Genealogy Data Page 13 (Notes Pages)

Spiers John Ellis [Male] b. 18 MAR 1891 Prince George Co, Virginia, USA - d. 14 OCT 1968 Carson, Prince George Co, Virginia

He was a school bus driver for many years.

This is the article published in 1962 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about J.E.
Spiers.

CARSON, Nov. 3 -- John Ellis Spiers, 71-year-old Prince George county man,
stopped working after a state law went into effect prohibiting a person from
driving a school bus if he is over 65.
Spiers made his last trip in June after 42 years of transporting children.
He racked up more than 350,000 miles with only one accident.

Started in 1917
When Spiers started his bus route in 1917 he used a covered wagon pulled by a team of mules. Up until 1924 when the county started its own bus service, Spiers operated under contract with school boards.
During the early years he furnished the bus and was compensated for services by the board. He couldn't remember just what the salary was. "It's been a long time but I'm sure it wasn't much."
Spiers drove his first motorized vehicle in 1918. He purchased a second-hand Model T Ford for about $150 and constructed a wooden body for the students. "We had two long benches on each side and it was plenty cold back in those days because there were no heaters on the buses," he said.
Spiers has driven a Prince George bus almost continuously since 1917. In
1921 he moved to Richmond for "a short spell." There he operated an electric
street car.
Does he miss his job?
"Sure do," Spiers said Saturday. "You can't help from missing all those
youngsters if you have been around them as long as I have."

Still Drives Car
The state says the Prince George native can't drive a school bus but he still
gets around in his car. "I didn't quit my job," Spiers pointed out, "they quit
me with that law."
During his 42 years in the transportation business, Spiers covered about the
same route that he started with. When he first started it was about an hour
and a half trip with the mules supplying the "horsepower."
Spiers has no particular hobbies. He goes fishing "once in a while" and
visits his two children, Mrs. Margaret Guthrie of Dinwiddie county and his son
who lives across the road.

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