The school bus came at about 7:15 every morning and returned at about 4:30 each evening. My sister, brother and I would watch out the window for the bus, and when it came around the corner a half mile away, we would go out and jump aboard.

Many times during the winter rains the creeks would flood, so the school bus could not get through. Several times the bus became stuck in the mud, and the driver, Mr. Tom Wade, and some of the older boys would have to get out in the rain and get it loose.

Once it stopped right in the middle of a flooded creek. Mr. Wade worried that the water would carry the bus away and perhaps hurt some of the children. He stood in the front of the bus and told us that we were stuck, and said that we should all bow our heads and thank God for the blessings of our lives, and ask Him to help our mothers and fathers not to worry because we were going to be late getting home. I now realize the tremendous peril that bus load of children were in, but at the time none of us seemed to be scared.

Mr. Wade and several of the older boys carried the children to safety with water up to their arm pits. There were kids on both sides of the creek when all was out of the bus. I marvel that all were saved, and at the speed that the bus was evacuated. Mr. Wade was on the south side with almost half the children, while the rest of us were on the north side. He kept calling to us and giving instructions.

Some of the older children were sent to get help. My uncle, Sam Slate, came from the south with a wagon. He took all the children home that lived on that side of the creek. Someone came from the north with a car, but could not take all the children. I, and six or seven others, stayed there huddled under a tree for about an hour. Finally Mr. Newman came with a truck and took us to his house. Mrs. Newman gave us hot chocolate and hot soup. My sister, brother and I finally got home at about 11 P.M.

There was a man who lived about half a mile from us that everyone knew and loved. He always had a good word for everyone.

When the school bus would pass his house he would stop whatever he was doing and wave at the children. The kids would yell at the top of their vioces until the bus went out of sight. That drove Mr. Wade out of his mind. Sometimes he would turn around in his seat and yell at us, but that did little good.

Once, just to let the kids know what he thought, Mr. Wade stopped the bus just before he came to the man's house, and put cotton in his ears. We all had a good laugh out of that.

There was no heater on the bus, but when it was filled with kids from it�s almost twehty mile route, it wasn�t so bad.

The first family on was the Langs. They were a large family and mostly girls. They all could sing like beautiful song birds. Virginia was the oldest and was a saprano. Another was an Alto. They sang on the bus almost every morning and evening, mostly gosple songs, and filled in all the parts. They were great!

That old bus ran until after the war. Many memories are still fresh, like sitting beside a sweet young thing and listing to the Lang sisters. Like trying to squeeze between two boys and push the kid on the end off onto the floor. Like when we were stuck in a mudhole and Mr. Morgan came with his team of huge horses and pulled us out.

Sometimes I think we were the richest people in the world!