Nearly six decades later, May-Port bus driver gives his last ride
“Words can’t express what he’s meant to the school.”
MAYVILLE, N.D. (Valley News Live) - This week marks the end of the school year for many, but for one Northern Valley man tomorrow also marks the end of a nearly 60-year run as a bus driver for the May-Port CG School District.
When Allan Kville first started driving the school bus down the gravel roads of rural Mayville and Portland back in 1963, buses didn’t even have radios. Now his riders have the world at their fingertips.
“Most of the time it’s just a quiet trip,” Kville said.
24 students currently live along Kville’s route. Some of those mark their family’s third generation of riders.
“It’s an extended part of my family basically. I’ve driven the same route for years, so I’ve watched them go from kindergarten all the way through,” he said.
“It’s a big loss for us. We’re going to miss him,” May-Port CG Superintendent Michael Bradner smiled.
Once a member on the local school board, Kville now serves on the color guard for school activities and also drives athletes across the state to games and tournaments. And come spring and fall, Kville also adds planting and harvesting crops with his son to the rotation.
“Today we would have been planting corn. We just got fertilizer yesterday,” Kville said.
“Allan has just been an example of that dedication, the commitment. People from that generation are just amazing,” Bradner said.
Kville says he took a short break from driving bus in the 70s to build his home. When asked what’s kept him going this whole time? His answer is simple; The kids.
“I’ll miss watching the kids grow up. They change so much. You drop them off in the spring and pick them up in the fall and some have grown a foot!” Kville smiled.
“Words can’t express what he’s meant to the school,” Bradner said.
As hard as the last pick ups and drops offs will be Thursday, at 82, Kville says it’s time for something new.
“No more checking the weather, no more checking the roads, no more checking the school schedule. Retired!” Kville said.
“Is that weird to you?” our reporter, Bailey Hurley asked.
“Yeah, it’s gonna be different,” he said.
Kville adds you can still count on seeing him at school activities and says he plans to still help out driving students to games and tournaments in the future, but in the mean time, he plans on traveling the country with his wife, Mary, and spending time with his three kids, five grandkids and one great grandchild.
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