THE OBSERVER
» Saturday, November 6, 2010
17 LIVING HERE
LIVING HERE
Elmira man rolls into retirement after more than four decades of taking children to and from school Katie Edmonds
I
MANY MILEs LATEr George Baessler is a familiar face to many school kids, past and present, as he drove a school bus in the area for more than 40 years. Having been through many changes over the year, he’s finally decided to park the bus for good, shifting into retirement. community and their dedication is unmatched.” All in a day’s work for Baessler. Baessler began his career working on his family’s farm in Linwood but a lightened workload and the addition of a few more to his growing family left Baessler looking for additional work. The job as a bus driver seemed to just land in his lap. “When the job came up I thought it looked pretty good, and my kids liked the sound of it,” he said with a laugh. “They were lucky;
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The Township of Wellesley is seeking one (1) qualified resident interested in serving as a member of the Committee of Adjustments for the municipality for the next term of Council ( four years ). Interested parties are invited to submit an application in writing to the Township of Wellesley, 4639 Lobsinger Line, R. R #1, St. Clements, Ontario, N0B 2M0 by November 30, 2010, 2:00 p.m. For job duties, time requirements, compensation or other details please contact : Susan Duke, CAO/Clerk, Township of Wellesley 519-699-4611 sduke@township.wellesley.on.ca
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> SEE DRIVING ON PG.19
COMMITTEE OF ADJUSTMENTS
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home. But for Baessler, the highlight of his bus driving days was not the award, but the interaction with the kids he drove day in and day out. “I like the children best, especially the little ones,” he said. “I drove the junior kindergarten kids who were kind of comical. Sometimes they weren’t as happy to be going to school but most days they would board the bus with a big smile and a ‘hello.’ I loved that.”
Township of Wellesley
SLICED
Christmas
You’re invited to join us for our annual
they just had to crawl out St. David’s High School and the door and get onto the then back to Linwood. bus.” “But I just kept right He began his time as a on going,” he said with a driver back in 1968, drivlaugh. “My job was to be ing students to St. Clement there, every day and get the School. Since he began kids to school on time, so with the company, he has that’s what I did.” seen five changeovers in In June of this year, ownership; he was first George was invited to a hired by Lishman’s Coach dinner at the Concordia Lines, before the company Club in Kitchener where was sold to United Trails he was officially thanked Bus Lines, then Charterfor his service upon his ways Transportation, then retirement. He was given a Laidlaw Bus Lines and now pin for each of his years of First Student. His route $25.99 Prime workRib and a commemorative changed from St. Clements Steaks clock which now hangs in to Linwood Public School to the kitchen of his Elmira
PIECE
t didn’t matter if it was a sunny day, or a day spattered with raindrops. It didn’t matter if the wind was blowing in gusts, or the snow was a foot deep. Rain or shine, sleet or hail, school bus driver George Baessler was always there, waiting for the kids of Woolwich and Wellesley, like clockwork, for more than 40 years. And this year, to thank him for his years of service, Baessler was honoured with a dinner and an award of recognition by his employer, First Student School Bus Transportation Services. “These drivers epitomize what it means to be a school bus driver, as they are committed to the safety of the children they transport,” said Linda Burtwistle, president of First Student. “They are fixtures in the
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