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Home My WebLink AboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-12-04, Page 88 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Daa«nber 4, 1998 Murphy Bus lines turns 50 this year BY PAT PAYTON St. Marys Journal Argus From one bus and one school — to 270 vehicles. 300 employees and six school boards. Murphy Bus Lines has come a long way in the last five decades. The southwest- ern Ontario -based bus com- pany is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Brothers Joe and Tom Murphy—fresh out of the RCAF following the Second World War—started the com- pany in Clinton on Sept. 1, 1946. With just one bus. they worked for the Clinton District High School Board. With the provincial govern- ment at the time determined to broaden educational oppor- tunities for rural youngsters, . small bus firms were needed. Mike Murphy, the compa- ny's secretary -treasurer and son of the late Tom Murphy, said most bus companies saw a period of growth in the 1960s when the little rural schools were replaced by more centrally -located schools. "With central schools came the requirements for school busing, so obviously, bus com- panies grew because there was a demand," he explained. "That was, the reason for some of the growth in the '60s. We were successful in tender- ing or bidding or quoting sev- eral of the township school ar- eas of the day. We were also aggressive in acquiring smaller bus companies as time went on_ "The other reason is. some of the markt'ting that we did and some of the charter busiL ness that we've developed and grown with over the years." Murphy Bus Lines moved its head office to Arva in 1978. Today. including Arva and ,Clinton. Murphy Bus Lines has depots in St. Marys. Seaforth, Lucan and Hyde Park. Murphy employs about 250' drivers for its buses -'the ma- jority being school buses ,—and aliout 35 other maintenance , and administrative stafT. Mike Murphy 'says he likes to deal with his employees as How topacka suitcase for travel By Lydia Zulauf They held the fourth meet- ing for Miss Manners' 4-H Club on Nov. 19. The atten- dance ( again)f was perfect. The first thing thcy talked about was travelling courtesy. In the workbook they read all the rules. They read each heading. The first heading was walking. The following were cycling, car, trains and subways, plane and bus. Each arca talked about basic things tp do, that, when you think hbout it, arc only common sense. The meeting that night was practically all about travel. Want proof? Well thc next topic was packing. a suitcase. Mostly just the basic things (cg: mixing and matching, bringing clothes that match well with each other and putting really small items in the toes of your shorn:) The next well talked about topics were/ staying in a hotel and being a house guest. As for .the hotel topic, one thing was about how when you travel or stay away from home, it is so much fun that you really have to work on bringing your manners along with you. Playing in elevators, play- ing a radio too loudly, run- ning in the halls, or jumping on keds are all definite "don'ts." They talked about being a house guest (cg. gifts, etc.). They all considered physically challenged people but most importantly, they discussed meeting six which • will also he Achievement Night. Thcy filled the whole meet- ing with things to discuss. Dublin man injured A Dublin -arca man had only minor injuries after his vehicle collided head-on with another in heavy, blowing snow Nov.19 , just north of Mitchell on Highway 23. Paul Eisler, 43, of RR 2 Dublin was treated and released at Stratford General, as was thc 70 -year-old Monkton-area man in thc othcr vehicle, who also only had minor injuries. A bus driver's prayer • Please, Lord, watch over me this day. Please help me remember to watch all five mirrors, two dozen win- dows, eight gauges, six warning lights, six dozen faces, three lanes of traffic and' to keep a third eye open for wobbling bicycles and daydreaming pedestrians, espe- cially teenagers wearing headsets who are in another world. • Please, Lord, help me hear all train whistles, truck and automo- bile horns, police sirens and the two-way radio. • Please, Lord, give me a hand for the gear lever, the steering wheel, the road book, the radio microphone and the turn -sig- nal lever. • And Lord, please grant me the self-control to keep my hands away from Johnny's neck. And one more thing, Dear Lord, please don't let Mary be sick all over the bus. • And finally, Lord, please watch over us so that we can do it again next year. AMEN individuals. Ile says he hates being treated like a number, and doesn't want to treat his employees in a similar man- ner. "You gain their respect and they. in turn, respect their job more," he rationalizes. The bus line works for the following school boards: Board of Education for City of London. Huron Bd., Iluron- Perth RCSSB, London -Middle- sex RCSSB, Middlesex Bd., and Perth Bd. Safety important on buses Safety is very important, Rob Murphy stresses, when thou- sands of students are being ' bused every school