmiB]

This wasn't strictly a Southern problem either. In Pennsylvania, the Reading Bus Co. had an unwritten policy that they only hired white married men. It was somewhere around 1965 that they hired their first African/American driver. His name was Charlie Smith and we became close friends. We used to go out for a few cold ones on a Saturday night. One night I took him as a guest into a fire company club that I belonged to. The next day I was told "Don't you EVER bring a (N word) into the club again or you're out".
The next Saturday he took me as a guest into a black private club. I heard the bartender tell him to never bring a honkey in here again. We agreed that we were now even. While not perfect, things are a lot better now.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

JimmiB:

Glad you shared these experiences with us; sadly, racists and bigots can be found in EVERY ethnic group.......the thing for us to do is to focus the good people and relegate the ignorant to the backs of our minds!

I worked in lower Manhattan from 1979 until 2003; I worked with hundreds of people, of all races and colors, and I was most fortunate to have many friends amongst them.

Of course, there were the bigots and racists (of all types), and, the best thing to do, was simply ignore them and rise above the ignorance.

Though the overwhelming majority of bus drivers in my day (in Northern NJ) were white, I do remember seeing African-American guys behind the wheel in a number of occassions, and, to a young boy who loved buses and thought their drivers were heros, the color of their skin meant nothing to me.

Thankfully, this way of thinking has stayed with me right up to the present day.

Though white, I didn't feel comfortable at times when I took bus tours down back in the early 90's; anything that gave even the slightest indication that "The Klan" might be in the neighborhood where we were at the time, lurking in the dark of night, gave me the creeps.

Just the thought of these white-hooded individuals makes me feel quite uneasy and uncomfortable, even during the day.

Too, the drivers I had on two DOMENICO trips (1991 and 1993) were black, and I often wondered just how "at ease" they really felt, even though this was now the early 1990's.

On the 1991 trip to "Noo Awlins", our driver was a wonderful middle-aged fellow named Bill Lipscombe, who had family down there.

A great lover a jazz, he entertained the passengers by playing some great classic jazz tapes, as well as telling us a lot of great stories about the old jazz clubs.....he KNEW just about everything about jazz......he was truly a personable and funny individual.

On my 1993 trip to Myrtle Beach (with a sidetrip to Charleston), the driver was a great young guy named Mark Driver (he used to kid us: "If you forget my last name, just remember what I do for a living!"

Sadly, a number of years ago, I found out that he had passed away (he was only in late 30's, I believe); I must confess I felt a sense of loss at his passing, even though I only knew him for the duration my trip.

Al Roker (NBC 4 weatherman) mentioned quite awhile that his dad was a New York bus driver, and he often would ride along with him as a boy.

IMHO, one of the greatest rewards in the transit hobby, especially when we discuss "the old days", is that we not only learn about the buses and the companies that operated them, but, even more importantly, we get a true "feel" for the times, the better to educate us today on just how life was in those times.

As a young boy, 50-odd years ago, I remember seeing black conductors and motormen on the subways, when we were in Manhattan for the day (we did this quite frequently, back then); as it was with the bus drivers, I could care less what color their skin was.....it was THAT they were doing for a living that I cared about.......and this still holds true today......

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

During the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the black-owned taxi companies and hastily-organized car services took over the monumental task of transporting African-Americans to and from work.

Here we see Dr. King holding a cab door for several ladies, while an empty Old Look sits in the background.......

http://www.sites.si.edu/images/exhibits/381/new/images/getting_in_car_jpg.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Most people not living in the South back in the 1950's did not realize that, when boarding city buses (or streetcars), African-Americans had to board, pay their fare, and then get off the bus again and walk to the rear and then board through the rear doors.

It was considered a big joke with many drivers to pull away after a black person had paid their fare and was walking back to the rear door, regardless of weather or the age/gender of the unfortunate passenger.

Small wonder why a quiet, soft-spoken "Miss Rosa" (Rosa Parks) simply refused to give up her seat on her bus, after a long day on her feet...............

http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/204/8-10/montgomery.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Here's a photo more than worthy of sharing here; this view from 1956 shows a young and dapper Dr. King posing with an Old Look of the newly-intergrated Montgomery City Lines.

I truly feel this portrait speaks many volumes (I also have a copy of this timeless photo in a frame).......

http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2008/mlk/mlk_05.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Like any other ball team of that era, those in the Negro League traveled aboard team buses.

Here we see the NEWARK EAGLES aboard thier sleek Flxible Clipper.......

http://images.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/baseballbuses_02_700.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In this historic photo from 1935, we see the PITTSBURGH CRAWFORDS posing alongside thier handsome conveyance......

http://images.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/baseballbuses_01_700.jpg

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

A political cartoon which ran during the Montgomery Bus Boycott.......

http://www.holtlaborlibrary.org/images/BusBoycottSegregation_lg.JPG