HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-07-01, Page 2PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1987.
Ralph Pearson ends
37 years service
Continued from page 1
of Grey Township, young Ralph
quit school after Grade 8 to work on
the family farm, where he stayed
until 1947, when he and his
brother, Hugh, went into the egg
business.
In 1949, at the urging of his
brother, Mr. Pearson submitted
and won a tender to provide the
first school bus on the new route
between Brussels and the Wing
ham High School (now F.E. Madill
Secondary School), one of the first
school bus routes in the County of
Huron.
The move marked the beginning
of “bussing” for Huron County
students, and met with consider
able opposition from the people of
Brussels and the surrounding
areas, who considered their own
Brussels Continuation School ade
quate and good.
People
Honoured at an Appreciation Night last Friday at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre,
Ralph Pearson [centre] retired after 37 years as a school bus driver. Bob Cunningham, transportation
manager for the Huron County Board of Education presented Mr. Pearson and his wife, Edna, with a ‘ ‘Bus
Driver’s Award” to commemorate the occasion.
Something to cheer about! With all the planning and most of the preparation behind them, the members of
the Brussels Homecoming Committee relax for a moment before the four-day celebration begins on
Thursday evening. Executive members are [seated, from left]: Mary Lowe, secretary; Wayne Lowe, 1st
vice-president; Jerry Wheeler, president; and Sarah Stephenson, 2nd vice-president. Other members
are [second row, from left] Betty Shaw, Vera Hastings, Noreen Eder, Ethel Brewer, John Lowe and Dave
Hastings [Parade Chairman]. Back row: Doug Sholdice, Doc Stephenson, Hugh Hanly and Barb Mutter
[treasurer].
Compiled by Marilyn Higgins
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Shelley
from West Frankfort, Illinois
visited with Mr. and Mrs. Lyle
Brothers for a few days last week.
Gerald and Gerrie Exel had
visitors over from the Netherlands,
Mr. and Mrs. H. Seigers and Mr.
and Mrs. H. Van Den Berg. They
were two sisters of Mrs. Exel.
The youngest sister Mina cele
brated her 60th birthday while she
was here. They were blessed with
24 days of beautiful weather, and
returned to their home on Friday,
June 19. While they were here they
really enjoyed the grandeur of
Canada’s nature scenes.
Now that school is out, Kids
pleasebe careful on your bikes.
The stop signs on the street are
mean’t for you too. Stop and look,
just don’t go zooming around the
corners, or you may be on
somebody’s front bumper.
The Citizen would like to
welcome all the visitors to town this
week.
Mr. and Mrs. John Cooper of
Hanover and former bank manager
in Brussels visited in the area on
the weekend.
Don’t forget! Next week we would
like to hear about all your visitors
that were back for the 115th
homecoming. Let’s have this
column full. How about itfolks?
Just give me a call at 887-6754.
Happy 115th Birthday Brussels.
However, since only Grades 9
and 10 could be taught in Brussels,
it meant that any young person
seeking a higher education had to
find either transportation or a place
to board in Wingham, Listowel oF
Seaforth, the only senior schools in
the district.
The revenue from a single-bus
route was not much, and Mr.
Pearson had to supplement his
income with factory work, farm
work, carpentry and any other odd
jobs he could find. In 1951 he
applied for and got a charter bus
service licence for the area around
Brussels, andthisprovidedhim
with a more comfortable living
throughout the year.
On July 5, 1952, Mr. Pearson
married Edna Freebree of London,
and the public charter business
flourished and grew until the
Pearson fleet included four buses,
the high point of his career.
However, as the years went on
and business pressures grew, Mr.
Pearson decided to sell his charter
license andthree of his buses to
James Armstrong of Wingham,
keeping one bus which he drove as
owner-operator on contract to the
Huron County Board of Education,
beginning in September of 1972.
For the next seven years, he drove
a round trip of 54 miles each day,
transporting students from the 1st,
2nd and 3rd concessions of Morris
Twp. to the new Brussels Public
School.
In 1979 Mr. Pearson sold his
remaining bus to Keith Montgom
ery of Wingham, but continued to
drive the same school bus route for
the next eight years, a career which
will come to an end with his
retirement at the end of June.
Mr. Pearson has been blessed
with excellent health, and has
missed very few days of driving
throughout his 37-year career. He
has always been known for his
kindness to the children, his
punctuality and his devotion to
duty, and will be sadly missed by
those he served so well.
COME FOR LUNCH
Homecoming Saturday
BRUSSELS
UNITED CHURCH
Sandwich, Tart and
Beverage $2.00
EATINORTAKEOUT
11-12-.30&2-4
B.M.&G.
Pool
presents...
Homecoming
Fun Day at the Pool!
Saturday, July 4th
at 2:00 p.m.
ACTIVITIESFORKIDSOF ALL AGES
Please come early so you can be signed up on a team.
Remember, there will only be 8 teams of ten people each, so
early registration is important. Some of the games are throw
wet sponges at the Lifeguards, water balloon toss, relays,
grease water melon and tug-of-war. So come and join the
fun.
Colder Isidore
l « M h rii I
HOMECOMING WEEKEND
SPECIALS
FRI.,
Single
Fish
Double
Fish
JULY 3
3.95
4.95
SAT., JULY 4
1. Steak-On-A-Bun
with fries and
coleslaw 3 95
2. Hamburg
Deluxe 2.95
SUN., JULY 5
1. Roast Turkey g (Jg
2. 8 oz. Salmon Steak
All Dinner QF
Specials include UaUU
soup or juice, tea or coffee.
3. B.B.Q.
Chicken
Legs 5.50
[Free 7 oz. Pepsi with Satur
day Specials, compliments of
Tuckey Beverages.]
St. %$7-6303