day. Drivers are also screened carefully, and full training is provided for and by Murphy Bus Line employees. In Seaforth, Murphy Bus Lines bought theformer Ilabkirk Bus Lines in 1985. Garry Osborn has been shop manager since June, 1990 af- ter starting with the company in 1988. , "They're a good company to work' for: it's an exciting job." • Osborn says. "Everyday is exciting, some- thing different happens every day. We have a good bunch of drivers. They all know their • kids. and which kids to send them to (their appropriate bus)." Osborn has 21 drivers, cov- ering 15 routes,"I have to make sure the drivers are here." says Osborn, noting that snow and fog are the two things that keep his drivers off the road. . What makes a good school bus driver, the manager was asked. "Concentration on the job and being -on time." he re-, plied. "And you have to like the kids." The Seaforth shop buses stu- dents for two school boards— 'the Iluron board and lluron- Perth separate board—ap- proximately 700 students per school day, Osborn says. Video cameras Murphy buses •also have video cameras if' ,they're re- quiredl , "We were and are leaders in'' that innovation." Mike Murphy says. "We introduced cameras before some of the boards even wanted to recognize the need. "We view It as another tool that we use to provide safe transportation. If there's someone harassing your child, or if someone's saying the driver isn't operating the bus properly, that camera will show the parent the time that their child got on .the bus and the time their child got off the bus, as well as everyone's ac- tions for the entire trip." Murphy Bus Lines. sub- scribes to an Atlanta-based weather forecaster as well, and all bus operators are su- persensitive to what forecast- ers predict from moment to moment. Weather and road conditions are monitored and the information is shared amongst operators and school board officials. Murphy Bus Lines also offers highway coaches. "We do charter trips, which go all over, including to the United States." Rob. Murphy says. "We also do a lot of char- ter work with community groups. For example, we take the Western football team and the Western hockey team to all their (away) games with the highway coach. . "We just provide the trans- portation. We're not a tour company, but a lot of people think that." • Special celebration For the 50th anniversary of Murphy Bus Lines. the com- pany is holding a special Christmas party on Dec. 14 in Lucan-with all the fixings. "Every year, we have a Christmas dinner and a dance and we present long-time em- ployees with pins. This year, we're expanding both the guest list and the program," says like Murphy. Several retired drivers and long-time drivers will be hon- oured that evening. "We want to honour them,. that's our main focus of the whole thing," says Rob Murphy. "We want to thank the employees for their great con- tribution. That's what's made us what we are." Also invited will be school board officials, local MPPs and company suppliers. ST.COLUMBAN WINNERS - Barbara Scott and Charles Perkins presented the following St. Columban School stu- dents with certificates for the Legion's Poems, Essays and Poster contest on Wednesday. From left to right: Darryl O'Rourke, 3rd - Junior B & W poster; Derek Terpstra, 2nd - Intermediate B & W poster; Stacey Scott, 3rd - intermediate colour poster. (Photo submitted) Prizes presented to local students Last Wednesday Charles Perkins, youth education chairman and Barbara Scott, public relations officer visit- ed the local schools to pre- sent the prizes for the Poems, Essay and Poster contest. Certificates and cheques were given to the three top place entries. First place entries have been forwarded to the' Zone level competition. Congratulations to everyone who entered, the judges had a hard time deciding the win- ners. Thanks to the judges and to Trudy Broome, Seaforth Public Library for displaying the entries at the Library. Congratulations to the' com- mittee who decorated the Legion float entered in the parade last Friday and thanks to those who rode on it. The float was judged Best Overall theme in thc parade. There will be turkey draws on December 14 starting at 3 p.m, There will also be horse races and entertainment. Beef ori a bun will also be avail- able. The annual Legion Children's Christmas Party 0(414 comfeet° JIIUP AroundFOR Seaforth Legion by Barbara Scott will be held on December 15 at 2 p.m. Any child wishing to take part in the concert please contact Barbara Scott, 527-1787. On December 23, help will be needed for the Legion Bingo at the arena. Two peo- ple at 6:30 p.m. and four peo- ple at 7 p.m. Please let John Lansink know ifyou can help. There are still tickets avail- able for the New Year's Eve dinner and dance. Price is $20 per person. Please get your tickets as soon as possi- ble. This year there will be no refunds for tickets turned back in. The Branch was saddened to hear of the death of Karen MacLean, fraternal affiliate member this past weekend. To her family and friends we extend our sympathy. 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